The 48 best new restaurants in Italy and what they tell us about ourselves The TheFork Awards finalists increasingly reflect the decisive criteria for those making reservations

The Fork Awards, the prize for the best new openings and new management of the year, organised by The Fork and Identità Golose, has reached its eighth edition. A jury of seventy-four chefs has announced the 48 finalists, with Lombardy leading the way and ten addresses between Milan and Lake Garda.

What is truly interesting and curious about the ranking is its variety, ranging from fine dining to contemporary trattorias. The list of contenders, when all is said and done, tells us far more than simply where we like to eat. It seems rather to speak to us of current needs and demands, how they have changed and what we ask of a restaurant today when we decide to go out.

Who's on the list?

In Milan there is Thelema by Simone Tricarico in Gaggiano, the most voted with six nominations, Denis Lovatel's pizzeria, the 142 Restaurant, the osteria Nino, Sasà Martucci and the new Langosteria Montenapoleone, while towards the lake the nominees include Rebis in Desenzano, Tavola MoS in Lonato, LOVRE in Lovere and Il Gesto in Busto Arsizio.

 Trentino-Alto Adige brings Pramol Alto, Fuoripista, Yera, Kallmunz and the 1224 at the Grand Hotel Savoia in Cortina; Piedmont contributes Fiammetta Brace Bar, AL and Spirito Osteria in Turin plus Capuccina in Cureggio; Emilia-Romagna offers Zivieri, Fuba, Sant'Agostino and ALTO in Cervia; Friuli puts forward Špajs and Al Bassotto, Liguria Cucina di Sintesi and il Piccolo Ristorante.

Rome responds with Stecca, Nomos Ante, the izakaya Koji Sakaba and Pasqualina in Frascati, Tuscany with Tarassaco, Antesi and Oltre, and Abruzzo claims the record with Sextantio, the albergo diffuso in Santo Stefano di Sessanio that won over seven chefs including Niko Romito, alongside the Albura Bistrot in Avezzano.

 In the South, Puglia fields Intrecci, Vez Cucina, La Farm and Carèm al Mohala, Calabria the sandwich shop Manubuns in Cosenza and Il Deposito in Ricadi, Campania Somnium in Eboli, Basilicata Baccanti in Matera, Sardinia Domu a Casa di Nonno and Aurea Osteria Contemporanea, Sicily Trattoria Casamichele and Fonderia in Palermo.

What does it tell us about ourselves?

First of all, one significant factor in choosing a restaurant stems from a sobering reality: we go out less and less. According to the FIPE 2026 Restaurant Industry Report, out-of-home spending has exceeded one hundred billion euros, yet restaurant prices have risen by 3.2% in a single year. Every dinner thus becomes an inevitably considered choice, and as a result a restaurant must above all be able to offer an experience.

Circana's research on European foodservice, picked up by Ristorazione Italiana magazine, describes a customer who demands variety and discovery. The search for the right restaurant is driven by the desire for a place that resembles no other, one that leaves something worth talking about the next day and that, above all, manages to break the routine.

Equally important is the quality of the dish. A customer's first actual requirement is that the ingredients be good, the second that they be fresh. According to a YouGov survey for TheFork published in spring, two out of three Italians put raw ingredients above everything else, including Michelin stars and dining room design. No revolutionary or experimental cuisine is deemed essential — people want to know what is on the plate and where it comes from. A third of consumers also keep an eye on whether those ingredients are locally sourced, or at least chosen with care and consideration, while three out of four consider a restaurant's environmental commitment to be important.

The final criterion is also the most recent: "foodmo," the fear of missing out on the restaurant everyone is talking about. Three out of four customers choose a restaurant on the recommendation of friends, while one in five follows the advice of content creators. Not to mention that an increasing number of bookings now originate from a search carried out using artificial intelligence: the restaurant is now chosen first and foremost via a screen, before ever having tried it in person.