26 Australian Spots Recognised by Gambero Rosso, the Prestigious Italian Gastronomy Guide

South Australia is getting the Michelin Guide in October, but it’s certainly not the only international restaurant guide scoping out our local talent.

Gambero Rosso, an Italian publication regarded as that country’s leading authority on wine and food, named 26 Australian restaurants in its Top Italian Restaurants Guide. The guide, established in 2018, is dedicated exclusively to Italian gastronomy and includes more than 800 venues around the world. The announcement was made at the publication’s wine roadshow event at The Campbell’s Stores on Wednesday.

Gambero Rosso’s ranking system uses a similar three-tiered structure as to the Michelin Guide, with ratings categorised by the type of venue. Forchette (forks) are used for restaurants, spicchi (slices) for pizzerias, bottiglie (bottles) for wine bars or restaurants with outstanding wine lists, cornetti (croissants) for bakeries and coni (cones) for gelaterias. 

Each category is ranked on a scale of one to three, where one signifies a high standard of quality, two represents excellence, and three goes to venues demonstrating the height of authenticity, service, and technical mastery in that specific craft.

While this latest round of accolades features only venues in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, venues in other Australian states do appear in the publication's broader guide. The honours announced this week represent only the most recent round of reviews rather than a comprehensive national evaluation. 

Federico Zanellato’s Sydney finer diner Lumi topped the restaurants category with three forks. Zanellato also took out top honours in the bakery and gelato categories with his other Sydney spots: Lode Pies and Pastries earned three croissants and Freo respectively got two cones. They were the only Aussie bakery and gelateria named in the guide.

Regina la Pizzeria in Redfern and That’s Enrico in Lobethal, South Australia both earned three slices in the pizza category. Brisbane institution 1889 Enoteca received three bottles for its wine list. This recent selection will join a long list of Australian venues already featured in Gambero Rosso’s guide to the world’s top Italian venues. 

See the full results below:

Three forks
Lumi, NSW

Two forks
A’Mare, NSW
Civico 47, NSW
Ormeggio at the Spit, NSW
Pellegrino 2000, NSW
Pilu at Freshwater, NSW

One fork
Flaminia, NSW
Neptunes Grotto, NSW
Olio Kensington Street, NSW
Otto, NSW & Qld
Postino Osteria, NSW
Ragazzi, NSW
The Restaurant Pendolino, NSW

Three bottles
1889 Enoteca, Qld

Two bottles
Fratelli Paradiso, NSW
Paski Vineria Popolare, NSW
10 William Street, NSW

Three slices
Regina la Pizzeria, NSW
That’s Enrico, SA

Two slices
Lucio Pizzeria, NSW
Cicerone Cucina Romana, NSW

One slice
Al Taglio, NSW
Via Napoli, NSW
Pompei’s, NSW

Three croissants
Lode Pies & Pastries, NSW

Two cones
Freo, NSW

gamberorossointernational.com