24 editor picks across France.
24 italian restaurants worth the trip across France, editor-ranked. All cuisines in France.
La Cantinetta in Marseille's 6e on Cours Julien opened in 2006, a trattoria spinning northern Italian winter cooking and southern Italian summer plates.
OrderThe ravioli and tagliatelle in winter; shellfish and crustaceans in summer.
TipClosed Sunday; reservations strongly recommended for the patio.
Il Paradiso on Rue de la Pleau in Carmes is the family Italian trattoria with hand-rolled pastas, a wood-fired pizza oven and a small natural wine list.
OrderHand-rolled pastas, Wood-fired pizza, Tiramisu
TipThe lunch pasta of the day at €13 is the value entry; book ahead for Friday and Saturday dinners.
Italie là-bas Ré is chef Italia Palladino's restaurant in the Hôtel de Caumont courtyard in Avignon, reopened there in February 2026 with Neapolitan roots.
OrderGragnano pasta or the €80 Menu Voyage, which the kitchen changes every month.
TipLunch is €28 from September to June; the monthly Menu Voyage is €80 and the Sunday menus are €45 or €55.
Racines in Paris's Passage des Panoramas pours an Italian-leaning natural-wine list and serves hand-rolled pasta from Simone Tondo. Twelve tables, all dinner.
OrderWhatever filled pasta is on, a steak with rocket, the panna cotta.
TipThe Passage des Panoramas closes its gates at night; ring the bell to be let through.
Between the cathedral and Place Saint-Pierre, Nota Bene bakes a pizza pitched between Roman and Neapolitan on organic flour and natural leaven.
OrderPizza between Roman and Neapolitan, Truffle pasta, House tiramisu
TipIt doubles as an Italian grocery, so the burrata and tartufo pizzas use the same stock sold over the counter.
Officina Gusto on Place Saint-Etienne is the Italian trattoria popolare with three rooms, since 2015 known across Toulouse for fresh hand-rolled pastas.
OrderHand-rolled pastas, Wood-fired pizza, Italian small plates
TipSit on the Place Saint-Etienne terrace for the cathedral view; the pasta of the day is the reliable order.
Tentazioni in Bordeaux's Rue du Palais Gallien is the city's first Italian restaurant to earn a Michelin star, awarded 2020 to Sardinian-born chef Giovanni.
TipThe menu rewrites every week from the market; book Thursday or Friday lunch for the only midday service.
Bacio Divino on Rue Saint-André in Lille cooks a dinner card of Italian classics six nights a week, and turns the room over to brunch every Sunday.
OrderTraditional lasagne, from the standing card.
TipDinner runs Monday to Saturday. Sunday belongs entirely to the all-you-can-eat brunch.
La Piazzetta opened on Rue de la Barre in Lille as a fresh-pasta counter and Italian grocery, run by a chef who came from Big Mamma's La Bellezza.
OrderWhatever ravioli is rolled that morning.
TipLunch only, five days a week. There are very few seats, so come early or take the pasta away.
La Maison d'Anna is a family trattoria on Rue des Trésoriers de France in Montpellier, orecchiette and slow ragù cooked from recipes della nonna.
TipThe dining room is tiny and the pasta is made in small batches, so book or arrive when the doors open.
La Maison d'Anna cooks Puglian orecchiette and Bolognese ragù from nonna's recipes on Rue des Trésoriers de France in Montpellier's old town.
OrderOrecchiette with the day's ragù.
TipAround 25 euros for a full plate-and-glass dinner; the handful of tables reward an early arrival.
Emporietto crosses bistronomy with Italy on Rue Adolphe Moitié in Nantes, artisan Italian goods set against produce from farms around the city.
OrderSeasonal Italian plates, Artisan Italian produce
TipThe evening menu runs €45 for three courses while lunch starts at €24; the room closes for the whole weekend.
La Cosa Nostra on Rue Riquet in Saint-Aubin is the small Italian pizzeria with a wood-fired oven, hand-rolled pasta and a Sardinian-leaning small wine list.
OrderWood-fired pizza, Hand-rolled pasta, Tiramisu
TipClosed Monday; the lunch pasta of the day at €12 is the canonical entry. Walk-ins land weeknights.
L'Atelier Focaccia bakes naturally leavened focaccia on Place Émile Zola in Dijon, sandwiches for meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans alike.
OrderA focaccia sandwich built on the 48-hour sourdough base, in a meat, vegetarian or vegan version.
TipIt stays open until 23:00, later than most Dijon lunch-counter kitchens on the same square.
La Mamma St Roch runs a mozzarella bar and wood-blistered pizzas near the station in Montpellier, imported Italian cheeses over gnocchi and pappardelle.
TipStart at the mozzarella bar before the pizzas; it is one of the few kitchens in the quarter serving every day.
La Mamma St Roch pairs a mozzarella bar with pizzas and fresh pasta near Montpellier's station quarter, Italian cheeses flown in for the counter.
OrderThe mozzarella bar selection before any pizza.
TipOpen every day including Sunday night, which makes it the station quarter's most dependable Italian table.
Le Cherche Midi in Paris's 6e is the neighbourhood Italian trattoria the Saint-Germain set treats as a canteen. Hand-rolled pasta cooked to order, daily.
OrderWhatever filled pasta is on the daily menu, the tiramisu, a glass of Sangiovese.
TipOpen seven days. Lunch is the steal; the prix fixe lands under €25 with coffee.
Nonna is an Italian restaurant on the cathedral forecourt in Reims, serving arancini, Puglian burrata, clam linguine and ossobuco in a plant-filled room.
OrderThe Puglian burrata with pistachio pesto, then linguine with clams or the ossobuco.
TipThe kitchen is shut on Sunday and Monday; a lounge area serves cocktails and champagne alongside the menu.
Nonna is an Italian restaurant on the cathedral forecourt in Reims, with arancini, Puglian burrata, clam linguine and ossobuco in a room full of plants.
OrderPuglian burrata with pistachio pesto to start, then the linguine with clams or the ossobuco.
TipClosed Sunday and Monday; book through Zenchef, and stay on for cocktails or champagne in the lounge area.
Chez Gina fills a corner of Place du Marché in Dijon with fresh pasta and an Italian grocery shop, open latest on Friday and Saturday nights.
OrderA fresh pasta plate followed by a scoop from the 21-flavour in-house gelato counter.
TipCome on a market morning and the shop opens at 08:00 rather than its usual mid-morning start.
Chez Gina is a relaxed Italian corner on Place du Marché in Dijon, pairing fresh pasta with an in-house gelato counter and an Italian grocery shop.
OrderA fresh pasta plate followed by a scoop from the 21-flavour in-house gelato counter.
TipCome on a market morning and the shop opens at 08:00 rather than its usual mid-morning start.
Da Adriano is an Italian pizzeria and trattoria on Rue Michelet in Dijon, a few doors from the Chapeau Rouge, with a daily seasonal lunch special.
OrderA pasta plate finished with truffle when it is in season, alongside a speck and mozzarella starter.
TipThe daily lunch special uses whatever seasonal produce came in that morning, worth asking about before ordering the carte.
La Vita Al Dente rolls fresh pasta every morning at the Halles du Lez in Montpellier, lasagne, ravioli and burrata plates from an Italian counter kitchen.
TipWatch the pasta being sheeted at the counter, then eat it in the Halles du Lez hall; evenings run late for the quarter.
La Vita Al Dente makes its pasta fresh each day at the Halles du Lez counter, lasagne, gnocchi and burrata eaten inside the market hall itself.
OrderFresh ravioli sheeted that morning.
TipOrder at the counter and grab a hall table; evening service runs later than most sit-down Italians in town.
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