Best Italian Restaurants in Melbourne

Melbourne has one of the world's great Italian-Australian restaurant traditions, built on the foundation of substantial Italian immigration from the 1950s through the 1980s. Carlton — the suburb immediately north of the CBD and home to the University of Melbourne — has been Melbourne's Little Italy for generations, and its Italian restaurants and delis remain landmarks of the city's food culture.

Lygon Street in Carlton is the geographic heart of Melbourne's Italian heritage, though the scene has evolved significantly. Younger Italian-Australian chefs and restaurateurs have taken the traditions of their grandparents and rebuilt them with contemporary technique and local produce. Modern Italian dining in Melbourne now appears across the inner suburbs — in Fitzroy, Collingwood, South Yarra, and the CBD — offering some of Australia's finest pasta and regional Italian cooking.