Top Street Food in Italy

Luini ★ 4.8 · Milan

centro-storico · Via Santa Radegonda 16, 20121 Milano

Luini at Via Santa Radegonda, steps from the Rinascente, has fried panzerotti since 1949. The counter sells the half-moon dough pocket with tomato and mozzarella for

Osteria All'Arco ★ 4.8 · Venice

Calle Arco 436, San Polo, 30125 Venezia VE

Osteria All'Arco near Rialto Pescheria in Venice's San Polo is the Francesco and Matteo Pinto father-and-son bacaro, the local benchmark for cicchetti from market fish.

Tip: Walk-in only. Closes after lunch; arrive 11:30 to 13:00 for the fish-market cicchetti at their best. Sarde in saor and baccala mantecato are obligatory.

Pasticceria Attanasio Window ★ 4.7 · Naples

centro-storico · Vico Ferrovia 1/4, 80142 Napoli

Attanasio near Naples Central Station fries sfogliatelle since 1930, with the riccia and frolla baked all day. The shop sits in a tiny side-street with the smell of hot lard the marker.

Tip: Closed Monday. Sfogliatella riccia 2 euros, frolla 1 euro 80. Cash only at the counter; queue forms 09:00-11:00.

Pasticceria Poppella Window ★ 4.7 · Naples

sanita · Via Arena della Sanità 24, 80137 Napoli

Poppella in Naples' Sanita has run the family pastry counter since 1920, with the fiocco di neve (snow-flake brioche) the dish that turned the bakery into a 2014 cult hit and the local-buy.

Tip: Open daily 07:00 to 22:00. The fiocco di neve at 1 euro 50 is the only order; queue 30 minutes on weekends.

Cantina Do Mori ★ 4.7 · Venice

Sestiere San Polo 429, 30125 Venezia VE

Cantina Do Mori in Venice's San Polo is the city's oldest bacaro, open since 1462 near Rialto, with a counter of francobolli sandwiches and ombre poured all day.

Tip: Walk-in only. Order ombre (small glass of wine) plus a francobolli sandwich. Counter pours stop hard at 19:30; arrive by 18:30 for the best cicchetti choice.

Da Nerbone ★ 4.6 · Florence

san-lorenzo · Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 50123 Firenze

Da Nerbone in Florence's Mercato Centrale ground floor has poured the lampredotto panino since 1872, the bread dipped in the cooking broth and stuffed with tripe, salsa verde and chilli oil for €5.50.

Tip: Cash only; closed Sunday. Queue from 11:30 for lunch; standing-only counter inside the market.

Mordi e Vai ★ 4.6 · Rome

testaccio · Mercato di Testaccio, Box 15, Via Aldo Manuzio, 00153 Roma

Mordi e Vai in Rome's Mercato di Testaccio is Sergio Esposito's market-counter sandwich stall, with the slow-braised allesso di scottona (beef shoulder) sandwich the unmissable order.

Tip: Closed Sunday all day. The allesso di scottona with chicory is 5 euros; queue forms 12:30 onward.

Bacareto Da Lele ★ 4.6 · Venice

Campo dei Tolentini 183, Santa Croce, 30135 Venezia VE

Bacareto Da Lele in Venice's Santa Croce near Piazzale Roma is the canal-side bacaro the students fill on the Tolentini church steps, ombre and panini under EUR 2.

Tip: Walk-up window only; sit on the church steps with your panino and ombra. Most ombre are EUR 0.80 to EUR 1.50, panini EUR 1 to EUR 2. Cash only.

Sfoglia Rina Counter ★ 4.5 · Bologna

Via Castiglione 5/B, 40124 Bologna BO

Sfoglia Rina in Bologna's Centro Storico runs a take-away counter selling hand-rolled pasta by weight, with tortellini, tagliatelle, tortelloni and lasagne sheets sold to the locals.

Tip: The take-away counter runs from 09:00; tortellini sell by the 250g bag from 6 euros. Take home and cook in salted water 3 minutes.

I Due Fratellini ★ 4.5 · Florence

centro-storico · Via dei Cimatori 38r, 50122 Firenze

I Due Fratellini in Florence's Via dei Cimatori has run the mini-panino counter since 1875, a hole-in-the-wall format with 28 panini varieties for €4 each and the original wine-glass-on-the-shelf service.

Tip: Cash only; standing room on the kerb. Closed Sunday. The shelves outside hold your wine glass.

Pizzeria Spontini ★ 4.5 · Milan

centro-storico · Via Santa Radegonda 11, 20121 Milano

Pizzeria Spontini on Via Santa Radegonda pioneered Milan's thick-crust pizza al taglio since 1953. The fat base, long prove and heavy mozzarella are the city standar

Friggitoria Vomero ★ 4.5 · Naples

vomero · Via Domenico Cimarosa 44, 80127 Napoli

Friggitoria Vomero in Naples is the funicular-station fritti counter (since 1938) serving the cuoppo di mare (anchovies, calamari, prawns) and the cuoppo di terra (crocchè, frittatine, arancini) in paper cones.

Tip: Closed Sunday. Cash only. Cuoppo medium runs 6 euros; queue forms 18:00 to 19:30 for the aperitivo crowd.

Pizzeria di Matteo ★ 4.5 · Naples

centro-storico · Via dei Tribunali 94, 80138 Napoli

Di Matteo on Via dei Tribunali in Naples sells pizza fritta and frittatine through the streetside window since 1936, the Bill Clinton 1994 lunch stop in the city's legend.

Tip: Pizza fritta runs 3 euros from the window; the queue starts at 11:30. Cash preferred at the window.

Sorbillo Lievito Madre ★ 4.5 · Naples

centro-storico · Via dei Tribunali 36, 80138 Napoli

Sorbillo Lievito Madre on Via dei Tribunali in Naples is the Sorbillo family's pizza fritta and al taglio counter two doors from the main pizzeria, with pizza fritta the unmissable order.

Tip: No queue ticket needed at this counter; pizza fritta classic runs 4 euros, ripiena (stuffed) 5 euros.

Starita Fried Pizza Window ★ 4.5 · Naples

materdei · Via Materdei 27/28, 80136 Napoli

Starita in Naples' Materdei has run the wood ovens since 1901, with the montanara fried pizza the screen-famous Sophia Loren order, the angioletti dough fritters with prosecco starter.

Tip: Closed Monday lunch. Montanara from the takeaway window runs 4 euros; pair with angioletti at 5 euros.

Scaturchio Takeaway ★ 4.5 · Naples

centro-storico · Piazza San Domenico Maggiore 19, 80134 Napoli

Scaturchio in Naples' Piazza San Domenico Maggiore has poured the ministeriale (chocolate-rum disc) since 1905, the takeaway sweet for the Spaccanapoli walking ritual.

Tip: Ministeriale at 4 euros at the counter; the takeaway box of six runs 22 euros for the Centro Storico walk.

Pizzarium ★ 4.5 · Rome

prati · Via della Meloria 43, 00136 Roma

Gabriele Bonci's Pizzarium near the Vatican in Rome is the pizza al taglio counter that re-wrote how the city does slices in 2003, with toppings that rotate every two hours.

Tip: Slices are sold by weight; expect 5-7 euros per slice. Open 11:00 to 22:00 daily; standing room only.

Antico Forno Roscioli (Pizza Bianca) ★ 4.5 · Rome

centro-storico · Via dei Chiavari 34, 00186 Roma

Antico Forno Roscioli in Rome's Centro Storico is the 1972-Roscioli-family bakery counter with the pizza bianca by the kilo, eaten standing on the alley outside since 1819.

Tip: Open Mon to Sat 07:00 to 19:30. Pizza bianca costs 16 euros per kilo; ask for 200g for one person.

Al Merca ★ 4.5 · Venice

Campo Bella Vienna 213, San Polo, 30125 Venezia VE

Al Merca in Venice's San Polo is the tiny walk-up window in Campo Bella Vienna near Rialto where locals stop for the canonical ombra and a mini crostino.

Tip: No interior space; everyone stands on the campo with their drink. Open early evening for aperitivo, closes hard at 20:00. Spritz EUR 3.50, crostini EUR 1.50.

Osteria al Squero ★ 4.5 · Venice

Dorsoduro 943, 30123 Venezia VE

Osteria al Squero in Venice's Dorsoduro is the canal-side bacaro across from the Squero di San Trovaso gondola yard, where you stand outside with spritz and cicchetti.

Tip: Sit on the canal-side bench across the rio from the gondola workshop. Spritz EUR 3.50, cicchetti EUR 2.50. No tables, no bookings.

Al Timon ★ 4.5 · Venice

Fondamenta degli Ormesini 2754, Cannaregio, 30121 Venezia VE

Al Timon in Venice's Cannaregio on Fondamenta degli Ormesini is the canal-side bacaro with a wooden barge for outdoor seating, the locals' canonical aperitivo strip stop.

Tip: The moored barge in the canal is the seat to claim. Grilled meat skewers and the bar's cured-meat boards run later than the cicchetti window at most bacari.

Enoteca Mascareta ★ 4.5 · Venice

Calle lunga Santa Maria Formosa 5183, Castello, 30122 Venezia VE

Enoteca Mascareta in Venice's Castello is the late-running enoteca run by Mauro Lorenzon, an organic and northeast Italian wine list with cicchetti and cold plates.

Tip: Walk-in. The bar opens at 19:00 and runs to 2am, one of the few late-night wine rooms in Venice. Daily-changing chalkboard list.

Tamburini Counter ★ 4.4 · Bologna

Via Caprarie 1, 40124 Bologna BO

Tamburini in Bologna's Quadrilatero runs a take-away salumi counter with the mortadella sandwich, the tigella with squacquerone and the daily-changing pasta-by-weight tray for office lunch.

Tip: The take-away counter runs 11:00 to 22:00; the lunch peak is 12:30 to 13:30 and the queue thins after 14:00.

All'Antico Vinaio ★ 4.4 · Florence

centro-storico · Via dei Neri 65r, 50122 Firenze

All'Antico Vinaio in Florence's Via dei Neri has run the schiacciata-counter format since 1991, with the Mazzanti family stuffing the 30cm flatbread to order, the queue wrapping the block from 12:00 daily.

Tip: Four shops on Via dei Neri now (1r, 38r, 65r, 76r). The Via dei Neri 65r counter is the original.

Trippaio del Porcellino ★ 4.4 · Florence

centro-storico · Loggia del Mercato Nuovo (Porcellino), Firenze

Trippaio del Porcellino in Florence is the lampredotto cart at the Mercato Nuovo loggia, next to the Porcellino bronze boar, with the lampredotto and trippa panini served from a steel cart since the 1980s.

Tip: Cash only; the cart moves around the loggia. Standing only; lunch is the busiest hour.

All'Antico Vinaio (Via dei Neri 38r) ★ 4.4 · Florence

santa-croce · Via dei Neri 38r, 50122 Firenze

All'Antico Vinaio's second Florence shop, also on Via dei Neri, runs the same schiacciata-counter programme as the original since the 2010 expansion, with a 30cm flatbread stuffed-to-order from €8.

Tip: Queue runs the block from 12:00; the Via dei Neri 65r original is across the street.

Giannasi ★ 4.4 · Milan

porta-romana · Piazza Buozzi 2, 20135 Milano

Giannasi at Piazza Buozzi in Porta Romana has roasted chicken on the spit since 1967. A quarter chicken with roasted potatoes costs under 4 euros; the lunchtime queu

Tandem Ragu Sandwich ★ 4.4 · Naples

centro-storico · Via Paladino 51, 80138 Napoli

Tandem on Via Paladino in Naples runs a takeaway window selling ragu napoletano sandwiches plus the in-room paccheri al ragu, the modern Sunday-lunch ragu ritual portable for the street walk.

Tip: Walk-in counter for takeaway from 12:00; the sandwich runs 6 euros 50 with bread to mop the sauce.

Leopoldo Taralli Counter ★ 4.4 · Naples

vomero · Via Scarlatti 6, 80129 Napoli

Leopoldo in Naples has baked the taralli sugna and pepper (lard-and-pepper ring crackers) since 1940, the standing salty snack to walk with on the funicular ride to the Vomero.

Tip: Taralli sold by the gram from the counter; a 200g bag runs 4 euros 50, perfect for the Vomero walk.

Gay-Odin Takeaway ★ 4.4 · Naples

toledo · Via Toledo 214, 80132 Napoli

Gay-Odin on Via Toledo in Naples sells the foresta (chocolate log) and the cioccolata calda since 1894, the city's defining chocolate counter with eight branches across town.

Tip: Foresta retails at 30 euros per kilo; the take-home box of six pralines runs 12 euros.