Mostly Italian....
There actually is some pretty good Italian-themed food to be found in Houston. Though the scene took a serious hit when Piero Selvaggio’s Valentino – which had served the best and most ambitious Italian food that Houston had ever seen – shuttered a few years ago after being stuck in the restaurant-killing location that is the Hotel Derek. But, there is still tasty pasta, risotto and more if you visit the right restaurants.
Slightly updated on September 21, 2021.
The Best
Alba – The successor to Ristorante Cavour in the Hotel Granduca is still led by the estimable Maurizio Ferrarese, and now tends towards items from the area of northwestern Italy known for its rich cuisine, and not far from the chef's hometown. Uptown Park
Amalfi – Focusing on the cuisine of his home region in southern Italy, Salerno native Chef Giancarlo Ferrara produces dishes that are generally familiar but brighter, lighter and more vibrant that what you will typically find. Having cooked in northeastern Italy and in a top French restaurant, dishes bearing those influences like risotto and a fish filleted tableside can also be terrific. The wine list offers an excellent selection of food-friendly, mostly from Italy, including a number of excellent whites from Friuli, which can be perfect with one of the kitchen’s seafood preparations. Briargrove
Da Marco – In a small house on Westheimer, Marco Wiles’ Da Marco serves truly excellent food that represents the best of many of the northern Italian regions. It is appealing and sometimes eclectic, but always flavorful and sometimes sublime. Da Marco is much like a very proficient, upscale trattoria whose cooking is not tethered to a particular locale. True to form, here you are expected to dine in the Italian fashion with antipasti, a first course, a meat or fish entrée, and separate sides. There are many tempting seasonal options for each course like a salad with frisee, taleggio and pears; sweet corn ravioli with lobster; freshly made pappardelle with rabbit; sea bass with grapefruit and vinegar; calf’s liver with polenta; and, cavolo nero (black cabbage). It’s all done expertly, and this is one of the best restaurants in the city. Along with the cooking, the top-notch wine list is strictly Italian. Among its accolades, in 2006 Gourmet named among the top 50 restaurants (number 29) in the country and the restaurant might be better these days. Montrose
The Best of the Rest
Tony’s – Though the restaurant has not been advertised as Italian since its early days several decades ago, Tony’s serves some of the most delicious Italian dishes in town, usually infused with a rich American exuberance. That remains after namesake Tony Vallone passed away in September 2020. Roughly half of the menu at Tony’s is Italian, and these items shine through with pan-Italian sensibilities that present the best of Italy, the best of prosperous, gourmet Italy, at that. Flavorful, thin, fresh stuffed pastas, tender veal and impeccable seafood are just some of the attractions, not to mention the often excellent service, wine selection and intriguing modern setting punctuated with dramatic works by Rauschenberg and Jesus Moroles. Tony’s procures the finest ingredients and has a chef that can translate these into magnificent Italian creations that are properly accompanied in all facets. The wide-ranging wine list is excellent, though very expensive; the average wine by the glass costs $25, for example. Greenway Plaza
Rosie Canonball – Italian preparations including well-done fresh pastas and pizzas plus a few dishes ranging to other southern European spots. Montrose
Potente – Americanized Italian with a luxurious bent, it has a top chef at the helm, Danny Trace formerly of Brennan's, and uses approachable preparations inspired from Italy with excellent ingredients to a welcome, if quite expensive result. Downtown
Giacomo’s – Affordably priced and well-rendered small plates of trattoria-style Italian dishes that often highly Rome and Tuscany, but also including items like mozzarella in carrozza and fine quality freshly made pastas – the best might be the tortelli di bietola, medium-sized ravioli filled with Swiss chard and soft goat cheese and topped with a fried leaves of sage and melted butter – are paired with a nicely assembled and interesting 75-bottle or so mostly Italian wine list that has many tempting choices between $25 and $40, and a setting that is comfortable and coolly retro. Casual, comfortable, proficient and well-suited for Houston, this is an easy restaurant to like. Greenway Plaza
Poscol – Poscol, which is the dialect name for the main thoroughfare in Udine (Via Poscolle), Wiles’ hometown in the northeastern Italian region of Friuli, might be described as an all-Italian wine bar supported with enticing small plate preparations, many meant to be shared. The roughly 50-item menu will be comprised of regional Italian specialties. There are risotto dishes, baked pastas, bruschetta, a well-chosen selection of Italian cheeses, and seafood including salmon, braised calamari and braised octopus. The food has a strong northeastern Italian influence along with impeccably Italian sensibilities that have worked extremely well for Houston diners at Da Marco, which is a block away. Montrose
To Also Keep in Mind
Concura – Opened in 2021, this quaint, molto Italiano spot serves mostly the food of the Marche, the region on the Adriatic north of Tuscany, in a contemporary setting. Highland Village
Perbacco – Featuring approachable Southern Italian cooking geared toward local sensibilities from a longtime restaurateur from Capri, off the coast of Naples, the fare is generally lighter and more refined than similar dishes elsewhere. Set in pleasantly utilitarian fashion in the ground floor of an office building, albeit Philip Johnson’s landmark Pennzoil Building, the emphasis is on enjoyable eating rather than fine dining. There are several, somewhat hearty, baked pasta dishes such as lasagna and cannelloni, a dozen other pasta and sautéed items such as penne with Gulf shrimp, veal Marsala, and gnocchi with eggplant in a tomato sauce, and several grilled dishes. Their version of the traditional, simple linguine and clams is one of the best around. Entrées are served with a small salad, helping to make this an especially nice value. The owner complains that Americans like their pasta overcooked, but even with that, the kitchen does a really good job. Downtown
Slightly updated on September 21, 2021.
The Best
Alba – The successor to Ristorante Cavour in the Hotel Granduca is still led by the estimable Maurizio Ferrarese, and now tends towards items from the area of northwestern Italy known for its rich cuisine, and not far from the chef's hometown. Uptown Park
Amalfi – Focusing on the cuisine of his home region in southern Italy, Salerno native Chef Giancarlo Ferrara produces dishes that are generally familiar but brighter, lighter and more vibrant that what you will typically find. Having cooked in northeastern Italy and in a top French restaurant, dishes bearing those influences like risotto and a fish filleted tableside can also be terrific. The wine list offers an excellent selection of food-friendly, mostly from Italy, including a number of excellent whites from Friuli, which can be perfect with one of the kitchen’s seafood preparations. Briargrove
Da Marco – In a small house on Westheimer, Marco Wiles’ Da Marco serves truly excellent food that represents the best of many of the northern Italian regions. It is appealing and sometimes eclectic, but always flavorful and sometimes sublime. Da Marco is much like a very proficient, upscale trattoria whose cooking is not tethered to a particular locale. True to form, here you are expected to dine in the Italian fashion with antipasti, a first course, a meat or fish entrée, and separate sides. There are many tempting seasonal options for each course like a salad with frisee, taleggio and pears; sweet corn ravioli with lobster; freshly made pappardelle with rabbit; sea bass with grapefruit and vinegar; calf’s liver with polenta; and, cavolo nero (black cabbage). It’s all done expertly, and this is one of the best restaurants in the city. Along with the cooking, the top-notch wine list is strictly Italian. Among its accolades, in 2006 Gourmet named among the top 50 restaurants (number 29) in the country and the restaurant might be better these days. Montrose
The Best of the Rest
Tony’s – Though the restaurant has not been advertised as Italian since its early days several decades ago, Tony’s serves some of the most delicious Italian dishes in town, usually infused with a rich American exuberance. That remains after namesake Tony Vallone passed away in September 2020. Roughly half of the menu at Tony’s is Italian, and these items shine through with pan-Italian sensibilities that present the best of Italy, the best of prosperous, gourmet Italy, at that. Flavorful, thin, fresh stuffed pastas, tender veal and impeccable seafood are just some of the attractions, not to mention the often excellent service, wine selection and intriguing modern setting punctuated with dramatic works by Rauschenberg and Jesus Moroles. Tony’s procures the finest ingredients and has a chef that can translate these into magnificent Italian creations that are properly accompanied in all facets. The wide-ranging wine list is excellent, though very expensive; the average wine by the glass costs $25, for example. Greenway Plaza
Rosie Canonball – Italian preparations including well-done fresh pastas and pizzas plus a few dishes ranging to other southern European spots. Montrose
Potente – Americanized Italian with a luxurious bent, it has a top chef at the helm, Danny Trace formerly of Brennan's, and uses approachable preparations inspired from Italy with excellent ingredients to a welcome, if quite expensive result. Downtown
Giacomo’s – Affordably priced and well-rendered small plates of trattoria-style Italian dishes that often highly Rome and Tuscany, but also including items like mozzarella in carrozza and fine quality freshly made pastas – the best might be the tortelli di bietola, medium-sized ravioli filled with Swiss chard and soft goat cheese and topped with a fried leaves of sage and melted butter – are paired with a nicely assembled and interesting 75-bottle or so mostly Italian wine list that has many tempting choices between $25 and $40, and a setting that is comfortable and coolly retro. Casual, comfortable, proficient and well-suited for Houston, this is an easy restaurant to like. Greenway Plaza
Poscol – Poscol, which is the dialect name for the main thoroughfare in Udine (Via Poscolle), Wiles’ hometown in the northeastern Italian region of Friuli, might be described as an all-Italian wine bar supported with enticing small plate preparations, many meant to be shared. The roughly 50-item menu will be comprised of regional Italian specialties. There are risotto dishes, baked pastas, bruschetta, a well-chosen selection of Italian cheeses, and seafood including salmon, braised calamari and braised octopus. The food has a strong northeastern Italian influence along with impeccably Italian sensibilities that have worked extremely well for Houston diners at Da Marco, which is a block away. Montrose
To Also Keep in Mind
Concura – Opened in 2021, this quaint, molto Italiano spot serves mostly the food of the Marche, the region on the Adriatic north of Tuscany, in a contemporary setting. Highland Village
Perbacco – Featuring approachable Southern Italian cooking geared toward local sensibilities from a longtime restaurateur from Capri, off the coast of Naples, the fare is generally lighter and more refined than similar dishes elsewhere. Set in pleasantly utilitarian fashion in the ground floor of an office building, albeit Philip Johnson’s landmark Pennzoil Building, the emphasis is on enjoyable eating rather than fine dining. There are several, somewhat hearty, baked pasta dishes such as lasagna and cannelloni, a dozen other pasta and sautéed items such as penne with Gulf shrimp, veal Marsala, and gnocchi with eggplant in a tomato sauce, and several grilled dishes. Their version of the traditional, simple linguine and clams is one of the best around. Entrées are served with a small salad, helping to make this an especially nice value. The owner complains that Americans like their pasta overcooked, but even with that, the kitchen does a really good job. Downtown
