Italian restaurants in South America
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Luigi's
Well off the beaten path, Luigi's is a casual Italian restaurant set in an old villa in Laranjeiras. Join neighborhood regulars for a drink on the small covered courtyard in front before venturing inside for homemade beet fettuccine with rocket pesto, fresh mushroom and tomato tagliatelle, or green apple and duck risotto.
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Fellini
One of Viña's most renowned and popular restaurants, this is also relatively inexpensive. Well lit and welcoming, it has good, simple pasta dishes.
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Famiglia Mancini
Another Paulista tradition, this cozy cantina manages to be both homey and upscale, and serves up classic, delicious northern Italian fare on family-style platters.
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Tommaso Trattoria
An excellent, trilingual (Italian, Spanish and English) menu featuring a good range of creative regional Italian dishes. The wine list is impressive and the tables out the front are the place to be on a balmy evening.
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Lulu
On a quiet tree-lined corner in Jardim Botânico, this stylish three-story restaurant serves contemporary Italian cuisine with flair. The excellent pastas are made in-house (try the goat cheese and eggplant), while heartier palates might opt for the chef’s osso buco, fresh fish of the day with polenta or duck confit. On clear nights, reserve a table on the top-floor patio for idyllic views over the neighborhood.
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Di Lucca
Locals unanimously gush over this smart trattoria and its soothing prices. Pizza, pasta and risottos rule. Solo travelers could do much worse than bellying up to the hardwood bar and ordering a perfectly executed off-menu medium prosciutto pizza (COP$14,000 – that's right, around $8!). Great food. Low bills.
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Don Chiquino
Of course, pasta is no novelty in Argentina, but the owner-magician performing tricks while you wait for your meal is. The ambiance is happy-cluttered and dishes such as sorrentinos prove satisfying.
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Mirabile
Locals favor this low-key restaurant with wooden tables for homemade pumpkin ravioli, lamb sorrentinos and panzottis served with king crab.
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Bodega y Granja Narbona
A refined rural retreat set amidst vineyards, orchards and verdant farm country 20km from Carmelo, this is a worthwhile detour for anyone with a car. The restored 1908 farmstead houses a simple restaurant with outdoor seating on a tiled terrace; the menu features homemade bread, gourmet pasta, vegetables from the adjoining organic garden and fabulous Tannat and grappamiel (grape brandy with honey) from Narbona’s award- winning cellars. Inside you can browse shelves stacked floor to ceiling with locally produced olive oil, peach preserves and dulce de leche (milk caramel). There’s a small posada (inn) out back, if you decide to stick around.
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Il Baretto
Candlelit garden seating on plush chairs and couches provides a romantic setting for feasting on Baretto’s homemade pasta and desserts. It’s also a pleasant place for ‘after-beach’ drinks, starting at 6pm on summer afternoons.
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Ruffino Pizza y Pasta
Extremely popular for Sunday lunch, Ruffino’s is a good midrange Italian option. Try the Caruso (mushroom and cream) sauce, a uniquely Uruguayan specialty named for Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, who visited Montevideo in 1915.
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Viejo Barrio
Whether you’re amused or annoyed by the eccentric waiter and his funny hats, Viejo Barrio remains a perennial old-town favorite thanks to its excellent homemade pasta and picturesque setting on historic Plaza de Armas.
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Los Dos Chinos
A top delight that Italians would drool over.
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Capone
Capone has a large selection of pasta and pizza.
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Combinati
Good, midrange Italian food a short walk from the tourist office.
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La Bella Italia
This elegant little Italian bistro serves pasta and pizzas in a quiet atmosphere.
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Da Pentella
This is one of Montevideo's finest Italian restaurants, with over a century of history.
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Café Il Botticello
Small enough to fill up fast, this unpretentious Italian bistro produces some decent pizza.
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Trattoria Via Destra
A romantic little Italian restaurant whose chef-owner migrated from Italy to Tiradentes in 2001.
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Cantina Italiana
The pink walls of this cozy pasta and pizza restaurant are covered with framed photos and artwork.
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Beixa Flor
For something different try Beixa Flor, which specializes in homemade pasta; reservations are mandatory.
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El Valentino
This popular place is currently the best Italian restaurant in town. Pasta and meat dishes are on the menu.
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Don Giovanni
One of Ilheus' classiest dining rooms, this Italian restaurant overlooking the water serves tasty pastas and pizzas.
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Restaurant da Marcelo
For quality Italian fare at the lower end of the price scale, check this unpretentious place hidden down a sidestreet.
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Pizza na Praça
Always bustling, this simple eatery with outdoor seating on the main church square serves pizza and pasta into the wee hours.
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