Best Italian Restaurants and Food Markets in NYC

New York City Italian Seafood Paradise - Marea NYC

Central Park South high-end seafood restaurant Marea means “tide” in Italian, and its main ambition is to redefine your experience of high-end Italian cuisine of coastal Italy by serving the freshest and most seasonal fish and shellfish sourced from both the Mediterranean and waters worldwide.

Chef Michael White offers seafood selections devoted to crudo, a wide variety of raw oysters, clams and antipasti. And Marea’s wine list is equally impressive: 750 selections with fifty percent of its wine list dedicated to European whites to pair with your fresh fish and other seafood dish options.

The restaurant recommends the US$99 four course prix-fixe menu, which consists of a choice of crudo, oysters or antipasto, pasta, meat or fish, and dessert. Lobster burrata, fusili with octopus and bone marrow, and the steak are among delicious stand-alone dinner options, but you cannot go wrong with any appetizer or main course selection at this two star Michelin restaurant.

The restaurant recently joined the family of Relais & Châteaux’s elite group of Grande Chef Gourmand - an association of the world’s finest hoteliers, chefs and restaurateurs that has set the standard for excellence in hospitality.

The premium food, service and wine at Marea comes at a cost, but the price is worth every penny.

photo credit: Marea

Neapolitan Wood Fired Pizza in Chelsea | Prova

Prova is another incarnation of pizza from Donatella Arpaia and partners from Sushi Nakazawa's Maurizio de Rosa and Ribalta chef Pasquale Cozzolino. Baking up authentic Neapolitan-style wood fired pizzas in two incarnations of “traditional” and the “newly-imagined”.

Italian Wood Fired Pizza Oven

The restaurant exists for one reason and it’s the wood-burning pizza oven tailor-made by famed Italian craftsman Stefano Ferrara. Handcrafted, it is built up from scratch, brick by brick and renewed with shiny red tiles on the exterior.

The menu features 14 blistery pie variations in total, half “classico” such as the Margherita and DOP ( Cherry 
Tomatoes, Mozzarella di Bufala and Basil ); the other half “novita” like the Cetara with creamy burrata, Piennolo tomatoes and anchovies and the Cacio e Uova with fresh organic eggs baked in rather than placed on.

Complementing the pies, there are 14 assortments of Italian charcuterie and cheeses, in addition to 7 seasonal salads.

Modern Venetian Cuisine with a Japanese Twist - All'onda

The name of this Union Square restaurant " All'onda " meaning “the waves”, which restauranteur Chris Cannon and chef Chris Jaeckle has literally brought to life and featured in this combination of modern Venetian cuisine and dash of Japanese inspiration.

Pinnacles of this mash-up is the Hamachi crudi tantalized with broccoli, pepperoncini, olive oil and soy. For pasta, the Bucatini - coated in smoked uni cream sauce, spicy breadcrumbs and a hint on lemon is bliss; Lumache with bitter braised Treviso (a longer, thinner, looser version of radicchio), sweet shredded duck, and a touch of bittersweet chocolate

New and interesting creation is the Venetian-style ramen, made of house-made noodles, porchetta, shaved brussels sprouts, chili oil, shio kombu in parmesan dashi broth. Available for lunch and brunch only.

All’onda is a comfortable and casual bi-level location features a casual bar-restaurant setting downstairs (without reservation), while upstairs seating is a little more sexy and intimate, with dim lighting, booths, glazed white tiles and wooden pillared ceiling.

photo credit: All'onda

Homemade Italian Food Grocer in Astoria: Sorriso Italian Pork Store

An authentic Italian salumeria that let’s you experience a homemade Italian sopressata, cooked and cured meats and a delicatessen that whips up flavorful sandwiches for a true taste of Italian America.

Carrying an array of Italian charcuterie and grocery item for you to plan your own meal, feel free to ask the friendly staff at Astoria's Sorriso Italian Pork Store for a sample or few so you can decide exactly what suit your palates.

Amongst the favorites on the menu are the classic parmigiana sandwich breaded and soaked with sweet tomato sauce and thin gooey cheese on a semolina roll ( it's messy but so good). Then there's the "Goodfellas", a homemade roast pork sandwich with provolone, pesto mayo served on homemade focaccia and finally, any category of sandwiches that incorporates the variety of flavorful homemade sopressata including espresso and peppercorn, red wine and garlic, chili and fennel. All with a firm balance of pork and spice.

While there, you might be also tempted fill up on many of the prepared food on order including chicken meatball Marsala, pear and Gorgonzola ravioli, Noona’s stuffed mushrooms with sausage, fresh homemade mozzarellas and more sopressata for later.

There are no seats in this salumeria, but is still a great place to grab a delicious sandwich on the go or carry away a bit of Italy when you visit.

photo credit: Young Sok Yun

Old-World Italian Food Market in NYC - Arthur Avenue Retail Market

Dropped into the west side of “Little Italy of the Bronx”, Arthur Avenue Retail Market is an old-world vendor’s market for Italian groceries, fresh baked goods, cheeses, meats, pastas and other Italian food products since 1940.

Developed back in the day to house the hundreds or so pushcart vendors on the streets of New York, in 1940 "Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia decided to construct some indoor markets throughout the City to house some of these vendors". One of them was in the Italian neighborhood of Belmont, on Arthur Avenue.

The market consists of various deli counters serving Italian-American food. Mike’s Deli (aka Greco’s) features mouthwatering Panini’s, hero’s and a selection of specialty Italian sandwiches on focaccia, Café el Mercato serve some of New York’s best pizza (so balanced and fresh).

While you’re here, why not grab yourself a frozen Limoncello at the gelato counter and interestingly, a spot to both watch Cuban workers hand roll cigars and then, if the mood strikes you, to buy some.

Finally there’s The Bronx Beer Hall, who partnered with David Greco to bring great food and drinks for people to enjoy in authentic open-market atmosphere.

The market can be crowded on weekends compare to weekdays, especially in good weather, so customers might have to wait, but are well worth it. It’s a more neighborly and less “touristy” than the Manhattan version on Mulberry Street.

photo credit:Dan Perez, Joseph

Authentic Sicilian Restaurant in Brooklyn - Ferdinando’s Focacceria

Serving authentic Sicilian food, the types that you would normally only find on the squares and narrow alleys of Palermo, this Sicilian restaurant, Ferdinando’s Focacceria has been a Brooklyn staple since 1904 and maintains a turn-of-a-century feel that reminisce the type of place you would like to dine with your family every Sunday.

The arancina is hard to pass up - a giant rice-ball filled with ground beef, mozzarella, covered in breadcrumbs - deep-fried to golden-brown, then dressed in tomato sauce and melted Parmesan or served virgin without addition toppings.

If you are in the mood for pasta, chef/ owner Francesco Buffa’s favorite is the pasta con-sarde, a rustic Sicilian dish that is spaghetti in sautéed tawny sauce made from sardines, wild fennel, pignoli nuts, onions and raisins.

Or if you still haven’t found something to tempt you try the panelle special - like a Mediterranean version of the falafel, thin flat slices of potato and chickpeas croquette topped with smooth ricotta focaccia that can be eaten with or without a homemade roll.

For something a bit more adventurous, the vastedda or the “calf-spleen sandwich” will really give you a taste of authentic Sicilian. If you don’t mind the gaminess, the organ meat is prepared soft and juicy stuffed in baked homemade rolls with ricotta and pecorino cheese.

Like sitting in your grandmother’s kitchen, the establishment is over 109 years old and a wonderful place to dine-in or grab on the go with the old-world appeal.

photo credit: Howard Waifish, alibee, Yelp

Authentic Italian Dining with a Modern Twist: L'Artusi

Opened in 2008, L’Artusi is Gabe and Katherine Thompson’s modern spin on traditional Italian cuisine. Named after Pellegrino Artusi who published a cookbook called The Science of Cookery and the Art of Eating Well, this restaurant has seating for 110 across two floors and an haute private dining experience in the walk-in wine cellar. Also there’s a raw bar, a cheese bar, a traditional bar bar and a chef's counter that let's you get a peek into the open kitchen.

The cuisine is Italian, and it’s the kind of Italian cooking that’s not afraid to go rich and high on flavor with garlic, salt, cream, lemon and even fat.

The roasted mushrooms with fried egg, pancetta and homemade ricotta is a must on the menu, and the quality of the mushroom is meaty, rich and zesty. Scallop crudo are simply cevichéd scallops, seasoned with sea salt, espelette chilli and bathed in lemon juice and olive oil.

Pasta is the staple here, so make sure you save room for these even if you have to skip the “Carne”. For meat lovers, we recommend orecchiette with lamb sausage, salumi and sharp pecorino, for seafood you can’t go wrong with linguine "Nero" with black squid ink, rock shrimp, clams and cod and if you’re in the mood for something more vegan, the pizzoccheri is the winner, fresh buckwheat pasta with shreds of Brussels sprouts and layered in melted Fontina cheese.

If dessert is on your mind the olive oil cake and the hazelnut chocolate torta are a popular way to wrap up your meal.

For wine, there’s a massive, carefully selected varieties of Italian bottles from every regions of the country, price ranging from $65 for 2010 “nestri,” meroi white to the $1500 1989 barolo “enrico vi,” red.

The scene is trendy/ dressy and the ambiance is great for people watching and special dates. It can get crowded and busy yet manages to remain cozy and comfortable.

photo credit: Jessica B., Premshree Pillai

Authentic Rustic Italian Cooking by Italian Grandmas: Enoteca Maria

Rather than bring you genuine Italian food just like Grandma use to make it, Jody Scaravella is bringing you authentic Nonna’s food. Enoteca Maria features a rotating roster of Italian grandmas specializing in cuisines from different regions of Italy - Milano, Viscenza, Napoli, Palermo; each bringing their own unique specialties to their night showcasing dishes from their specific regions made with fresh ingredients and prepared traditionally in sizeable portions.

One day you may find Nonna Teresa’s Sicilian specialty, lasagne agli prosciutto e melanzane or pasta con sarde. Another day, it could be Adelena’a rustic Neapolitan cuisine, her favorite Tagliatelle alla Mantavana (with Pumpkin, Sausage, and Chestnuts) or torta rustica with figs.

With current line-up of 8 chefs, it’s like having 8 restaurants in one, each day brings new flavors, new experience.

The space is long and slim with exposed bricks and industrial style lighting keeping the atmosphere casual, comfortable and family friendly. Reservations are for a 2-hour block so you don’t want to be in a rush instead, this is a place to experience food and enjoy the company of friends, families and loved ones as you dine.

Modern Italian American Comfort Food in Little Italy NYC | Parm

Located on Mulberry Street, Parm offers up classic Italian-American favorites such as the parmigiana sandwiches, baked ziti and garlic knots in ways that is just a better version of itself, made fresh in-house, including the mozzarella and the dough.

Chefs Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone studied culinary techniques with some of the best and applied them to traditional comfort food that Italian-Americans ( and Americans that aren’t Italian ) crave.

Add in goodies such as pizza knots that are warm and covered in grated cheese, mozzarella balls coated with crunchy sea-salt in shallow ocean of olive oil and (meatball, chicken, eggplant) parmigiana sandwiches served on fresh semolina rolls with baked ziti or a salad on the side and you know you are getting hearty fare.

How Much?

Aside from the nightly specials, everything is on the menu is under $17. Order a meatball parmigiana on a sesame roll, side of pizza knot and bottle of Genesse ale all for under $20.

Italian Food and Chinese Nightlife in Little Italy: Louie and Chan

A restaurant lounge that encompasses the Italian zing and Chinese zest that the diversity of downtown Manhattan has to offer! Featuring two unique, separate areas to accommodate any dining or cocktail experience desired. Upstairs, Louie dishes out "fresh seasonal cuisines of Napoli" while serving handmade pizzas direct form wood-fired oven to tables; Hidden downstairs, Chan aka Club 303 offer up Chinese-inspired cocktails and "eclectic DJ-programming"

Pictured:
- Bloody Chan: vodka, spiced san marzano D.O.P. tomato juice, horseradish, spicy pickle juice, sichuan pepper /
- Uova al Tegamino: wood oven baked eggs, tomato, buffalo mozzarella, parmigiano

photo credit: Louie & Chan

Italian & Sicilian Inspired Seafood: Isola Trattoria & Crudo Bar

With an expansive feel and Chef Victor LaPlaca at it's head, Isola Trattoria & Crudo Bar offers a a taste of seaside Italy with the food of Liguria, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily at a refreshing atmosphere inside the large open space of Modrian Soho's greenhouse.

The restaurant is modeled to match the feel and the surroundings of Italian coastal estates as well as the famous Bobboli Gardens in Florence. A stunning prominent feature of the restaurant is the large hanging glass sculpture above the heads of diners, that and of course the exquisite coastal-inspired food and provincial wine selection...the kitchen, turns out raw snapper with cantaloupe, hamachi with salsa verde, yellow corn agnolotti with chanterelles, and salt-crusted branzino with sautéed wild nettles.

photo credit: Isola Trattoria & Crudo Bar

Italian Food Products and Grocery Store in Brooklyn: Caputo's

For decades, Caputo’s Fine Foods in Carroll Gardens has been a haven for lovers of fresh homemade mozzarella, pastas, and all kinds of Italian specialty food products. Everything in the shop is of the highest quality, offering an array of mouthwatering breads, thick-cold cuts, cheeses, and Italian delicacies.

The house made mozzarella is legendary, so much so that lines for fresh mozzarella are long on weekends and many top Italian restauranteurs make weekly trips to buy Caputo's mozz in person.

Then there's the homemade pasta: fresh, dried, rolled and stuffed, you name it, the fresh ones are made daily.

photo credit: Caputo's Fine Food

Classic Italian Food at its Best in the Bronx: Trattoria Tra Di Noi

Trattoria Tra Di Noi is a gem of a Traditional eatery next to Bronx's Little Italy serving up classic Italian meals that'll make your Grandma jealous. The no-frills restaurant is not big, not fancy and not so quiet but consist an efficient menu of favorite Italian staples such as Calamari Fritti, Linguine Con Vongole and Scaloppine Al Limone along with a chalkboard list of daily specials based on seasonality.

Tra Di Noi has a warm homespun feel which only enhances their authentic food offering and once you are done with your second or third course here, we suggest saving the last at the neighborhood bakery Egidio's for dessert.

Rustic Northern Italian Cuisine in SoHo - Osteria Morini

Pay homage to Northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. O.M. "extrudes... pastas in-house giving them a nice rustic texture."

In true Mama-mia fashion, fatty-rich ingredients are embraced such as butter, olive oil, cream, and lard—or any other fat, for that matter.

Try their Gnocchi or the 120 day dry-aged ribeye steak

Award-Winning Italian-Inspired Cuisine in East Village: L'Apicio

Having also won the best meatball dish of NYC in 2012, L'Apicio is chef Gabe Thompson's Italian-Inspired eatery where you'll find "house-made pastas, smaller spuntini and piattino for sharing, and larger entrée plates, plus steak and branzino to eat family-style".

The award-winning spicy tenders pork balls are cradled in a slate of smooth and airy parmesan polenta served with bacon amatriciana sauce. A complex gentle balance of intense flavor that is also light and velvety with hints of smoky-ness.

The silky-smooth polenta dishes as well as the pasta and appetizers are all so expertly prepared that simply these starting dishes alone will make the night out at this joint very gratifying.

Inside, you’ll find a roomy lounge area to sip cocktails and have small bites, beautiful dark wood bar seats 12 high-tops, and private dining room that seats 35. On the drinks menu, half of the wine list consist of domestic label, (and why not? Americans are so interesting right now), craft beers - local and European varieties, as well as cocktails with meaningful names like Dirty Spicy Martini, Manhattan in the Fall and Cherry Bourbon Smash.