The best Italian restaurants in Brisbane

Tucked away in Nundah Village, Rustichella Pasta Bar is a heartwarming ode to Emilia-Romagna, a region in northern Italy where pasta is as fresh as it gets. The menu incorporates regional Italian traditions and beloved dishes – think pillowy crescentine (traditional fried bread) served with mortadella and parmesan, creamy tortelloni bolognesi or tagliatelle al ragu. It's all handmade in-house carrying on the old tradition of fresh pasta-making. To drink, there's an extensive wine list, including by the glass, with a curated selection of lesser-known grape varieties and a focus on regional wines.

Price: Mid-range

Perched on the Brisbane River is Popolo, a chic, contemporary restaurant that's been serving Italian fare for over a decade. With unbeatable river views that will beckon you to dine outside, Popolo – and its menu – whispers of Italian summer. Try head chef Francesco Vitagaliano’s signature linguine with pops of Moreton Bay bug, spanner crab and rich lobster bisque – the perfect mix of Italian technique with Aussie ingredients. Up the char factor with grilled lamb cutlets featuring goat's curd, or opt for one of their pizzas that are made from 24-hour fermented dough. And leave room for dessert – how about the pistachio pannacotta?

Address: 3 Sidon St, South Brisbane

Price: Mid-range 

Hospitality is at the heart of Olive and Angelo, Angelo and Yuliya Leonforte’s cosy garden restaurant. Dining here is the perfect way to end a trip to the nearby Botanic Gardens – the service is warm and the menu has all the Italian classics. Their woodfire oven pumps out Neapolitan-style pizzas featuring fluffy crusts, with the same dough making their voluminous rosemary and confit garlic focaccia. Silky sheets of house-made pasta are used to make a lasagne that Garfield would envy, with piping hot layers of bechamel and rich ragu. And they truly take care of everyone; gluten-free and vegan pizza and pasta options are available if you need them.  

Address: 12 Edward St, Brisbane City

 Price: High-end 

Italia Lane brings a slice of la dolce vita to Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley with its industrial interiors of velvet booths, a grid metal ceiling and a sunny outdoor space. Helmed by chef Rino Avellini, this Italian diner shines brightest with its Napoli-style pizzas ranging from classics like margherita to white-base options like cotto and salsiccia. Each one comes with a blistered, pillowy crust and paper-thin centre, just as it should. You can also feast on handmade pastas, antipasti and tempting desserts, all paired with a wine list that leans towards Italy. For an extra treat, weekends bring bottomless lunch and cocktail-fuelled good times.

Address: 900 Ann St, Fortitude Valley

Price: Mid-range

Massimo sits prettily on the river and puts the luxurious charm of the Amalfi Coast into its modern space and menu. Striped booths and terrazzo tables host a menu that celebrates the sea. Oysters shine with their tomato and limoncello granita, and live lobster and marron from tanks await to be chargrilled with lemon butter or tossed through house-made spaghetti. Their $54-a-head 'pronto banquet' is fantastic value, with highlights including crispy calamari with nduja cream, and a perfectly cooked eye fillet.

Address: 123 Eagle St, Brisbane City 

Price: Mid-range

It may be 17 years since owners Dan Clark and Manny Sakellarakis established 1889 Enoteca – and we're glad to say, they're still rocking the best Roman cuisine in Brisbane. In fact, they’re up there with the best Italian restaurants in the world, according to Italian outlet Gambero Rosso, thanks to their artisanal wine list and menu that's committed to Roman tradition. Fried globe artichoke, a staple in Roman Jewish cuisine, is served with lemon mascarpone and gremolata, and their renditions of cacio e pepe and carbonara are a masterclass. Generously portioned mains, like their veal saltimbocca, will have you booking a trip to Rome as soon as you leave – or another trip back to the restaurant.

Address: 10-12 Logan Rd, Woolloongabba

Price: Mid-range

After years of being solely a Gold Coast institution, Gemelli’s is proving to be a hit in Brisbane. The name is fitting – the founders, the Carney brothers, are twins – and "gemelli" means twins in Italian. Proud of their Italian background, they cherish their annual sauce and salami-making traditions and bring that same Italian hospitality to the James Street precinct. This rustic-chic restaurant with exposed beams and brickwork churns out wood-fired pizza and homemade pasta with bold ingredients like 24-month prosciutto di parma and dried figs (drool!). From aperitivo to dessert, you'll enjoy one delicious mouthful after another. 

Address: 15 James St, Fortitude Valley

Price: Mid-range

Tartufo is the shining result of owner Tony Percuoco’s decades-long career uplifting Italian cuisine. The mosaic floors and red leather booths in the expansive dining room have an air of occasion, but the food here is straight from the heart. Special regional dishes you may not find in other Italian restaurants pop up on the seasonal menu, like mafalde pasta with braised rabbit, and grilled hiramasa kingfish served in fish broth and drizzled with fennel and parsley oil. Percuoco, who hails from Naples, also makes a mean sfogliatella – a Neapolitan dessert of flaky pastry filled with a semolina ricotta filling.

Address: 1,000 Ann St, Fortitude Valley

Price: Mid-range

The twin restaurant to Sydney’s waterfront venue, Otto Brisbane continues to celebrate the legacy of evocatively simple yet polished Italian cuisine. Like an indulgent summer romance,  Otto’s riverfront location at South Bank charms you, while the elevated interpretations of Italian classics only intensify the  longing to enjoy every morsel. Choose from small bites (those plump oysters!) and then move on to perfectly al dente pasta and local seafood cooked on the wood grill – the menu changes with the seasons to highlight the produce. And, yes, the spaghettini with Champagne lobster is worth the hype.   

Address: Shop 1, River Quay, Sidon St, South Bank

Price: High-end

Sleek modern Italian in an airy terracotta-toned dining room, Biànca Restaurant is all about taking Italian classics and adding a sprinkle of modern Australian magic. From the terracotta-toned fitout to the generously sized menu, this trattoria is sleek as it is warm. Its extensive antipasti menu features gems like crudo di mare with scallop, tuna, snapper, ocean trout and citrus, while pastas are kept simple and traditional – the mafalde with beef ragu is definitely one to try. There's a touch of the inventive in the almond gelato with Jerusalem artichoke honey, but if you want something more tried-and-tested, there's always tiramisu.

Address: Shop AM5 Ada Lane, 46 James St, Fortitude Valley 

Price: Mid-range

It’s hard to feel down when you're indulging in an Italian feast with sparkling views of the river before you at Ciao Papi. Located at the New Farm end of the Howard Smith Wharves precinct, it's the perfect waterfront location to enjoy an Italian meal. Take your oysters here naturally and then niobble on some calamari fritti. Pizza aficionados get the best of both worlds – the option for a thin Roman-style base or a puffy Napoli-style, both from their busy woodfire. Their woodfire is also put to work on mains like their chargrilled sirloin.

Address: 5 Boundary St, Brisbane City

Price: Mid-range

Beccofino is a buzzy, casual restaurant that opened in 2004 with a focus on woodfired pizzas and quality produce. With thin middles, puffy outer crusts and ingredient-forward toppings, the pizzas are sublime. The 'Number 1' pizza has slices of prosciutto di Parma, while the yummy mortadella, burrata and crushed pistachio number is white-based (pizze bianche). Entrées, pastas and mains are all kept classically Italian, while seasonal specials are inventive – when we visited, it was porchetta with kipfler potatoes, taleggio cheese and radicchio. 

Address: Cnr 10 Vernon Tce & Florence St, Teneriffe

Price: Mid-range

Much like the elegant interiors of Rosmarino’s 120-year-old Hemmant Merchants building, this family-owned restaurant is all about updating Italian tradition with style. It serves refined modern Italian cuisine with a top wine list to match. Farinata, a chickpea pancake from the Liguria region, is the best way to kick off a meal, topped with stracciatella and basil oil. Snapper crudo is dressed with a refreshing yet punchy chilli tomato water, and burrata is spruced up with truffle-infused abbamele (Sardinian citrus-infused honey caramel). Pasta and mains are driven by the country’s best produce, and are best enjoyed with their extensive Italian wine list.

Address: 6 McLachlan St, Fortitude Valley

Price: Mid-range

With 35 years of experience and a whole lot of love going into each dish, Marinara Restaurant is a family-style restaurant features chequered tableclothes and wholesome vibes. The menu leans into timeless favourites – think fettuccine Don Carlos, hearty veal scaloppini and rich mushroom cannelloni – it nails the sort of fare you crave when you want something familiar and fulfilling. The restaurant isn’t flashy, and that’s exactly its charm; it’s a soothing yet bustling spot that locals love.

Address: 254 Hawthorne Rd, Hawthorne 

Price: Mid-range

Ramona Trattoria in Coorparoo is a celebration of cooking deep-rooted in culinary traditions from all over Italy. They hand-shape and cut all their pasta, their focaccia is naturally leavened and their pizza dough undergoes a 72-hour ferment with three flours. The seasonal menu may include hand-cut tagliatelli served in a white bolognese-style ragu, mortadella pizza and steak/fish of the day. The 48-seat space breathes warmth, while a pared-back bar co-pilots the experience with low-intervention wines and Spritzes. It feels like dining in a sophisticated friend’s well-stocked kitchen – relaxed, seasonal and endlessly satisfying.

Address: 131 Leicester St, Coorparoo

Price: Mid-range