The Best Italian Cuisine in Paris

Italian cuisine just became the world’s first to be protected as UNESCO intangible world heritage – and it might come as a surprise, but Paris is home to a wealth of spots where you can celebrate this distinction. In spite of our somewhat chauvinistic culinary leanings, 94% of French people cite the boot as home to their favorite foreign cuisine. France is the second-largest consumer of pizza in the world, and in 2023, Italian restaurants represented a 7 billion euros market in France, with more than 20,000 nationwide, according to Food Service Vision. And nowhere will you find the breadth and variety of such spots as in Paris. Here are our favorite Italian joints in the French capital to celebrate this worthy recognition.

Bobby 

One of Paris’ best Neapolitan-style pizzas is hiding in plain sight at the base of the touristy Butte Montmartre. In this cozy, welcoming neighborhood joint open seven days a week, you can tuck into pies that deviate a bit from the norm, with enticing topping combos like fennel sausage with garlicky spinach and smoked provola. Ultra-local mushrooms grown right in the 18th arrondissement may be paired with parsley and Parmigiano, and the omnipresent quatre fromages includes two French cheeses – Morbier and Tomme de Savoie. If you’re not a pizza fan, turn instead to the fresh pasta, with choices like slow-cooked duck ragu or the house spaghettoni carbonara. As in Italy, you’ll find reasonably priced glasses of house white and red at five euros a pop, and the rest of the wine list is dotted with both conventional and natural options. 

Bobby – 29, rue Lambert, 18th

Fellows 

This fresh pasta spot in the 10th arrondissement has quickly become popular among locals for its creative combos and unbeatable prices, with some plates coming in at under 10 euros. The short-and-sweet menu of exclusively vegetarian pastas may include mafaldine with harissa-spiked tomato sauce and ancho pepper or pici with smoked cheese foam, butter, and pickled mustard seeds. Whichever you choose will be served with your own cheese grater filled with sheep’s milk tomme to lavish your dish to your heart’s content, not to mention copious house-made focaccia to fare la scarpetta. 

Fellows – 84, rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 10th

Ciro Bistro Italiano 

The sleepy 16th arrondissement hides this hidden gem of a pizza restaurant, where you’ll find fluffy Neapolitan-style pies with a pleasantly charred crust and a wide array of topping choices. The four-cheese is a must, with Parmigiano, Gorgonzola, goat cheese, and smoked scamorza. It’s the ideal lunch or dinner after a visit to the nearby Marmottan museum’s impressive collection of the works of Claude Monet. 

Ciro Bistro Italiano – 43, rue de la Pompe, 16th

Sugo 

Roman-style fresh pasta is the house specialty at this 2nd arrondissement spot steps from the Bourse. The namesake tomato sugo made with Sardinian tomatoes slow-roasted over four hours is the base for three of the six stalwart offerings, not to mention a handful of the daily specials, like puttanesca on Mondays or beefy lasagna on Thursdays. The amatriciana is phenomenal, studded with loads of meltingly tender guanciale, and 18-month-aged Pecorino Romano makes the cacio e pepe incredibly moreish, with cheesy sauce coating each strand of perfectly al dente tonnarelli.  

Sugo – 16, rue Saint-Augustin, 2nd

Cucuzza 

In trendy Batignolles, this vibey pizza joint blends the best of Neapolitan and New York-style pizzas, with a crisp base that lets the toppings do all the talking. Choose from among 12 delicious combos like the Diavola with fior di latte, spicy spianata, and green chiles or the signature Valeria with house-made truffle cream, mozzarella, mushrooms, grana, and tartufata. Be sure to save room for the luscious tiramisu, easily one of the best in Paris. 

Cucuzza – 14 rue des Moines, 17th

Oobatz 

At this point, Dan Pearson’s Oobatz needs no introduction, but it would be criminal to leave it off this list. Following a successful residency at Rigmarole, Pearson launched his own pizzeria in Ménilmontant in 2024, and given his baking background, it should come as no surprise that he specializes in sourdough bases slow-fermented for 36 hours. The menu features five seasonally driven topping combos at any given time: Think asparagus and wild asparagus with lemon in spring or butternut squash with mascarpone and guanciale in autumn. These pies are rich on flavor but never sit heavy, so you should be able to save room for the seasonal crumble topped with a scoop of ice cream. 

Oobatz – 4bis Av. Jean Aicard, 11th

Chez Marius 

This 10th arrondissement trattoria is an offbeat gem, with décor juxtaposing gingham-table clothed tables and taxidermied animals and a chalkboard menu of ever-changing, mostly offal-driven specialties. Maximalism is a core tenet, as with beef marrow bone topped with steak tartare or something called crabmageddon. And house-made pasta is always a hit, whether served with duck ragu or broccoli rabe pesto, as are the dishes with a touch of Asian flair, like mussels in turmeric and coconut broth or mapo tofu-style calf’s brains. The staple brioche French toast is a must for a luxurious finish. 

Chez Marius – 11 Rue de Chabrol, 10th

Guillaume Grasso 

The only pizza spot in Paris boasting the coveted La Vera Pizza Napoletana label is located at the back end of the 15th, and trust us – it’s worth the trek. Third-generation pizzaiolo Guillaume Grasso’s pillowy pies are the prototypical ideal, whether you opt for a classic margherita or a pizza d’autore topped with eggplant, 24-month-aged Parma ham, Parmigiano Reggiano, and balsamic cream. Grasso himself is charming, and his pride in his work shows with every bite. 

Guillaume Grasso – 45, rue Brancion, 15th 

Aglio e Olio 

This warm Italian cantine in the 11th hews to Roman tradition with its array of pastas, the star of which is the eponymous spaghettoni aglio e olio. The dish, designed for two to share, is studded with umami-rich Venetian anchovies and topped generously with crisp pangrattato. Appetizers hew to Italian tradition, with minimally transformed product-driven plates like Pugliese burrata simply drizzled with olive oil joining Roman-style panzanella or seasonal battered-and-fried zucchini flowers. 

Aglio e Olio – 5 rue guillaume bertrand, Paris, 11th

Come a Casa 

This family-run restaurant delivers on the promise of its name, with a homey feel and a short-and-sweet menu that changes daily. Offerings nevertheless often include delectable arancini and some of the best lasagna we’ve ever tried. The cheffe passes easily from back to front of house, her dramatic, kohl-rimmed eyes ensuring no one forgets she means business, and yet her sincerely humble gratitude at our praise of her dishes reinforces the overwhelming sense that here, the cooking is all about heart. 

Come a Casa – 74 boulevard de Menilmontant, 20th

 

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L’Assaggio 

While the dining room of this restaurant at the luxury Castille hotel a bit cold and austere, the anglophone service is warm and genial, and the upscale approach to Northern Italian specialties delicious. The creative approach to vitello tonnato sees thick slices of rosy veal sandwiched around blobs of rich tonnato sauce and garnished with edible flowers. The house pastas are a must, particularly Mamma Lidia’s agnolotti stuffed with a mix of beef, veal, and pork and glazed in a rich jus. But you can skip the desserts: The tiramisu, which claims to be Paris’ best, totally misses the mark, with a mugful of cream featuring just the barest layer of sponge and hardly any coffee or rum to speak of. 

L’Assaggio – 37, rue Cambon, 1st

Il Carpaccio 

This one-Michelin-star restaurant at the palace hotel Le Royal Monceau offers an exquisite approach to Italian fine dining, with a tasting menu designed by power couple Chefs Oliver Piras and Alessandra Del Favero. Piras’ Sardinian roots may appear in a mouth-watering toast finger topped with creamy Sardinian sausage and a pickled sardine, and the pair’s no-waste mentality may be deliciously addressed in a trompe l’oeil “cuttlefish” made from egg whites saved from housemade pasta dough flavored with garum, an Ancient Roman answer to fish sauce. The namesake carpaccio is rich and silky, served with with caesar sauce and a generous scattering of truffle, and the tableside service of the house paccheri, served with an embroidered cloth bib for each guest, is a playful offering in a restaurant whose caliber could lead it to unnecessary stuffiness. 

Il Carpaccio – 37 Av. Hoche, 8th