13 Italian restaurants in Melbourne guaranteed to fuel your fire

With slick new openings, classic cucinas and masterful high-end dining, there’s a lot to love in Melbourne’s Italian restaurant world.

Melbourne’s Little Italy has long magnetised the city’s visitors, but the lasting legacy of the city’s sizable Italian community extends well beyond the borders of Carlton. It created the blueprint for Melbourne’s world renowned cafe culture, and laid the groundwork for future generations of chefs to create Italian-inspired fusion food.

Today, Victoria’s capital, is awash with Italian eateries of every kind. From vibrant family-friendly pub-style osterie and glamorous Milanese-inspired CBD restaurants to cosy farm-to-fork Sardinian eateries. Eat your way around the city with this shortlist of Italian restaurants in Melbourne.

The shortlist

Best date spot: Di Stasio
Hidden gem: Da Noi
Hottest new opening: Elio’s Place

1. Studio Amaro

hands getting food on the plate using fork at Studio Amaro — Dig into specialty Italian pasta at Studio Amaro. (Image: Julia Sansone)

On a strip of Windsor’s Chapel Street, heaving with bars and restaurants Studio Amaro’s cool Dean Martin vibe is all its own. Sunny by day, moody by night, its sleek design shines in retro shades of olive, burgundy and mustard, with a wall of Amaro bottles shimmering in the light. Amaro? That’s the bittersweet Italian herbal aperitivo or digestivo (post-dinner) liqueur. You’ll find around 50 varieties to sip neat or in a cocktail.

Chef Daniel Migliaccio’s open kitchen is fired up. Scoop up the whipped ricotta with addictive house-made focaccia or indulge in a chunky curve of grilled pork and fennel sausage. Rigatoni arrabiata comes tomato-infused, chilli-laced and dotted with stracciatella. Mains are generous – saltimbocca, veal cotoletta (cutlet), fish – with Italian flourishes.

Post-dinner, head downstairs to the basement bar, where a DJ spins vinyl in a disco lounge.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Sultry

Location: 168 Chapel St, Windsor

2. Puttanesca Osteria

a hand slicing pizza at Puttanesca Osteria, Italian restaurants Melbourne — Devour one slice after another at Puttanesca Osteria. (Image: Supplied)

Puttanesca Osteria in Kew’s Clifton Hotel evokes a regional Italian eatery to a T. It sprawls across multiple rooms, with dark timbers, terrazzo floors, arched doorways and iconic film posters.

Culinary classics stud the menu (think crunchy arancini with melting centres, pillowy gnocchi, ‘mamma’s’ beef meatballs and Roman-style pizzas with crisp, charred bases), and there’s an inviting, family-friendly atmosphere too.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Family-friendly trattoria

Location: 99 High St, Kew

3. Luci

the sleek and modern dining interior of Luci restaurant in Melbourne — Luci is within the confines of the Grand Hall of the former 1930s Equity Chambers Building. (Image: Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street)

A fabulous space in the CBD – the Grand Hall of the former 1930s Equity Chambers Building – is home to Luci’s, where the polished marble, sculptural light fittings and tall ceilings offer a sleek and modern feel. Produce-driven, with discreet style and service, Luci has the polish of a Milanese restaurant. While the menu is Italian-inflected you’ll find other Mod Oz flourishes too, from crostini topped with prosciutto and Davidson plum to rabbit ravioli garnished with Geraldton wax oil.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Members lounge vibes

Location: 472 Bourke St, Melbourne

4. Officina Gastronomica Italiana

an exclusive wine selection at Officina Gastronomica Italiana — Pick wine off the shelf for a full-on Italian experience. (Image: @HiSylvia)

In a ritzy pocket of Hawksburn, surrounded by designer fashion stores and breathtakingly expensive baby boutiques, Officina Gastronomica Italiana (OGI) offers the full-on Italian experience, low-key and laid-back but lively all at once. Expect a rustic interior, all stripped-back brick and hard-edge timber stools, and a little bit of theatre from the Italian waiters.

Start the day with a breakfast bruschetta or just caffé e biscotti. Sample fresh panini, house-made pasta and salads for lunch. And indulge with dishes such as squid ink spaghettoni with spanner crab and chilli, or pumpkin ravioli with goat’s cheese and mustard fruit at dinner. It seems modest, but it’s super fresh and confidently cooked.

The wine focus is centred on Emilia-Romagna and features artisanal production.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Elegantly rustic

Location: 532/534 Malvern Rd, Prahran

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5. Al Dente Enoteca

a plate of pasta at Al Dente Enoteca — Savour elegant dishes at Al Dente Enoteca.

Al Dente’s main dining room, ‘Enoteca’, is an elegant and stylishly modern space with generously spaced tables; the second dining room (named ‘Sapori’) is for those who like to be a little more cheek-to-jowl.

Chef/owners Andrea Vignali and Davide Bonadiman focus on fresh, seasonal and local produce, though pasta is the standout star here (particularly the house signature, tortelloni cacio e pepe). After all, it was the success of Vignali’s Covid pasta delivery service that helped to launch this restaurant in 2021. But Al Dente offers much more, with dishes that riff on regional Italian classics while incorporating unexpected ingredients, like exquisitely fresh burrata paired with heirloom beetroot, cashews, and merlot vinegar; Victorian dry-aged duck served with Kakadu plum; and kangaroo tartare with mustard, capers, and applewood smoke. You’ll also find an interesting wine list and attentive service.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Chic and inviting

Location: 161 Nicholson St, Carlton

6. Di Stasio

the Italian restaurant interior of Di Stasio in St Kilda — The classic fine Italian diner stands out for its sophisticated interior. (Image: Di Stasio St Kilda Photography)

Take your pick – the original in St Kilda, the cool Carlton iteration or the modish Spring Street version. Di Stasio restaurants set the bar high (and they’re a little bit spendy).

Di Stasio St Kilda has burnished its food and service credentials over decades with a classic, high-end Italian menu.  Di Stasio Pizzeria in Carlton is younger, even a little hip, with its pasta/pizza menu and leafy, sculpture-studded courtyard. Di Stasio Città is the arty, Milan-channelling, hard-edge city outpost in Spring Street. It’s über-chic and you’ll find no surprises on the menu,but it’s all faultlessly executed.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Fine dining

Location: 45 Spring Street, Melbourne (Di Stasio Città)

7. Alta Trattoria

Italian dining at Alta Trattoria, Fitzroy — This Italian restaurant draws diners for its cosy understated luxury. (Image: Alta Trattoria)

If you’re not familiar with Piedmont’s cuisine, this is your opportunity to get acquainted. Alta Trattoria is resolutely understated with white tablecloths, simple chairs and quality glassware – just as it might be in Italy. Piedmontese favourites feature on the menu… anchovies, vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce, originally from this region in Italy’s northwest) and rabbit, all expertly prepared and precision plated. Don’t leave without trying the tajarin – an egg-rich pasta made from thin ribbons of dough. Piedmont is famed for its wines, and they shine on this tightly curated list.

Cuisine: Piedmontese

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Schmick

Location: Ground Floor Rear/274 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

8. Figlia

the Italian wine bar at Figlia, Melbourne — The elegant wine bar provides a laid-back atmosphere for all-day drinks. (Image: Supplied)

A new offshoot of Melbourne’s pizza royalty, Tipo 00 Figlia has plenty of knockout sourdough pizzas on the list. They really are bubbly and charred, light and loaded with excellent, though sometimes unexpected, toppings. Think wild boar sausage or cavolo nero with stracciatella and fermented cabbage.

Don’t underestimate the rest of the menu, though. You could make a meal of the stuzzichini (snacks) and antipasti. Crispy little cacio e pepe arancini, roasted carrots with mascarpone, octopus skewers, fresh oysters and polenta focaccia. Secondi might include a whole fish or a hearty wagyu steak. The fit-out treads between wine bar, bentwood-chair bistro and low-key industrial, but is definitely welcoming. It also has an Italian-leaning wine list, including carafes.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Refined yet convivial

Location: 335 Lygon St, Brunswick East

9. Bar Idda

the exterior of Bar Idda, Italian restaurant in Melbourne — Bar Idda is a family-style trattoria in Melbourne.

Well before White Lotus alerted many to the charms of Sicily, Bar Idda was flying the flag in its cute corner store in Brunswick. This cosy, family-style trattoria continues to nail its Sicilian menu with food that feels genuinely cucina casalinga.

From the juicy green Sicilian olives and crunchy arancini to twirly pasta with a slow-cooked beef and pork ragu, you feel in safe hands. There’s fresh fish, of course, and meatballs with that particular Arab influence of pine nuts, currants and cinnamon that weaves through Sicilian cuisine.

The salad with chicory, celery and sultana is a must. Nonna would never let you leave without dolce, so order up. A tiramisu-flavoured cannolo (or two) is possibly the way to go. Sicilian wines are on the list.

Cuisine: Sicilian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Homely

Location: 132 Lygon St, Brunswick East

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10. Elio’s Place

lunch and dinner share plates at Elio’s Place, Italian restaurants Melbourne — Tuck into European-inspired share plates at Elio’s Place. (Image: Steven Chau)

An all-day bistro in the heart of the city, Elio’s Place transcends Europe’s borders with its laidback menu, though it’s heavily skewed towards the Bel Paese. Come for the daily aperitivo ‘hour’ (3-5pm) and stay for the share plates: creamy burrata bathing in crispy chilli oil and scattered with sweet pickled onions; crunchy crostini slathered with nduja and ricotta; lamb skewers on a bed of punchy salsa verde.

Housed within a heritage-listed, six-storey former warehouse, this Flinders Lane eatery has good bones. Its interiors are dimly lit, awash with timber and superbly cosy, like a slice of Europe tucked into Melbourne’s laneways.

Cuisine: European

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Smart casual

Location: 1/238 Flinders Ln, Melbourne

11. Da Noi

the dining interior of Da Noi, Italian restaurants Melbourne — Da Noi has been pleasing palates with fresh Sardinian pasta since 1991. (Image: @timsonmez)

This small, South Yarra stalwart is something of a local’s secret, quietly going strong since 1995. If it weren’t for the shop window, where this Sardinian restaurant’s fresh pasta is often handmade, then perhaps even fewer people would be privy to its charms.

Choose from a la carte or a set six-course menu here. Traditional dishes that might land on your table include culurgiones (stuffed pasta), porceddu (roast suckling pig), or fregola (small, toasted pasta grains). And did we mention that Da Noi even boasts its own smallholding? Much of the fruit, veg, eggs and meat that grace your plate have been sustainably and ethically sourced from the family farm in the upper Goulburn Valley.

Expect pressed white tablecloths, candlelight, wooden chairs and walls lined with art.

Cuisine: Sardinian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Cosy

Location: 95 Toorak Rd, South Yarra

12. Rosa’s Canteen

Italian dining at Rosa’s Canteen, Melbourne — Find a range of indulgent plates from the Sicilian menu. (Image: Rosa’s Canteen)

Rosa’s Canteen has amassed a loyal following over the last decade, known for its authentic, honest, homestyle Italian cooking in the thick of the city. Despite its location, this Sicilian-inspired eatery offers some respite from the CBD’s busy streets, its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the treetops, allowing light to pour in.

Much of the kitchen’s produce is plucked from chef Rosa Mitchell’s family farm, and fresh herbs, fruits and veggies receive equal billing on the menu: whipped ricotta with pickled zucchini, chilli and mint; spaghetti aglio olio with anchovy, cherry tomato and garlic; eggplant involtini with tomato, celery, radish and ricotta.

Cuisine: Sicilian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Tranquil and welcoming

Location: Shop 8, Rear of/500 Bourke St, Melbourne

13. Grossi Florentino

the dimly lit dining at Grossi Florentino, Italian restaurants Melbourne — Grossi Florentino serves up intricate dishes in an intimate space. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Among the oldest restaurants in all of Australia, Grossi Florentino (known as Café Florentino until its takeover by the Grossi family in 1999) has been going strong since the 1920s. Few restaurant experiences in Australia compare to dining upstairs here: lined with murals, forged wrought iron lighting, timber panelling, and chandeliers, this imposing space feels almost like a place of worship.

The menu commands similar reverence, each dish intricately composed and full of rich ingredients: risotto with Moreton Bay bugs, Cape Grim short rib with red wine sugo, caviar with ricotta hotcakes.

Downstairs, the buzzy Grill restaurant is inspired by Tuscany, and a more casual entry to the Grossi empire.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Stately

Location: 80 Bourke St, Melbourne

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Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat, now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate, whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor, who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will, who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods. “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield, embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House.

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument, which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds.

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens, hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

13 Italian restaurants in Melbourne guaranteed to fuel your fire

With slick new openings, classic cucinas and masterful high-end dining, there’s a lot to love in Melbourne’s Italian restaurant world.

The shortlist

1. Studio Amaro

2. Puttanesca Osteria

3. Luci

4. Officina Gastronomica Italiana

5. Al Dente Enoteca

6. Di Stasio

7. Alta Trattoria

8. Figlia

9. Bar Idda

10. Elio’s Place

11. Da Noi

12. Rosa’s Canteen

13. Grossi Florentino

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The Macedon Ranges is Victoria’s best-kept food and wine secret

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

Come for the wine, stay for the food