The Best Italian Food in New Zealand
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The best Italian food in New Zealand, according to the experts: the Michelin Guide, The 50, and 50 Top Pizza have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. 1154 Pastaria comes out on top, and the good stuff runs deepest in Auckland and Wellington.
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A'mano and Aosta hold the next two places. The Michelin Guide shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with 50 Top Pizza next.
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Rank 1. 1154 Pastaria
Italian
A casual pasta spot on Cuba Street where everything comes from fresh in-house dough made with free-range eggs and South Island semolina. The menu is short, the Bolognese is generous enough to silence the table, and a weekly special keeps regulars coming back. A long communal table makes you friends whether you planned on it or not. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which in this case means good food without the performance.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
A Tie
There are 10 places with the exact same Score, so they share #1. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #1 1154 Pastaria (this place) 74.256
- #1 A'mano 74.256
- #1 Aosta 74.256
- #1 Bianca 74.256
- #1 Cicio Cacio 74.256
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Rank 1. A'mano
Italian
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
A Tie
There are 10 places with the exact same Score, so they share #1. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #1 1154 Pastaria 74.256
- #1 A'mano (this place) 74.256
- #1 Aosta 74.256
- #1 Bianca 74.256
- #1 Cicio Cacio 74.256
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Rank 1. Aosta
Northern Italian
Northern Italian cooking in a gold-rush town feels like it shouldn't work, yet here we are. Aosta is a sit-down restaurant in historic Arrowtown built around the produce of Central Otago, with Ben Bayly as executive chef and a menu that runs the full Italian structure from cicchetti through to dolci. The Michelin Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand, which tracks for a room that takes the food seriously without making you feel underdressed for it.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- The 50 The 50: The 50 Discovery
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The 50 The 50 Discovery
A Tie
There are 10 places with the exact same Score, so they share #1. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #1 1154 Pastaria 74.256
- #1 A'mano 74.256
- #1 Aosta (this place) 74.256
- #1 Bianca 74.256
- #1 Cicio Cacio 74.256
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Rank 1. Bianca
Italian
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
A Tie
There are 10 places with the exact same Score, so they share #1. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #1 A'mano 74.256
- #1 Aosta 74.256
- #1 Bianca (this place) 74.256
- #1 Cicio Cacio 74.256
- #1 Francesca 74.256
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Rank 1. Cicio Cacio
Italian
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
A Tie
There are 10 places with the exact same Score, so they share #1. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #1 Aosta 74.256
- #1 Bianca 74.256
- #1 Cicio Cacio (this place) 74.256
- #1 Francesca 74.256
- #1 Osteria Uno 74.256
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Rank 1. Francesca
Italian
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
A Tie
There are 10 places with the exact same Score, so they share #1. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #1 Bianca 74.256
- #1 Cicio Cacio 74.256
- #1 Francesca (this place) 74.256
- #1 Osteria Uno 74.256
- #1 Pasta & Cuore 74.256
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Rank 1. Osteria Uno
Italian
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
A Tie
There are 10 places with the exact same Score, so they share #1. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #1 Cicio Cacio 74.256
- #1 Francesca 74.256
- #1 Osteria Uno (this place) 74.256
- #1 Pasta & Cuore 74.256
- #1 Sundays 74.256
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Rank 1. Pasta & Cuore
Italian
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
A Tie
There are 10 places with the exact same Score, so they share #1. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #1 Francesca 74.256
- #1 Osteria Uno 74.256
- #1 Pasta & Cuore (this place) 74.256
- #1 Sundays 74.256
- #1 The Cow (Queenstown) 74.256
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Rank 1. Sundays
Pizzeria
A 1930s church moved to the Frankton countryside and turned into a wood-fired pizza restaurant, which is a sentence that earns its own pause. The sprawling terrace handles summer crowds; a covered pavilion steps in when Queenstown winters arrive. The menu leans Italian, with cacio e pepe alongside the pizzas, and the pecorino churros exist in defiance of category. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
A Tie
There are 10 places with the exact same Score, so they share #1. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #1 Francesca 74.256
- #1 Osteria Uno 74.256
- #1 Pasta & Cuore 74.256
- #1 Sundays (this place) 74.256
- #1 The Cow (Queenstown) 74.256
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Rank 1. The Cow (Queenstown)
Italian
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
A Tie
There are 10 places with the exact same Score, so they share #1. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #1 Francesca 74.256
- #1 Osteria Uno 74.256
- #1 Pasta & Cuore 74.256
- #1 Sundays 74.256
- #1 The Cow (Queenstown) (this place) 74.256
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Rank 11. Baduzzi
American Italian
The meatballs come in a crayfish version here, which tells you something about where Italian-American cooking lands in New Zealand. This North Wharf restaurant leans into homemade pasta and wood-fired bistecca, with a wine list that's almost exclusively Italian. The room gets loud and full, and the service team handles it without breaking stride.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
A Tie
Six places have the exact same Score, so they share #11. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #11 Baduzzi (this place) 68.544
- #11 Bianca by Giovi 68.544
- #11 Bossi 68.544
- #11 Napoli 68.544
- #11 Ombra 68.544
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Rank 11. Bianca by Giovi
Italian
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
A Tie
Six places have the exact same Score, so they share #11. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #11 Baduzzi 68.544
- #11 Bianca by Giovi (this place) 68.544
- #11 Bossi 68.544
- #11 Napoli 68.544
- #11 Ombra 68.544
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Rank 11. Bossi
Italian
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
A Tie
Six places have the exact same Score, so they share #11. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #11 Baduzzi 68.544
- #11 Bianca by Giovi 68.544
- #11 Bossi (this place) 68.544
- #11 Napoli 68.544
- #11 Ombra 68.544
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Rank 11. Napoli
Neapolitan Pizzeria
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
A Tie
Six places have the exact same Score, so they share #11. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #11 Bianca by Giovi 68.544
- #11 Bossi 68.544
- #11 Napoli (this place) 68.544
- #11 Ombra 68.544
- #11 Otto 68.544
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Rank 11. Ombra
Venetian Wine Bar
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
A Tie
Six places have the exact same Score, so they share #11. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #11 Bianca by Giovi 68.544
- #11 Bossi 68.544
- #11 Napoli 68.544
- #11 Ombra (this place) 68.544
- #11 Otto 68.544
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Rank 11. Otto
Italian
Hokey pokey ice cream affogato on an Italian menu tells you exactly what kind of place this is: loose, cheerful, and not taking itself too seriously. Otto is a boisterous trattoria-style spot on K Road where the pasta is homemade, the lamb ribs are ordered by everyone, and the whole point is a big group, a loud table, and enough dishes to make sharing feel mandatory. The Michelin Guide has it selected.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
A Tie
Six places have the exact same Score, so they share #11. We don't pick a winner we can't back up.
- #11 Bianca by Giovi 68.544
- #11 Bossi 68.544
- #11 Napoli 68.544
- #11 Ombra 68.544
- #11 Otto (this place) 68.544
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Rank 17. Napoli Contemporanea
Neapolitan Pizzeria
A compact Neapolitan pizzeria on Parnell Road, where the electric oven faces the open kitchen and the whole room smells of dough with a proper crust. The chef is from outside Naples and has brought the full argument with him, including pasta and secondi alongside the pies. The Genovese turns up eighteen thousand kilometers from where it belongs and seems completely unbothered about it. Ranked among 50 Top Pizza's Asia-Pacific list.
The awards
- 50 Top Pizza 50 Top Pizza: #37 · 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific
- 50 Top Pizza #37 · 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific