🍝 Best in NYC
The definitive Italian restaurants in New York City — from West Village red-sauce temples to Brooklyn pasta kitchens.
7 picksNew York has more serious Italian restaurants than any other American city, and the competition has produced some of the best pasta, the most rigorous technique, and the most opinionated rooms in the country. From Carbone's red-sauce theater to Lilia's handmade pasta in Brooklyn, these are the NYC Italian restaurants worth knowing.
The competition runs deep across every format: red-sauce Italian-American (Carbone, which has elevated the form to theater), serious contemporary Italian (Lilia's handmade pasta in Williamsburg, which has a claim to the best rigatoni in the country), village trattoria (Via Carota in the West Village, operating as if translated from Rome), and the New York slice (Joe's Pizza on Carmine Street, the standard for 50 years). Each format has its own hierarchy and its own devotees.
For visitors, Carbone and Via Carota represent the clearest expression of what New York Italian has become — though both require advance planning. For the best pasta in a lower-key room, L'Artusi on Christopher Street and Lilia in Williamsburg offer weeknight tables that are more accessible than their weekend counterparts. Di Fara in Midwood, Brooklyn remains the most argued-about pizza in the city — the line is real, the round and square pies are exceptional, and the trip to Midwood is worth making at least once.
Missy Robbins' Williamsburg pasta kitchen — the mafaldini with pink peppercorns is one of the best plates of pasta in America
Must-try: Mafaldini with pink peppercorns & parmigiano, Sheep's milk ravioli, Wood-roasted clams
📍 567 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Jody Williams and Rita Sodi's West Village trattoria — the insalata verde is New York's best salad and the room is perpetually perfect
Must-try: Insalata verde, Cacio e pepe, Bollito with salsa verde
📍 51 Grove St, New York, NY 10014
Scott Tacinelli and Angie Rito's creative Italian-American in the West Village — pinwheel lasagna and helical caesar are not to be missed
Must-try: Pinwheel lasagna, Helical caesar salad, Braciole
📍 103 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10014
Dom DeMarco's legendary Midwood pizzeria — each pie hand-cut with scissors after the fresh basil is laid on by the man himself
Must-try: Regular slice, Square slice, Whole pie
📍 1424 Ave J, Brooklyn, NY 11230
West Village's red-sauce Italian temple where the veal parmesan and spicy rigatoni have become the most talked-about dishes in NYC
Must-try: Spicy rigatoni vodka, Veal parmesan, Tableside Caesar salad
📍 181 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012
Carmine Street's no-frills slice shop since 1975 — the definitive New York street slice, full stop
Must-try: Plain cheese slice, Pepperoni slice, Sicilian slice
📍 7 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
West Village's relaxed Italian wine bar and kitchen — excellent handmade pasta and one of NYC's best wine selections
Must-try: Tajarin with butter and sage, Burrata with sea salt, Eggplant caponata
📍 228 W 10th St, New York, NY 10014
Lilia for handmade pasta, Carbone for Italian-American theater, Via Carota for the trattoria experience, and Joe's Pizza for the definitive New York slice. Each represents a different Italian tradition at its best — the answer depends on what you're looking for.
Reservations at Carbone open on Resy 28 days ahead at midnight. Set an alert and be ready — popular Saturday slots disappear within minutes. Weeknight reservations are significantly easier. Check Resy for last-minute cancellations in the 24 hours before your target date.
Missy Robbins' handmade pasta is technically exceptional — the mafaldini with pink peppercorns and parmigiano has a strong claim to being the best plate of pasta in the city. The space is a former auto garage in Williamsburg, giving it a distinct character that no other NYC Italian restaurant matches.
Yes. Via Carota is walk-in only for most tables (though phone reservations are available). The insalata verde alone is worth the trip — it is widely considered one of the best salads in New York. The cacio e pepe and bollito are essential orders. Budget an hour or more for a weekend evening wait.
Lilia's mafaldini with pink peppercorns and parmigiano is the consensus answer among food writers and serious pasta lovers. At Carbone, the spicy rigatoni vodka is the most talked-about dish in the city. For a simpler standard, the cacio e pepe at Via Carota is as good as any in New York.
The West Village has the highest concentration of serious Italian restaurants: Via Carota, Don Angie, L'Artusi, and Carbone are all within a few blocks of each other. For Brooklyn Italian, Williamsburg (Lilia) is the standout. For pizza specifically, the West Village (Joe's Pizza) and Midwood, Brooklyn (Di Fara) are the essential destinations.