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What to eat in Italy

The 10 best dishes in Italy

Twenty regions, twenty cuisines, all built on a few perfect ingredients and the lunch that runs long.

1

Pizza napoletana

Best: Naples

Soft, blistered dough baked in 90 seconds in a wood oven, with San Marzano tomato and fior di latte.

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2

Tagliatelle al ragù

Best: Bologna

Egg-yolk ribbons rolled by hand with the slow meat ragù Bologna actually makes, never spaghetti.

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3

Cacio e pepe

Best: Rome

Pecorino, black pepper and starchy pasta water whipped into a glossy sauce on tonnarelli.

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4

Carbonara

Best: Rome

Guanciale, egg yolk, pecorino and pepper. No cream, ever.

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5

Risotto alla milanese

Best: Milan

Saffron risotto finished with butter and Grana, often served with ossobuco.

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6

Bistecca alla fiorentina

Best: Florence

A thick T-bone of Chianina beef grilled over embers and served rare, by the kilo.

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7

Lasagne alla bolognese

Best: Emilia-Romagna

Green spinach pasta sheets layered with ragù and béchamel.

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8

Arancini

Best: Sicily

Fried rice balls stuffed with ragù or butter and cheese, the Sicilian street snack.

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9

Tortellini in brodo

Best: Bologna

Tiny filled pasta, pinched by hand, floating in a clear capon broth.

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10

Gelato

Eaten all over Italy

Denser and less sweet than ice cream, churned slow and eaten on a walk.

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Photos: each dish's lead photo on its Wikipedia article (license and author on Wikimedia Commons); "a photo like it" is a food photo of the same kind, not that dish. Cook it opens a recipe in Chef Amazing, or Chef writes one for you. Picked by Chef Amazing, November 2026.