12 Trattorias to Try in Italy, From North to South

Many years ago, after touring some of Europe’s most revered restaurants, Alberto Bettini decided to shake things up at his family trattoria back in Savigno, in the hills outside Bologna. He didn’t turn the place into something pretentious. Instead, he took the painstakingly high standards of fine dining that he’d witnessed on his trip and applied them to every aspect of his restaurant — the suppliers, service, kitchen, and communication. But the core remained untouched: fresh pasta made in-house, housemade ragù, the best meats and seasonal specialties, and a strong connection to the region around it.

In 1998, Da Amerigo dal 1934 (Amerigo was Bettini’s grandfather) received a Michelin star. It has held it ever since. And to this date, it’s the only authentic trattoria to claim one. That’s not because no other trattoria is worthy, but rather because Michelin keeps disregarding the genre. Luckily, the realm of trattorias doesn’t need that sort of validation at all. It’s doing just fine on its own.

In 2008, several years after Da Amerigo shot to fame, Andrea Gherra and Pietro Vergano, two young friends, opened Ristorante Consorzio in Turin. It quickly became a cult destination, thanks to a deep selection of natural wines, a love for offal, and the two friends’ extensive research into niche ingredients, all presented with a certain “I know you’re skeptical, but I’m going to win you over” attitude. Consorzio has been the home of many talented chefs (including Valentina Chiaramonte, who is currently at the helm), but it has never put its chefs’ fame first — proof that a true trattoria is also equal parts front-of-house and kitchen.

In Italy, the term trattoria traditionally refers to a specific type of restaurant — less formal than a ristorante, more substantial than an osteria. Typically, they are small, casual, family-owned places that focus on regional dishes. But lately, they’ve been enjoying an extraordinary renaissance, and Da Amerigo and Consorzio have seen many others following in their footsteps, resulting in a countrywide movement of contemporary trattorias.

These aren’t cliché-heavy spin-offs of highbrow formats, nor soulless corporate trattorias, but instead places that write their own language using an original vocabulary. Yet the bedrock is still a marriage of specific, quintessentially Italian tastes wrapped in a very democratic box because a trattoria should also be an inclusive, convivial place, not an elitist hangout. High spenders, low spenders, the young, the old, traveling salesmen, truck drivers, food critics, moguls: Everyone should be welcome, and everyone should be able to afford eating there.

Most of the time, the inspiration behind these new-wave trattorias comes from people (whether second-generation owners or first-time restaurateurs) with strong entrepreneurial chops and some mileage from traveling the world. Menus sometimes feature a lighter take on classic dishes; other times, they’re more creative — using tradition as a point of departure rather than the destination (though something in the dish should always feel familiar). What never changes is how ingredients are sourced. A carefully curated selection of local products, crafted by a strong network of artisans — this is the treasure of any trattoria worthy of the name.

Above all, a trattoria is about experiencing the nuances of Italian flavor through various degrees of tradition, but also about the nature of the place itself. The table at a trattoria is a place where life is lived, as much the lives of clients as those of the staff, be it the oste (literally, “the host”), the wine director, the waiter, or the owner (often the same person wearing different hats). 

From north to south, Italy is reclaiming the idea of the trattoria, playing with it, and falling back in love with it all at a moment when fine dining is recalibrating and people are comfort-deprived. This new trattoria movement is writing some of the most interesting pages in the book of Italian dining today.