The best Italian restaurants in NYC in 2026 are Via Carota and I Sodi for rustic Tuscan-style cooking in the West Village, Don Angie, Carbone and Torrisi for modern Italian-American, Lilia and Misi in Williamsburg for handmade pasta, Marea for coastal Italian seafood and L'Artusi for a lively West Village night out.
Rustic, perfect Italian food in a cozy corner room.
Jody Williams and Rita Sodi's Via Carota serves simple Italian dishes — cacio e pepe, the famous insalata verde, vegetables and grilled meats — with unusual precision.
Good to know: Order the insalata verde and a plate of cacio e pepe.
51 Grove St, New York, NY
Creative Italian-American and the famous pinwheel lasagna.
Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli's Michelin-starred restaurant reinvents Italian-American classics, led by a pinwheel lasagna for two.
Good to know: Set an alert for reservations.
103 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY
Red-sauce glamour and the spicy rigatoni vodka.
Major Food Group's tribute to mid-century Italian-American restaurants, with tuxedoed waiters, tableside Caesar and veal parm.
Good to know: Reservations open 30 days out and go instantly.
181 Thompson St, New York, NY
Major Food Group's grand Italian-American dining room in the Puck Building.
Torrisi, in the landmark Puck Building on Mulberry Street, is Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone's ambitious, New York-centric take on Italian-American cooking.
Good to know: The bar sometimes has walk-in space.
275 Mulberry St, New York, NY
Missy Robbins' handmade pasta in a former auto-body shop.
Lilia's mafaldini with pink peppercorns and wood-fired dishes made it one of Brooklyn's most celebrated restaurants.
Good to know: The café next door takes walk-ins.
567 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Missy Robbins' pasta-and-vegetables restaurant by the waterfront.
Misi focuses on a short list of handmade pastas and vegetable antipasti, with an open pasta-making room on view.
Good to know: Order several pastas to share.
329 Kent Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Rita Sodi's tiny Tuscan restaurant — lasagna and Negronis.
I Sodi is Rita Sodi's intimate Tuscan restaurant, known for a remarkable lasagna and a long Negroni list.
Good to know: Try one of the Negroni variations.
105 Christopher St, New York, NY
Elegant coastal Italian seafood on Central Park South.
Marea is a polished seafood-focused Italian restaurant facing Central Park, famous for its fusilli with octopus and bone marrow and crudo.
Good to know: Lunch is a more affordable way to experience it.
240 Central Park S, New York, NY
A lively, reliable West Village favorite with a great bar.
L'Artusi on West 10th Street serves modern Italian small plates and pastas in a buzzing two-level room with a long chef's counter.
Good to know: Sit at the counter to watch the kitchen.
228 W 10th St, New York, NY
Manhattan's Little Italy around Mulberry Street has shrunk to a few touristy blocks; the Bronx's Arthur Avenue is the city's more authentic 'Little Italy'. The best Italian cooking in New York today is spread across the West Village, Nolita and Williamsburg.
Yes — Abaita, Noi Due and Castell's are excellent kosher dairy Italian restaurants. See our kosher dairy restaurants guide.