Italian in Dallas

Picasso's

18160 Dallas Parkway Carrollton/Farmers Branch

972-248-0011

Italian, Pizza, Sponsor, Menu

400 Gradi

2000 Ross Ave., Suite 140 Downtown/Deep Ellum

972-850-9053

Italian, Pizza

The food here can be fine, but wildly inconsistent quality in execution has us wondering if the pizza will be memorable or inedible on our next visit.

2 articles

Aboca's Italian Grill

100 S. Central Expwy, #63 Richardson & Vicinity

972-231-7500

Italian, Music Venues

1 article

Adelmo's

5450 W. Lovers Ln., #225 Park Cities

214-559-0325

Italian, Recommended

This two-story bistro blends cuisines from around the Mediterranean: Italian, French and Middle Eastern. The casual air and wide-ranging menu make it a popular spot, especially for slurping up some wonderful osso bucco, the exceedingly tender, long-stewed veal shanks that are a house specialty. Quaint and very romantic setting.

1 article

Alfonso's Italian Restaurant

718 N. Buckner Blvd., #222 White Rock Lake Area

214-327-7777

Italian, Recommended, Best Of

Just up the street from Casa Linda, Alfonso's – named after proprietor Peter Columbo's father – has been pulling in the neighborhood crowd since 1991. The shiny black-and-white checkerboard floor, fresh flowers on the tables and colorful photos of Italian street scenes set the mood for a cozy, enjoyable dining experience. For starters, they've got an ample platter of antipasti –peppers, pepperoni, cheese, tomatoes and garlicky olives – before moving on to hot garlic rolls and rich minestrone. The chicken Marsala entrée is sautéed in white wine and served under a heap of buttery mushrooms. Most entrées come with a generous side of pasta (your choice) and spicy-sweet tomato sauce. Wind up with the icy cappuccino pie – one slice divides nicely for two.

1 article

Americano

1530 Main St. Downtown/Deep Ellum

214-261-4600

Italian, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow

In a city that could use a few more casual Italian restaurants, Americano lands in the heart of downtown with a generous plate of spaghetti and meatballs. There are no red check table cloths, but the menu is decidedly Italian-American, with the simple pastas and braised and grilled meats you’d expect from the genre. If you’re looking for a simple meal, order thin-crusted pizza and a glass of house vino, and wrap it up with one of the best affogatos around. The restaurant uses the same equipment and coffee beans as Weekend Coffee, which is in the same hotel, and the espresso sports high notes of berries and cocoa, which complement the well-made gelato.

14 articles

Amici Signature Italian

1022 S. Broadway St. Carrollton/Farmers Branch

972-245-3191

Italian, Recommended, Readers' Choice

Amici has a lot to boast about – great food, an intimate atmosphere and a pretty endearing location, considering it's way out in Carrollton. But the best thing about the cozy Italian restaurant is the chef's pants. When we visited, they appeared to be patterned with various types of peppers in a plethora of colors. We know this because Chef Bartolino is not only talented but friendly, frequently venturing out into the 48-seat restaurant to greet his guests. It's a nice touch since a full meal at Amici is just on the other side of expensive, but it's the ideal spot for any special-occasion dinners you may be inclined to host in the northern suburbs. Seafood lovers will rave about the shrimp dishes, and the tiramisu is fluffy and picturesque, with just the right amount of coffee liqueur. Make reservations early in the day; you'll have a guaranteed table and something to look forward to when your afternoon at work stretches on forever.

3 articles

Angelo's Spaghetti House

6341 La Vista Dr. East Dallas & Lakewood

214-823-5566

Italian, Restaurants, Recommended, Menu

The giant, complimentary garlic rolls are reason enough to visit this Lakewood bistro. But the culinary fare that comes along with it is just as good. The sampler plates are particularly tasty. Choose from choices such as the chicken parmesan, cheese ravioli with marinara sauce and fettuccine alfredo plate and the seafood manicotti, shrimp pomodora and shrimp diavolo plate. For workweek lunches, try the all-you-can-eat buffet.

1 article

Antonio's Ristorante

4985 Addison Circle, Addison North Dallas

972-458-1010

Italian, Menu

Luciano Cola's Italian restaurant combines rustic and elegant elements to create a casual atmosphere where friends and family can commiserate, businessmen can close deals and couples can cavort over a plate of antipasto misto della casa. Sure, there are plates of spaghetti drowned in red sauce. There is also lasagna Ripiena alla Romana (lasagna stuffed with meatballs, sausage and three cheeses), homemade gnocchi (Antonio's is a family outfit) and paglia e fieno (straw and hay). The latter is green and white fettuccine with ham, mushrooms, cream and Parmesan. The Cioppino Antonio, the house version of fisherman's stew, is huge in portion and popularity. Also popular are the pizzas, like the traditional and complex capricciosa. Ask about the daily risotto special.

1 article

Arcodoro & Pomodoro

100 Crescent Court, Ste. 140 Uptown/Oak Lawn

214-871-1924

Italian, Restaurants, Recommended, Menu, Slideshow

Arcodoro & Pomodoro is no longer the casual, family-friendly Italian joint it was when the restaurant was in residence on Routh Street, and that's a boon for serious devotees of Sardinian cooking. Now in nearby Crescent Court, the restaurant excels at hard-to-find dishes such as suckling pig, panadeddas and delicate "music bread." While the pastel décor is underwhelming, diners are advised to keep their eyes on their plates-especially when enjoying the irresistible grilled sea bass, plunked between crispy crab cakes and served over scallop spinach pasta.

14 articles

Avanti Ristorante

2720 McKinney Ave. Uptown/Oak Lawn

214-871-4955

Italian, Music Venues, Recommended, Best Of, Readers' Choice

Owner Jack Ekhtiar's small restaurant is a place where hip meets classic. Dark wood frames live jazz. Rustic Mediterranean fare, predominately Northern and Southern Italian, is presented elegantly. Among the examples are farfalle carbonara, a 6-ounce Brazilian lobster tail over spinach linguini alfredo and shrimp as well as carpaccio Avanti with white truffle oil. On weekends, revelers can enjoy the Moonlight Breakfast from midnight-3 am. During that seating, guests can request the signature Avanti Omelet (Italian sausage, mushrooms, green peppers and feta cheese) alongside escargot Chablisien, which is sautéed in garlic, vine-ripened tomatoes and mushrooms, then tossed with angel hair pasta, for the fancy-pants partier.

7 articles

Baonecci Ristorante

7151 Preston Road, Unit 451 Frisco

469-473-4080

Italian

The Gambaccini family hails from Lucca, Italy, that beautiful city in Tuscany famous for its Renaissance walls and tordelli lucchesi, a bright yellow pasta made with eggs that is similar to ravioli but always filled with a mixture of meat, usually beef and/or pork, and sauced with a rich meat ragu. After originally emigrating to San Francisco in 2005 and opening their Lucchesi-inspired restaurant, Caffe Baonecci, the family decided this year to move the entire operation and family to Frisco and had their opening in June.

The chef Stefania Gambaccini learned her craft at the apron strings of her “mommy grandmothers,” and slowly transitioned cooking for friends’ parties to joining her family in presenting typical dishes from Lucca that one usually only finds in Italian homes. The pasta is freshly made each day from scratch, and the chef rolls out each pizza herself.

Of course our pasta choice was tordelli lucchesi. This is described on the menu as meat ravioli with house made pork and beef Bolognese sauce and parsley. There were six rather large pieces (about three inches in diameter) to the order, which was just enough for the two of us. These were extremely good, probably better than the ones we had in Lucca proper a few years ago in a now-defunct spot hidden within that city’s walls. The pasta was perfectly cooked, the meat sauce full of flavor.

1 article

Barsotti's

4208 Oak Lawn Ave, TX Uptown/Oak Lawn

214-522-4208

Italian, Essentials

The former (and in our minds, original) Carbone’s Fine Foods has been reincarnated as Barsotti’s. The trappings of the new space feel a little more upscale since the remodel, but the restaurant still executes classic and unpretentious Italian fare. Classic dishes like vodka rigatoni or lasagna Bolognese stream through the dining room regularly. Be sure to wrap up your meal with one of Barsotti’s textbook cannolis.

Top Pick: Barsotti’s from-scratch Sunday gravy, served on a bed of al dente creste pasta, is exquisite. If you don’t get enough — or lie awake at night thinking about it — Barsotti’s will sell you a container of sauce to go.

5 articles

Bellini's

921 N Riverfront Blvd #300 Downtown/Deep Ellum

214-528-2844

Italian, Italian

Besa's Pizza & Pasta

14856 Preston Rd. North Dallas

972-233-7227

Italian, Pizza, Best Of

From the street, this might look like the average strip-mall pizza parlor, but once inside things change. The tables are covered in earth-tone tablecloths that match the seat cushions. Obviously, some thought went into Besa's. That by itself distinguishes Besa's from most slice shops in town. The counter service is still there, as are the cheap price points. Lunch specials begin at $4.99 for one Neapolitan-style slice, a tossed salad and a drink. While the pizza, including the Sicilian, is popular, pastas such as the lobster ravioli get raves from regulars. Among the myriad of subs available, the Philly cheesesteak is a hot item. Customers in search of something more substantial can order one of the meat (chicken, veal or seafood) entrées.

1 article

Bolla

2927 Maple Ave. Uptown/Oak Lawn

214-871-7111

Italian, Restaurants, Recommended, Menu

Bolla is chef David Bull's (late of the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Iron Chef gladiator, Mansion alum) interpretation of "modern" Italian. The cuisine is careful and exacting, though its strokes of originality sometimes come across more as mesmerizing charms than as means to flavorful ends. Risotto stumbles and pork diavolo confounds while duck leg confit ravioli, beef tartare and roasted beet salad revel in an off-kilter exquisiteness. Bull's culinary installations seem like demolitions administered by Rembrandt.

4 articles

Buca Di Beppo

7843 Park Lane Northwest Dallas

214-361-8462

Italian, Restaurants

This schlocky restaurant was drafted to look like a basement neighborhood Southern Italian supper club where portions are heaped "family style" and flavors run from vapid to vivid. If your expectations are modest, your belly will end up captivated.

1 article

Bugatti Ristorante

3802 W. Northwest Highway Northwest Dallas

214-350-2470

Italian, Recommended

The one thing likely to blow you away at Bugatti Ristorante is the jetwash from the planes landing at adjacent Love Field. The food is conservative, almost comforting: Atlantic salmon with a mild dill sauce, perhaps, or penne pasta with grilled chicken. The décor is elegant but bland, the service unobtrusive. But these solid elements, offered at surprisingly reasonable prices, add up to a reliable Italian favorite--and the terrace is a great lunch spot for plane-spotters.

Café Amore

600 N. Coit Rd. #2050 Richardson & Vicinity

972-699-8322

Italian, Recommended

This is a family Italian restaurant: Mama makes the tomato sauce, which is sweet and satisfying but never heavy; Papa flings the pizza dough. Their friendly bambinos wait on the hungry crowds, chilling kids with fresh hot bread and little cups of shredded mozzarella (upon request) as they wait for authentic homemade pastas, pizzas and subs, all at extremely reasonable prices. So what if the family is actually Albanian? The dishes are always hot, fresh, generous and cooked to order.

Cafe Duro

2804 Greenville Ave. East Dallas & Lakewood

214-888-8485

Cafe, Italian, Best Of

Cafe Duro is a new all-day spot from Duro Hospitality, the same group responsible for the adjacent restaurant, Sister, as well as The Charles. The interior is reminiscent of the famed restaurant Giacomo in Milan, Italy. If you're a fan of muffalettas, you must try theirs, which is made with a fall-apart tender wagyu pastrami. They serve all three meals of the day, plus the most important fourth meal: wine. The menu includes lots of pastries, sandwiches and pastas.

5 articles

Cafe Expresso

6135 Luther Lane Park Cities

214-361-6984

Continental, Italian, Recommended

Regulars boast about this Italian bistro, the worst-kept secret of well-heeled Dallas insiders. Some go just for carpaccio and focaccia.

2 articles

Campisi's

5610 E. Mockingbird Lane Plano

214-827-0355

Italian, Pizza, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Readers' Choice

This storied, family-owned (now into its fourth generation) restaurant and its sibling establishments have been dishing out some of Dallas' favorite thin-crust pizza and Italian-American cuisine since 1946. Eating here is like dining with history. (The strip mall in which the original restaurant sits seems like a relic itself in stark contrast to the stylish Mockingbird Station development within spitting distance.) The night before Jack Ruby, a Campisi's regular, killed Lee Harvey Oswald, he dined at the darkly lit Campisi's on Mockingbird Lane. Legendary American League umpire Steve Palermo was shot while attempting to stop a mugging outside the same location. If local lore isn't your thing, the snappy pizza or one of the house specialties, such as the "Original" shrimp scampi, or the customizable pasta options, might be. The Campisis also offers catering. One of the packages is named after Jack Ruby. http://www.dallasobserver.com/best-of/2011/food-and-drink/best-italian-restaurant-6463140

5 articles

Carbone Dallas

1617 Hi Line Dr. Downtown/Deep Ellum

469-290-6009

Italian

This marks the opening of the fifth location under the world-renowned Carbone brand, with this venue situated comfortably in Dallas’ Design District. Other Carbone locations include Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Miami and its original location in New York.

Diners at Carbone can expect big and bold and well-designed plates meant to be shared. Signature dishes include a spicy rigatoni in vodka sauce, a showy tableside Caesar salad “alla ZZ” and veal chop Parmesan served alongside its bone.

Carbone’s press release also touted an “impressive selection” of vintage wines from around the world. Alongside the wine list, the bar serves guests “perfectly executed Manhattans, daiquiris and Gibsons.”

Be sure to snag reservations, which book up about a month out.

3 articles

Carbone Vino

1617 Hi Line Dr. Uptown/Oak Lawn

469-290-6009

Italian, Wine Bar

Carbone Vino boasts of a wine list 1,000 bottles deep with vintages from all over Italy. This spot in the design district sits right next to Carbone, but is more casual. You can still get a lot of the same menu, but they also offer pizza. Most importantly you don't have to have a reservation.

4 articles

Carbone's

4208 Oak Lawn Ave. Uptown/Oak Lawn

214-522-4208

Italian, Market, Critics' Pick, Best Of

Dallas’ best red-sauce Italian joint serves classics like spaghetti with meatballs, fried calamari and veal Parmesan and does them right. Save room if possible, because the tiramisu (made with espresso) and cinnamon-cream-filled cannoli are as close to perfection as you’ll find. Carbone’s is a more casual alternative to owner Julian Barsotti’s two fine-dining establishments, Nonna and Fachini, and it even includes a retail section that sells wines, frozen ravioli and one-pound tubs of Sunday gravy to go.

Top pick: The big, beautiful slab of lasagna bolognese, with its perfect, slightly burnt cheesy edges, can cause years-long cravings. But the pasta with Sunday gravy, a half-day-simmered sauce with a mixture of beef, pork, veal and sausage, might be even better.

Fun fact: Like a wine from the list? Buy a bottle to go for 45% off the menu price. (No, Carbone’s is not BYOB, so you cannot create a loophole by buying wine “to go” and then opening it in the dining room.)

18 articles

Carmine's Pizzeria

5365 Spring Valley Rd. North Dallas

972-404-8110

Pizza, Italian, Best Of

First things first: This Carmine's is not affiliated with the other similarly named establishments in town, something regulars are quick to point out. Loyalty runs deep here and offense is taken at anything that might besmirch the 30-plus year history of this North Dallas stalwart. Carmine's specializes in New York City-style pizza, and the classic pepperoni is the clear favorite. The three-cheese calzone (ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan) is also popular. For good measure, several noodle dishes are available for those interested in something more substantial than a slice of pizza. Carmine's success might be built on the backs of local office and retail workers, but the restaurant staff points out that regulars who have long since moved from town return for a hot slice when visiting Dallas.

2 articles

Cavalli Pizza

6851 Virginia Parkway Allen/McKinney

972-540-1449

Italian, Pizza, Recommended

Cavalli was the Dallas area's first pizzeria to become VPN certified, and while they've since let that award go, they've recently added an APN certification, which focuses on the pizzailoi directly. Either way you're likely to get a solid pie in both their Irving and McKinney locations.

Cavalli Pizza

3601 Regent Blvd. Irving/Las Colinas

972-915-0001

Italian, Pizza, Recommended

Cavalli was the Dallas area's first pizzeria to become VPN certified, and while they've since let that award go, they've recently added an APN certification, which focuses on the pizzailoi directly. Either way, you're likely to get a solid pie in both their Irving and McKinney locations.

1 article

The Charles

1632 Market Center Blvd. West Dallas

469-917-9000

Italian, Critics' Pick, Best Of

Across the street from Town Hearth, The Charles is nearly as over-the-top a place to see and be seen, even on Monday nights. It’s all about the spectacle here — including cheetah-print booths and a memorably wallpapered bathroom. The menu here is unlike any other Italian joint in town, thanks to chef J. Chastain’s constant, creative tinkering with classics. You may not find spaghetti with meatballs, but you’ll find something interesting, and even inspired, among either your takeout containers or the sheer sensory overload of this deliciously overdecorated dining room.

Top pick: The Charles has a charming habit of grilling vegetables hard, so if you like charcoal and sear marks on your greens, you can choose (seasonally) from grilled okra, broccoli or even kale.

4 articles

Cibus

8687 N. Central Expressway Park Cities

214-692-0001

Cafe, Coffeehouse, Italian, Recommended, Menu

Restaurateur Alberto Lombardi breaks from Uptown to bring modest Italian fare to the North Park crowd-and in that setting, you could do far worse. Filling pasta dishes highlight the menu at Cibus (pronounced ˜chee-bus"), although some of the proteins fall short. But if you start with the antipasto plate, you"ve started very well indeed.

4 articles

Cigarz Bona Pizza

7238 Gaston Ave. East Dallas & Lakewood

214-319-0055

Italian, Greek, Mediterranean, Best Of

It's proximity to the YMCA and White Rock Lake, make this a popular post-workout Greek, Italian and Mediterranean munch fest. The Hellenic-style pizzas, with their thicker, chewier crust are available in several specialty variations, like the Greek pizza (garlic and olive oil base, mozzarella, chicken, Kalamata olives, tomatoes, red onions, pepperoncini and feta) and the four-cheese pizza (mozzarella, Swiss, gorgonzola and ricotta). However, customers reserve their most ebullient raves for the hummus, baba ganoush and dolmas (stuffed grape leaves). Unfortunately, the pitas aren't sold with the dips. They cost extra. Continuing with the Mediterranean theme, the restaurant, named after the owner's dog, offers kabobs, panini, calzones and gyros.

1 article

Coal Vines

2404 Cedar Springs Rd. #500 Uptown/Oak Lawn

214-855-4999

Italian, Pizza, Critics' Pick, Best Of

So cliché, with that portrait of a young Frank Sinatra hung beside the bar, his face gazing upward. You might wonder if the moon's in his eyes, though that's another artist who's equally as shopworn in New York Style Pizza joints. And that cheesy tune is playing too, ting-a-ling-a-ling -- it's almost a parody. But then you look around the room at Coal Vines, and all is forgiven. Maybe it's that gorilla of a bartender who places your napkins just like so, and always tops off your wine before it empties. Or the Dominic Chianese look-alike who greets you at the door, makes sure you have a seat and slowly grazes on a salad from behind large glasses after things get slow. It's much more likely the pizza, fired by coal, just as the name of the restaurant suggests, which offers a passable attempt at recreating the style of pie served on every single corner and in every borough of New York City. A Northerner could sit here, eyes closed, with a folded slice in his hand and pretend they are back home.

2 articles

Cremona

2704 Worthington St. Uptown/Oak Lawn

214-871-1115

Italian, Recommended

A stone's throw from the tony Uptown stretch of McKinney Avenue, this family-owned and operated Italian restaurant, named after a town in Italy, has been serving saucy fare since 1977. The current location, in a house with the outward appearance of a garden center, is the restaurant's second iteration, though it has the same flare of the first. Customers can still twirl homemade spaghetti from under a hefty Bolognese sauce or fork tortellini stuffed with veal and chicken under a cream sauce garnished with Parmesan. Shrimp Fra Diavolo over linguine can be relished on white tablecloth in a dark-wood dining room. In the nooks and crannies couples can be seen sharing one of Cremona's signature combo dinners. Fifty bucks gets two people lobster, steak and chicken -- the house red, frozen Bellinis or a Birra Moretti not included.

1 article

Italian in Dallas

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