Cuisine guide · data as of 8 October 2026
Italian in London beats the rest, but the best scores are elsewhere
London has the highest average Italian score, yet the top ten is dominated by Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco, and mostly on value.
- Places scored
- 677
- Scoring 90+
- 35
- Cities compared
- 12
- Median Harry score
- 79
The ten best-scored italian places
Ranked by Harry score among places with at least 150 reviews. Chains are counted once. Scores are explained on the how-it-works page.
| # | Place | City | Harry | Worth it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morso Kitchenitalian | Los Angeles, CA | 94 | 82 | Smart Spend |
| 2 | Vinny’sitalian | Miami, FL | 94 | 82 | Smart Spend |
| 3 | Porta Rossa Pasta & Provisionsitalian | New York, NY | 93 | 82 | Smart Spend · $$ |
| 4 | Trattoria Dalyitalian | Los Angeles, CA | 93 | 81 | Smart Spend |
| 5 | Osteria Positanoitalian | Miami, FL | 93 | 81 | Smart Spend |
| 6 | Leonardo Miamiitalian | Miami, FL | 93 | 81 | Smart Spend |
| 7 | DEL PORTO ITALIAN RESTAURANTitalian | New York, NY | 92 | 79 | Occasion Worthy · $$$ |
| 8 | Carasau Pasta Baritalian | Los Angeles, CA | 92 | 81 | Smart Spend |
| 9 | Piccolo Fornoitalian | San Francisco, CA | 92 | 81 | Smart Spend · Time Out |
| 10 | Sforno Pizzeria Napoletanapizza | San Francisco, CA | 92 | 81 | Smart Spend · Resy |
Is London really the best city for Italian?
On averages, yes. London sits top of the city ranking at 83.9 across 91 places, ahead of New York at 82 across 51. That is a statement about consistency rather than peaks: a randomly chosen Italian place in London is likelier to be good than one in most other cities here.
The gap widens further down. Los Angeles averages 78.4 across 107 places, Miami 76 across 95, and San Jose 68.3 across 29. Large counts do not guarantee a high average. Los Angeles and Miami have plenty of places, and the spread inside them is wide. If you are choosing blind, London and New York carry the least risk. Elsewhere, pick with more care.
Which city does it best?
Cities with at least twelve scored places for this cuisine, ranked by average Harry score.
| # | City | Places | Average | Best scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 91 | 83.9 | E Pellicci |
| 2 | New York, NY | 51 | 82 | Porta Rossa Pasta & Provisions |
| 3 | San Francisco, CA | 51 | 79.1 | Piccolo Forno |
| 4 | Los Angeles, CA | 107 | 78.4 | Morso Kitchen |
| 5 | Chicago, IL | 52 | 77.3 | Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio |
| 6 | Miami, FL | 95 | 76 | Vinny’s |
| 7 | Sydney, NSW | 44 | 75.9 | Lilyfield Pizzeria Rosticceria |
| 8 | Melbourne, VIC | 58 | 75.6 | SUD Food and Wine |
| 9 | Austin, TX | 31 | 75.5 | Cocina1204 Italian Kitchen |
| 10 | Seattle, WA | 45 | 73.3 | Bottega Gabriele |
| 11 | New Orleans, LA | 23 | 71.7 | Pulcinella! |
| 12 | San Jose, CA | 29 | 68.3 | Antipasto's By De Rose |
Why does the top ten barely feature London?
The ten highest scorers across all cities come from Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. Morso Kitchen and Vinny’s lead on 94, and nothing in the list is from London. London's strength is breadth, not a single standout score. E Pellicci is its best place by our ranking, but it does not reach the top ten.
It is also worth noticing how little acclaim sits behind this list. Only Piccolo Forno (Time Out) and Sforno Pizzeria Napoletana (Resy) carry any. The rest are scored high on public review data alone, so these are crowd favourites rather than critics' picks. That is not a flaw, but it tells you what kind of excellence to expect.
Best value in the data
Places scoring 70 or above on the Harry score, ranked by Worth It score.
| # | Place | City | Harry | Worth it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porta Rossa Pasta & Provisionsitalian | New York, NY | 93 | 82 | Smart Spend · $$ |
| 2 | Sogno Toscano Cafe´& Wine Baritalian | New York, NY | 89 | 82 | Great Value |
| 3 | Morso Kitchenitalian | Los Angeles, CA | 94 | 82 | Smart Spend |
| 4 | Vinny’sitalian | Miami, FL | 94 | 82 | Smart Spend |
| 5 | Serano's Italianitalian | New York, NY | 91 | 81 | Smart Spend |
| 6 | C. Di Paloitalian | New York, NY | 91 | 81 | Smart Spend |
Where is the value actually hiding?
Almost every top-ten place also holds a Worth It score of 79 to 82, and most wear the Smart Spend badge. High quality and good value are travelling together here, which is unusual. Porta Rossa Pasta & Provisions in New York scores 93 for quality and 82 for value, and is marked $$.
New York dominates the value list. Sogno Toscano Cafe´& Wine Bar scores 89 with a Worth It of 82, and Serano's Italian and C. Di Palo both score 91 with 81. If you want the best return on a modest bill, those are the places the data points to. Among the top ten, DEL PORTO ITALIAN RESTAURANT is the one tagged Occasion Worthy, with a Worth It of 79 at $$$.
What do the critics add that reviewers don't?
Across the database, Michelin Guide recognition appears 22 times, Eater 38 ten times and Time Out nine times. James Beard Foundation recognition appears seven times and World's 50 Best five. Only 35 places score 90 or more, so a high number is rare, and acclaim is a separate signal.
Price data is thin. Confirmed tiers cover 44 places at $$, 17 at $$$, 12 at $$$$ and one at $. That is a small slice of 677 scored places, so treat price as a guide, not a filter. Many of the best-scoring places have no price recorded, and the data cannot tell you what they cost.
When do Google and Yelp disagree?
Sometimes by a full star. Original Joe's in San Jose has 4.2 on Google from 2858 reviews but 3.2 on Yelp from 2671. Hosteria Romana in Miami has 4.7 on Google from 11575 reviews and 3.8 on Yelp from 1080. Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant in Seattle goes 4.2 to 3.3, and La Pecora Bianca Midtown in New York 4.8 to 3.9.
The pattern is consistent: Google is kinder. The data cannot say why, but large, busy rooms seem to draw this split. Treat a place with a wide gap as a crowd-pleaser that polarises, and check the review text before booking for a special night.
Where the review platforms disagree
Places with at least 150 reviews on both platforms and a gap of 0.4 to 1.0 stars. Yelp is used for US cities, Tripadvisor elsewhere.
| Place | City | Other platform | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original Joe's | San Jose, CA | 4.2 (2,858) | Yelp 3.2 (2,671) |
| Hosteria Romana | Miami, FL | 4.7 (11,575) | Yelp 3.8 (1,080) |
| Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant | Seattle, WA | 4.2 (3,216) | Yelp 3.3 (1,021) |
| La Pecora Bianca Midtown | New York, NY | 4.8 (4,239) | Yelp 3.9 (486) |
The short version
For a safe bet, choose London or New York, where average scores are highest. For the best value, look at the Smart Spend places in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, and check Yelp as well as Google before you book.
Every figure on this page is computed from Harry Hungry's own database on 8 October 2026; the commentary is written with AI assistance from those figures and checked against them. Scores blend Google, Yelp and Tripadvisor with editorial acclaim; see how they work. No placement on this page is paid for.