The 7 best Italian restaurants in Paris

Until recently, Italian cuisine in Paris wasn’t particularly a standout. There were a handful of very decent family-friendly pasta and pizza places that occasionally served some wonderful local dishes, a handful of restaurants with mentions in Michelin guides, and a much larger crowd of mediocre chains that don’t do any Italian cuisine. royal justice

But in recent years, that has started to change radically: a new generation of young Italian chefs and sommeliers looking for opportunities rooted in Paris, mostly opening small ensembles focused on fresh ingredients imported from specific Italian regions. They also offer new twists on old family recipes and regional specialties, from Neapolitan-style pizzas to traditional Sardinian dishes that most of us have never heard of.

Interestingly, a significant number of our selections below are clustered in the same area of central-eastern Paris, suggesting that there is an authentic culinary and cultural community currently flourishing in districts (districts) 11 and 12. With a sense of family warmth coupled with elegant and attractive presentations, these restaurants and “bottegas” are shaking up Parisian cuisine, for the better. They also tend to be very vegetarian, adding more options for non-carnivores in the French capital. Below are our picks for the best places to get delicious Italian dishes in the capital right now, most new places, with a couple of well-established addresses in between.

01
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Come to a house

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+33 1 77 15 08 19

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Tucked away on a quiet street between the trendy Voltaire-Oberkampf district in the 11th arrondissement and the Pere-Lachaise cemetery further north, this small restaurant offers home-cooked Roman cuisine with a decidedly modern focus on local ingredients and creative presentations. Co-owned by Flavia Federici, a former restorative architect from the Italian capital who wanted to revive, and reinvent, her grandmother’s recipes, the small but friendly and cheerful bistro serves wonderfully simple and intensely tasty dishes.

The simple and uncluttered menu generally includes a homemade lasagna that is rotated daily, a main course (usually fresh pasta), soup of the day, and an aubergine “gratin”. Desserts, including the generously portioned tiramisu that could easily satisfy two sweet tooth, are equally delicious.

02
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Osteria Ferrara

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+33 1 43 71 67 69

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Praised by foodies as one of the best Italian cuisines in the capital, Osteria Ferrara is the brainchild of the Sicilian-Milanese couple Federica Mancioppi and Fabrizio Ferrara, former owners of the much-loved Caffe des Cioppi. Fans were relieved when the couple revived their culinary talents at the current restaurant, which serves regional and traditional dishes that keep customers coming back again and again.

Try the “pizza fritta” – an indulgent fried dough that’s topped with ingredients like speck, chicory, and pecorino; fresh pasta with a focus on fresh and invigorating flavors; or burrata cheese straight from Puglia, served with crisp, fresh beets. The wine list features numerous excellent Italian vintages and prices are generally reasonable here.

The only downside? They’re not open on the weekends, so be sure to reserve your table before everyone snags on during the weekdays.

03
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Retro shop

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+33 1 74 64 17 39

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Opened by native Roman Pietro Russano, a former chef and sommelier in Italy who decided to bring his culinary and wine-related talents to the French capital, Retro Bottega is another small restaurant offering remarkably inventive and delicious Italian dishes. During the day, it is a small but adorable wine shop, with all the vintages (mostly Italian) selected by the chef-sommelier; In the evening, patrons crowd in to occupy the few small tables and sample Russano’s creations.

Behind the scenes, the kitchen is small and the cooking is partially done on hot plate stoves, but the results are no less delicious or colorful. Tradition-inspired dishes like buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, and melted aubergines drizzled with grape must are served alongside more daring creations like homemade crab-filled ravioli accompanied by bright cioggia beets, sea asparagus and toasted sesame seeds.

Owner Pietro, always the sommelier, has a precise idea of which wines will best pair with a certain dish and is always happy to make suggestions for a glass or bottle. Its selection includes numerous natural, organic and biodynamic wines, mainly of Italian and French origin.

The only downside? It is a bit pricey and no prix fixe menus are offered; It is also not possible to order half a bottle of wine, which means that food quickly becomes expensive if you expect more than one glass with dinner.

The restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner, except for Monday (dinner only) and Saturday (lunch service only). Reservations are recommended.

04
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My friends

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+33 1 42 71 82 62

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We’d be remiss if we didn’t include 20-year-old Amici Miei in our pick of the capital’s best Italian restaurants. Having earned a reputation for making some of the best, if not the best, pizza in Paris, this Sardinian trattoria offers no less than 24 varieties of delicious cakes, including several white pizzas.

The wine list is refined yet accessible and the pasta portions are famously incredibly generous for Paris – try their signature rigatoni with pistachio pesto or risotto with prawns. For dessert, enjoy the much-loved strawberry basil panacotta, particularly refreshing in the summer.

Be prepared to wait a bit, though, especially on weekend afternoons – you see long lines outside here.

05
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Sardinia at the table

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+33 1 44 75 03 28

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Going into a more expensive category, the elegant Sardegna a Tavolo, situated in a quiet and charming street, close to the Place d’Aligre and its vibrant food and flower market, offers a rare but warm atmosphere and a very good introduction to the best of Sardinian cuisine. It’s not the most accessible of our picks, but it’s definitely worth a try for a special occasion.

Opened in 1996, it is another Italian institution in town, rather than a newcomer. It is owned by Tonino Simbula, who proudly serves authentic Sardinian specialties served in relation to what is fresh in the adjoining market, from the traditional crusty bread served at the beginning of the meal with olive oil and olives, to freshly prepared fish. ingeniously. tagliatelle with prawns and orange. The expensive but excellent selection of Sardinian wines will complement the meal wonderfully.

06
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Eastern mom

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+33 1 43 41 32 15

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This ever-crowded ‘ultra-trattoria’ in the rapidly gentrifying Charonne district might at first be turned off by its clear embrace of hipsterism, but the friendly, warm service and delicious Neapolitan cuisine of chef Ciro Cristiano will change your mind. . The wood-fired pizza is simply delicious, with a melting quality in your mouth that is the trademark of the famous Naples cake.

If it’s on the menu, they change monthly, try the pizza with fiore di latte cheese, zucchini flowers, fresh tomatoes and basil. The ingredients, all carefully selected and imported from Italy, are too fresh to lie to the palate. The equally creative pastas are served in cheery, undemanding copper pans instead of traditional dishes. The wine list is generous, balancing reasonably priced Italian wines with rarer offerings.

The owners have another restaurant that is equally popular, Ober Mamma, in the French capital, so don’t despair if you can’t get a table on a busy night, try the other direction. Just make sure you get there as soon as the place opens, or you risk waiting in hour-long lines.

07
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The Trattoria Pulcinella

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+33 1 42 23 78 29

La Trattoria Pulcinella is especially famous for its delicious Italian desserts, but it also offers delicious pizzas, generous pasta dishes, salads and antipasti dishes, all at reasonable prices.

Owned by the Piccolo Rosso group, which has three other very good Italian-themed restaurants in Paris, the Pulcinella is regularly cited as the best of the group by gastronomy experts. Try the homemade panna cotta with strawberry coulis or the tiramisu, both intensely creamy and delicious. Note: this restaurant is only open for dinner.