Berlin Restaurants

Italian restaurants in Berlin

  1. A

    Zwölf Apostel

    A pleasant pit stop between museums, this place beneath the railway arches has over-the-top religious decor and tasty thin-crust pizzas named after the 12 apostles. All cost a mere €6.90 from 11.30am to 4pm Monday to Friday.

    reviewed

  2. B

    Vino e Libri

    Two of civilization's greatest treasures - wine and books - form the name, decor and soul of this ristorante run with charm and panache by a Sardinian family. The pizza is excellent but chef Bruno truly shines when it comes to experimental flavour combinations. Strawberry salmon, and tagliatelle with wild boar in a chocolate-based sauce are truly excellent.

    Wife Debora, meanwhile, keeps the service running as smoothly as a well-oiled machine.

    reviewed

  3. C

    Bar Centrale

    Send your tastebuds into a tailspin at this upmarket yet down-to-earth restaurant serving creative Italian (not a pizza in sight!). You could easily build a meal from the antipasti alone: grilled baby calamari or scallops with lobster sauce are fitting overtures for such poetic mains as foie gras–stuffed partridge breast with madeira sauce and radicchio risotto. Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit, so he tells us, is a regular here.

    reviewed

  4. D

    Trattoria Paparazzi

    When Doris Burneleit opened her first restaurant in 1987, deep inside East Berlin, she’d never set foot in Italy, nor had she had any formal training as a chef. Yet she proved to be such a magician in the kitchen that even the Italian ambassador became a fan. She still pampers the cognoscenti in artistic country-style digs. The malfatti (cheese and spinach dumplings) are a speciality.

    reviewed

  5. E

    Gorgonzola Club

    This cosy joint kicks Italian comfort food into high gear and is a fab choice for anyone who doesn’t believe in shelling out a fortune for a plate of pasta. The antipasto mix is tummy-filling but the blackboard specials feature more inspired dishes (eg ravioli with rocket-gorgonzola filling in sage butter). If there’s a wait, grab an aperitif at Würgeengel next door.

    reviewed

  6. F

    San Nicci

    Borchardt’s Italian cousin occupies a primo spot in the Admiralspalast and passes the litmus test with Berlin’s fat-wallet city slickers. The menu’s divided into classico and moderno with meats and fish playing largely Oscar-worthy leads and pasta and salads in supporting roles. Service is first-rate.

    reviewed

  7. G

    Vapiano

    Matteo Thun’s jazzy decor is a great foil for this self-service joint’s tasty Italian fare. Mix-and-match pasta dishes, creative salads and crusty pizzas are prepared à la minute before your eyes. Nice touch: a condiment basket with fresh basil. Your order is recorded on a chip card and paid for upon leaving.

    reviewed

  8. H

    Trattoria á Muntagnola

    Everybody feels like family at this convivial joint where dishes burst with the feisty flavours of southern Italy's sun-baked Basilicata region. Many fine ingredients are imported straight from 'the Boot' and turned into pizzas, pastas and rustic mains like garlic-braised rabbit. Nice touch: the olive-oil trolley.

    reviewed

  9. I

    Sagrantino

    The ambience here is so classically Italian, you’d half expect to see a sprawling vineyard out the window. That would be a vineyard in Umbria, for that’s the region showcased at this fantastic little spot that usually gets mobbed at lunchtime for its good-value pasta-salad combos (€5.90).

    reviewed

  10. Dolce Pizza

    Queues can be discouragingly long, but if you hang in there you’ll be rewarded with little slices of heaven: thin and crispy-crust pizza with fresh and imaginative toppings. For dessert try the attached ice-cream parlour. There’s also a branch in Kreuzberg (Hagelberger Strasse 16).

    reviewed

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  12. J

    I Due Forni

    In this hectic, graffiti-decorated hall run by a crew of Italian punks, the pizza is king, not you. Service can be slow and rude, but tattooed scenesters and boho families are not deterred: the pies are just that good. Make reservations if you hope to get fed after 8pm. Nice terrace.

    reviewed

  13. K

    Petite Europe

    This neighbourhood trattoria has defied the odds and stayed popular even after four decades in business. And it’s as jumping a joint now as it was way back, thanks to consistently excellent wood-fired pizza and heaping portions of homemade pasta and other European delicacies.

    reviewed

  14. L

    Miseria & Nobiltà

    When Eduardo Scarpetti penned the comedy Poverty and Nobility in 1888, he didn't know that it would inspire the name of this popular family-run trattoria. You'll definitely feel more king than pauper here when digging into the deftly prepared southern Italian compositions.

    reviewed

  15. La Focacceria

    Serious hunger pangs deserve big fat slices of generously topped focaccia bread, a nice, if somewhat heavier, change from the ubiquitous pizza. Drag your posse to this unpretentious joint and order the big plate of 14 pieces for €18 for pre-party sustenance.

    reviewed

  16. Dolce Pizza

    Queues can be discouragingly long, but if you hang in there you’ll be rewarded with little slices of heaven: thin and crispy-crust pizza with fresh and imaginative toppings.

    reviewed

  17. M

    Il Ritrovo

    Delicious pizza with a side of attitude, just as at their cousins Il Casolare in Kreuzberg and I Due Forni in Prenzlauer Berg.

    reviewed

  18. N

    Il Casolare

    Dynamite pizzas - thin, crispy, cheap and wagon-wheel-sized.

    reviewed

  19. O

    Ali Baba

    At this been-there-forever hole-in-the-wall pizza parlour the pies are cheap and piping hot and smiles are free. Popular with party people and posh Charlottenburgers in the mood to go slumming.

    reviewed