Italian Restaurants in and near Philadelphia, PA

The City of Brotherly Love has a strong and storied Italian heritage, so it’s no wonder that Philadelphia Italian restaurants claim to be among the nation’s best. Naturally, their menus run the gamut from tried-and-true pastas to inventive chef-driven cuisine. For the former, diners flock to Ralph’s, a venerable institution with more than a century of history and a knockout veal marsala. At the other end of the spectrum, there’s Vetri, an upscale tasting-menu-only affair featuring local ingredients hand-selected by Chef Marc Vetri himself. But no place has a monopoly on inventive eats. There’s also Amis, which has earned its ranking among the best restaurants in Philadelphia with unique dishes such as swordfish meatballs.