Dining Out 5 minutes 05 June 2024

All the Italian MICHELIN Guide Stars and Bib Gourmands in the United States

Mangia!

Editor's Pick Italian Italian Cuisine One MICHELIN Star Two Michelin Stars

Few things are better than spending a summer's day in Italy, but hopping on a plane to Europe isn't always feasible. It's why we've pulled together a list of Italian restaurants in the United States...so you can get a taste of Italy without the trip.

You'll find all the spots that have earned MICHELIN Stars and Bib Gourmands in the United States so you can dine in style and without breaking the bank.

Buon appetito!

Two Stars

California

Acquerello
1722 Sacramento St., San Francisco, 94109, USA

With its signature A-frame ceiling and luxuriously warm furnishings, this dining room has been Chef Suzette Gresham’s home since 1989. The cooking remains top rate, promising finesse and bold flavors in equal measure. Handmade pastas combine classic technique with a touch of personal style, and mimicking the art on the walls, some dishes like carrot and ginger terrine or the must-order cheese plate arrive as visual masterpieces. Sweets are a notable strength, down to the very last few bites when one of the best mignardises carts in town rolls up stacked with chocolates, pâtes de fruits, and caramels rolls. Speaking of bests, friendly sommeliers are essential guides for navigating one of the deepest Italian wine and Champagne cellars in the country.

Giancarlo Paterlini / Acquerello

One Star Green Star

California

Caruso's
1773 S. Jameson Ln., Montecito, 93108, USA

The Rosewood Miramar Beach is its home and contemporary Californian food with Italian leanings is the kitchen's dictum. Housed in a separate structure and set back on the water, make the small walk to arrive at this elegant retreat. The dining room is beautifully attired with leather booths, linen-robed tables and white chairs, all of which afford views of the crashing waves. But make no mistake, the seasonal prix-fixe takes center stage along with a focus on regional products (California wheat milled in-house; sea urchin procured from a local diver). Santa Barbara bluefin tartare, garnished with thinly sliced Taggiasca olives and dots of tofu aioli along with a creamy almond granita, takes a familiar ingredient and transforms it into something original.

Hanna Rock / Caruso's

One Stars

Florida

Boia De
5205 NE. 2nd Ave., Miami, 33137, USA

Sandwiched between a laundromat and a medical center in a Buena Vista shopping center, the neon-pink exclamation mark that glows above the front door is impossible to miss. Surprising is certainly an apt descriptor for Chefs Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer’s destination. Servers say the food is Italian, but is it really? Fried potato skins cradling stracciatella arrive crowned with caviar; while beef tartare is embellished with a tonnato-style sauce and garlic-shallot crumble. There is plenty of pasta, like the tagliolini nero tossed with king crab and vin jaune that's served unexpectedly chilled.

Rocca
323 W. Palm Ave., Tampa, 33602, USA

Chef Bryce Bonsack blends his New York know-how with Italian training to great effect in this of-the-moment eatery. Naturally, there's an assortment of pastas, skillfully made in house and showcasing classic flavors and scrupulous technique, as in spaghetti al limone, tossed with knobs of blue crab and lemon, shaved garlic and zucchini. Guests gush over mozzarella hand pulled to order in a tableside cart, but the flavor outshines the show. Perhaps most exciting of all are the displays of originality, as in a vibrant hiramasa carpaccio with green apple, capers and horseradish; and dessert is a delightful bookend to an impressive meal. Basil custard topped with an elegant brunoise of fresh apples and a layer of streusel is spot on in every way.

Andrea Lorena / Boia De

Washington D.C.

Fiola
601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 20004, USA

With stone walls, seasonal arrangements and Warhol-esque prints, this DC powerhouse is equal parts retro glitz and country lodge. Before even crossing the threshold, diners are met by gracious servers. While they may rhapsodize about their favorite dishes, take your time to peruse the menu, complete with stunning creations and playful twists.

Masseria
1340 4th St. NE, Washington, 20002, USA

Chef/owner Nicholas Stefanelli's Puglian heritage comes through in the menu. His dishes hit all the right notes, balancing playful with serious elements, as in a cigar box filled with focaccia. You’ll want to save room though for the maccheroni with goat ragù. Even dessert strays from the pack—beet ice cream anyone?

Greg Powers / Fiola

New York

Francie
134 Broadway, New York, 11249, USA

Francie is headed by John Winterman and native New Yorker, Chef Chris Cipollone. Set within a striking, limestone-clad building in South Williamsburg, this haven features sleek ash wood and mosaic tile flooring, exposed red brick walls, and widely spaced tables.

Rezdôra
27 E. 20th St., New York, 10003, USA

If you’ve been lucky enough to sample the ethereal cuisine of Emilia-Romagna, you’re in for a treat at Chef Stefano Secchi's cherished osteria. Nestled into a well-designed space in the Flatiron District, this cheerful spot brings the Italian region’s signature cuisine stateside.

Valeria Pinto / Rezdôra

Colorado

Frasca Food and Wine
1738 Pearl St., Boulder, 80302, USA

This sleek restaurant is set in the heart of downtown Boulder on a charming street lined with shops and restaurants. All are treated as special guests here, where the cooking is Italian, but in a hyper-specific way: it's the food of the northeast Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. You'll find pasta and seafood on the prix fixe and tasting menus, but Slavic and Alpine elements also appear. Focused and distinct, the menu might showcase a lesser known part of Italy, but the ingredients are clearly Coloradan. The plates are beguiling with a minimal, straightforward approach, as in cjalson, half-moon fresh spinach pasta pockets filled with an English pea and potato purée. Save room for dessert, like the beautifully arranged goat cheese semifreddo.

Casey Wilson / Frasca

California

Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura
347 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 90210, USA

Chef Massimo Bottura has put the talented Mattia Agazzi in charge of this kitchen housed within the Gucci boutique on Rodeo Drive, and the results are very impressive indeed. This is cooking that is at once whimsical and grounded. Seafood salad arrives perfectly warm and tender, dressed with lemon, olive oil and shaved radish; while risotto is camouflaged as pizza with tomato, stracciatella and burnt caper dust evoking the taste of a charred crust. Thumb-sized tortellini, filled with the classic mortadella, veal and prosciutto mixture, sits pretty in a glossy pool of Parmigiano Reggiano-enriched sauce.

Osteria Mozza
6602 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, 90038, USA

Bread is something of an obsession here, as is the mozzarella menu. Chef Nancy Silverton's team strives to show you around the corners of Italian cooking, The crispy chicken leg is pure and simple comfort food, and pastas are unsurprisingly phenomenal—try the orecchiette with sausage and Swiss chard. Save room for desserts like torta della nonna with California honey from executive pastry chef, Dahlia Narvaez.

Sorrel
3228 Sacramento St., San Francisco, 94115, USA

Trained at Quince, Chef Alexander Hong has a true gift for pasta at this Pacific Heights perch where a rooftop garden provides herbs, edible flowers, herbs and seasonal vegetables. Smoky potato zlikrofi drizzled with sharp plum mostarda and shaved horseradish, or thick strascinati bathed in a ‘nduja-infused sauce with tender butter beans and lovage are two highlights. His ricotta gnudi are exemplars of the form: cloud-soft, accented by crisp fried sage and bright pops of sour cherry.