The Most Delectable Italian in Charlotte

North Italia

★★★★☆ 4.2 (782) • $$

"Highly recommend this place for a nice casual dinner spot! Everything was absolutely delicious, we did have one problem where our appetizer came out with our dinner but our waitress and the supervisor came over right away and apologized and took the appetizer off of our bill which I thought was very generous. Super relaxing atmosphere and amazing service! Also they have amazing gluten free options! I had their gluten free pasta and it was delicious!"

The Fig Tree Restaurant

★★★★★ 4.5 (644) • $$$

"Last evening I had the pleasure of dining at the Fig Tree and it was everything and more. We had a 5 course dinner with wine pairing that spanned from salmon to veal ragu to steak to amazing dessert. This old convert house is a gem in this city and everyone should go there. The staff was attentive and amazing to host all of us."

Little Mama's

★★★★☆ 4.4 (629) • $$

"Food was so good I forgot to take a pic!! I ordered the chicken parmigiana...so good! Service was great. I've also been here for brunch which was also really good. Family style Italian dining with an authentic Italian vibe. Yesss"

Capishe Real Italian Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4.4 (614) • $$

"Fresh, flavorful, and made with care--Capishe delivers Italian comfort food at its best. The house-made pasta is silky and satisfying, the pizza dough perfectly crisp, and every dish feels thoughtfully crafted with quality ingredients. It's the kind of food that keeps you coming back.The ambience matches the food--modern yet welcoming, with exposed ceilings, hanging lights, and sleek industrial floors that give it a cool, urban feel. It's casual but charming, making it a great spot for anything from a quick bite to a leisurely meal. No fuss, just really good Italian. Capishe?"

OGGI Ristorante Italiano

★★★★☆ 4 (603) • $$

"Love Oggi so much! Everything I've had here is delicious. Service is fantastic, waitstaff always makes you feel like royalty. Cute place, check them out!"

Aria

★★★★☆ 3.8 (590) • $$

"I truly enjoyed my dinner here at Aria. The bartender was great and personable. He was kind and knowledgeable of the menu. The reason I ordered dessert. Lol. Very cute place for a date night, solo date, and more."

Antico Italian Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4.3 (371) • $$

"I definitely recommend this restaurant. The food, service and ambience deserves five stars. The food was delicious and the presentation was picture perfect. The staff was friendly and efficient."

Fiamma

★★★★☆ 4 (400) • $$

"Fiamma is hands down my favorite place for Italian food in Charlotte. Neatly tucked away in the lesser known shopping center on Park Road--not to be confused with THE Park Road Shopping Center (IYKYK)--Fiamma is the CUTEST establishment...that also happens to have EXCELLENT service & even better food.So, let's get into that food. On my first visit, I had an amazing 4 lamb chop dinner, complete with a tasty balsamic glaze, expertly cooked asparagus, and a polenta topped with olive tapenade that easily could have made me say Mamma Mia! And did I mention it was beyond well-priced at $25?! They've since updated the dish to include truffle mashed potatoes & upped the ante to $33. But, with one meal easily equating to two--even for the hungriest diner--nobody's mad at this form of inflation.On my second visit, I was tempted by the truffle mash update but instead opted for the seafood risotto on special. And, as you can see from the photos, it absolutely was SPECIAL! It could even double as spectacular--full range of seafood, atop perfectly cooked risotto with a yummy pomodoro sauce--just YES! All this plus a starter bread basket/pesto combo & music that reminds you of all the comforts of years gone by? I'll absolutely be back many times over."

Ilios Noche

★★★★☆ 3.8 (440) • $$

"Big fan. Everything had so much flavor! Some stand out dishes include the saganaki appetizer, zucchini chips, capellini and lamb. They do lamb *very* well. As for everywhere in Charlotte, the prices are a little high. I wish the saganaki was a little larger of a portion for the money. 4 of us shared the appetizer and it was a small 1-2 bites each. The tzatziki sauce was incredibly fresh. I loved my capellini with the scallops. We had reservations and so glad we did because this place was totally packed on a Friday night. It was really crowded and noisy to be honest but it was fine for our small group outing."

Indaco

★★★★☆ 4.3 (323) • $$

"Whether you're in the mood for Italian food, have something to celebrate, or both, I highly recommend visiting Indaco. The personalized touch for your night out along with delicious food made our experience here so memorable.The staff was extremely friendly, food was fresh and flavorful, and atmosphere was delightful. The entire table enjoyed their meal which is hard to come by.I can't thank Indaco enough for a great experience and tasty food. We will be back (I need another one of your espresso martinis again soon)!!"

Tony's Pizza

★★★★☆ 4.3 (283) • $

"Love their slice pizza, and steak sub. Cannolis are a plus! Always quick, familiar and friendly faces!The ambiance is adequate."

Stagioni Four Seasons of Food

★★★★☆ 4 (325) • $$$

"Good food and great service! They make you order all your food at the beginning and they course it out for you. We shared the salad (really good), the pepperoni and sausage pizza (good), and the scallops with crab cakes entree (good). I wish we had tried a pasta dish as well for the full experience. The restaurant is dark so makes for a nice date place. There's a small parking area in front of the restaurant and a larger parking area behind the restaurant (by RuRu)."

Dolce Osteria

★★★★☆ 3.9 (311) • $$

"I recently was able to dine at Dolce after more than 15 years and was rather impressed. I don't remember being that impressed 15 years ago, hence why I never returned, but glad I did.The atmosphere is quaint, service is on point and they offer a nice variety of Italian options. Once seated we ordered wine, ordered and received a fresh basket of bread. A variety of dishes were ordered and everyone seemed to enjoy. I had the ravioli which was cooked to perfection.I will definitely keep Dolce in mind when looking for Italian food with a nice atmosphere."

Portofino's

★★★★☆ 4 (289) • $$

"Food is always good. Eggplant parm and chicken parm both were delicious! Had enough leftover for dinner for the next night! Service also friendly and fast."

Angeline's

★★★★☆ 3.7 (325) • $$

"A great restaurant in uptown Charlotte! Check out the quality of this food! So good! Would recommend!"

Gianni's Trattoria

★★★★☆ 4.2 (249) • $$

"Best Italian place in Concord! Was sad to see them leave Union but also so excited to welcome them to Gibson. Everything is so good! Salads are amazing, the spaghetti and manicotti are my favorites!"

Drift On Lake Wylie

★★★★☆ 3.7 (308)

"I'll be the first to say, I came here when Drift first opened and was not impressed at all. However, I finally gave them another chance and I'm so glad I did! Brunch was delicious!! We had a few orders of oysters, french toast, salmon caesar salad, and lobster benedict. Everything was cooked to perfection and the service was outstanding. Shoutout to Bill and his trainee, they worked so well together to make sure we had a great experience and you could tell they took a lot of pride in the service they gave. 10/10 all around. Will definitely be back!"

Giannos Of High Point

★★★★☆ 3.9 (273) • $$

"Met up with my father for dinner. Had a late lunch so just ordered a salad...little did I know how massive these salads are!!! Served in a pizza crust baked into a bowl shape, this thing was way more than a single human needs, but tasted grate. Loaded with big chunks of bacon, this wedge salad is packed full of flavor. The salad is made up of iceberg lettuce with Roma tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles and a delusions blue cheese dressing, and it could honest feed 2 people as a whole meal. With optional add ons, you could get chicken added for an additional cost, but I did not need it. Ive always loved this spot, great for a romantic Italian dinner or an amazing pizza lunch buffet. I would recommend, and will certainly be back!"

Capriccio

★★★★☆ 4 (258) • $$

"My husband and I recently visited this pizza spot, and I was amazed at how the pizza transported me back to the authentic taste of New York-style pizza. The cheese was exceptionally flavorful, and the balance of sauce was just perfect. We also tried the chicken and shrimp piaccota special, a delightful off-menu item they happily prepared for us. The shrimp were large and succulent, and although the chicken was a bit thin, we thoroughly enjoyed it, especially paired with the delicious sauce. The service, provided by Angelica, was outstanding--sweet and professional. I highly recommend this place to family and friends."

Osteria LuCa

★★★★☆ 4.4 (207) • $$

"I have nothing but good things to say about the food here. You will not be disappointed. Osteria LuCa is tucked away in Park Road Shopping Center. It's a small restaurant (a little loud and overcrowded), but I will forgive all that because of how good the food is. But be prepared to wait--whether you have a reservation or not. Every time we come here (with a reservation), we've had to wait upwards of 30 minutes before our table is ready. This place is packed on evenings and weekends, and they overbook. The food is worth the wait, but I sure wish they could honor reservation times."

Pellegrino's Trattoria

★★★★☆ 4.1 (237) • $$

"My girlfriend recently relocated from Huntersville to Troutman and while researching places to eat and drink I found Pellegrino's. Perusing their website it was nice to see they were originally from New Jersey as that is where we were both born and raised. Besides the food we were excited to see they also baked fresh bread and made homemade fresh mozzarella. We stopped in a couple of months ago and ordered a plain cheese pizza to go and a loaf of bread. Both were excellent. We returned to have lunch a couple of days ago and the pizza was excellent. On both occasions we had the pleasure of chatting with the owner. It was funny finding out that we frequented some of the same drinking establishments in NJ. Nice people and I highly recommend trying this place."

Salmeri's Italian Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4.1 (233) • $$

"I don't event know where to start, between the food, the drinks, the dessert and service, everything was outstanding. It reminded me of a super traditional Italian restaurant with a modern but still authentic twist. We got pizza, beef short ribs and Caesar salad with shrimp, everything tasted homemade and fresh. We celebrated someone's birthday and even got a free dessert. We went for the cannoli cake, picture a deconstructed cannoli but in cake form! It was one of the best things I ever had! The restaurant is in fort mill close to carowinds and such a quick drive on the highway from clt! Don't sleep on this one, if you are looking for a nice Italian feast!"

Rosario's Pizza

★★★★☆ 3.9 (238) • $

"I had high hopes getting pizza from Rosario's again thinking it may have improved. Don't get me wrong, this is still the best pizza in the area that I have tried but I was somewhat disappointed. We ordered a Sausage New York Pizza to go. The last time we ordered this a few years ago, it had strips of cured sausage all over the pizza. This time the sausage came shredded up on the pizza. It was a huge disappointment having shredded sausage on a pizza. When I got the pizza back to the house about a mile down the road, it wasn't hot at all. You might be thinking, "well maybe he showed up late to pick it up." Nope. I had to wait about 5 minutes after I paid for the pizza before it was ready. Overall, the pizza tasted ok. I liked the crust but the cool pizza and shredded sausage was a let down."

Dean's Italian Steakhouse

★★★★☆ 3.9 (237)

"This place is AMAZING! The hubby and I came here for Christmas dinner because we wanted to break from tradition. The ambience was great sometimes it is nice to come to a classic restaurant as opposed to a more modern setting. Our waiter was a man named Alex and he was so professional, friendly and knowledgeable. We started with the steak tartare and lobster, they were so good I forgot to take pics, lol! For our main course we had steaks, it seems like a sin to come to an steak house and not get steak. Everything was great, I wish I could give it 4.5 stars. Will definitely be coming back!"

Pizzeria Sapienza CLT

★★★★☆ 4.1 (213) • $$

"Tried PS for the first time over the weekend watching NFL Playoffs. Ordered pizza with peppers and chicken breast. Super good, seasoned well, nice/hot and I believe 8 slices. I would highly recommend, I will definitely be ordering from them again.Also tried their bourbon chicken which was also good. A bit bready for my liking but flavors were there. I would definitely try it again."

Zinicola

★★★★☆ 3.9 (232) • $$

"First time to this Italian restaurant for a luncheon meeting held by some kind of investment company.My lunch included a salad & an entree, a salad & spaghetti meatball. The salad was just any other salad. But the spaghetti sauce is very tasteful and the meat ball was huge and taste Ms great.I saw the other dishes such as chicken Parmasen was good as well. Their sauces were good."

Tony's Pizza- Ballantyne

★★★★☆ 3.7 (243) • $

"Tony's is the best place for no frills Italian food that hits the spot. I typically get the eggplant parm platter and it is a generous helping of eggplant, spaghetti and a side salad. It's normal for me to get two portions out of a serving. My fiancé enjoys their calzones because of how generous the sizes are and though there's an up charge for the premium toppings, they seem to include quite a bit of each ingredient. The staff is friendly and service is quick."

Basilico Italiano

★★★★☆ 3.6 (256) • $$

"If you love authentic Italian then you must try Basilico-Italiano. I chose to go on a Sunday for lunch to try their homemade lasagna. It is made on Sundays only. Appetizers are also half price from 12-4 on Sundays. My 6 year old can make a meal of meatballs, so we started with the large order of baked meatballs. When they arrived I could not believe they were the size of baseballs and beyond exceptional. Probably the best meatballs I have had at a restaurant in Charlotte. Our server, Michael paced the arrival of our plates perfectly and was attentive. The restaurant itself was cozy and reminded me of the Italian restaurants were have been to in NY. My Mom and I chose to share a small order of bruschetta and a small harvest salad. Both were fantastic! Finally we all split a small order of lasagna. We were stuffed and there was still half of the plate of meatballs left and half of the lasagna. All will be delicious leftovers. I cannot wait to go back and try more of their amazing menu."

DeSano Pizzeria Napoletana - Waverly

★★★★☆ 3.7 (241) • $$

"Many people may enjoy the food here, but it isn't for me. The calzone & pizza I had were drenched in olive oil and excessive garlic, leading me to believe that it might cause agiata later on. There was no discernible difference in the texture of the crust and body of the pizza. The flavors were decent ,when it was possible to taste them under the overwhelming assault of garlic saturating my taste buds . Perhaps Aglio Napoletana would be a more accurate name ?"

Portofino's

★★★★☆ 3.6 (252) • $$

"We dine here whenever we're in town. Great staff and service. Their specialty pizzas are delicious and so are their pasta entrees. The margherita pizza is our favorite. Their specialty pizzas are huge so do share."

Rocky's Pizza

★★★★☆ 3.8 (224) • $$

"Order a cheese pizza to go. It was quite salty. Not sure if they changed the ingredients. It used to be my favorite place to get pizza."

Luigi’s Pizza - Steele Creek

★★★★☆ 3.9 (198) • $

"Just had the best turkey sub! Toasty roll with perfect amount of provolone,! Lettuce, tomato, mayo , oil and vinegar"

Slice House Pizza

★★★★☆ 4 (186) • $$

"We ordered take out and EVERYTHING was fantastic! Can't wait to come back! Chicken Parm and Marsala were delicious! Plentiful servings as well. Highly recommend."

Luigi & Sons Italian Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.8 (202) • $$

"I visited this community restaurant today. It's delightful and quaint with staff who is extremely friendly and attentive. I had angel hair pasta with mushroom marinara sauce. It was really good. The sauce was a nice blend of sweet and tangy. The garlic bread and garden salad was (with house balsamic vinegar dressing) was good too. The salad was freshly chopped. I definitely recommend this restaurant."

Maola's Pizza and Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4 (178) • $$

"We were searching for some Italian food on a random Sunday and we're out this way so I discovered this restaurant, and I am so glad I did! The chicken Parmesan was absolutely delicious!!! I would definitely love to go back just for that! The portions are a great size, I am with chicken and pasta, no salad. 5/5. I did have to ask for bread, but it was worth the wait! The lasagna was also a 4.5/5. I personally didn't love the pizza crust, so I wouldn't go back for pizza. It was hard, not chewy at all, how I like it unless it's super thin crust. Service was great, our server was super sweet. We will be back!"