You eat well in Turin, and you eat differently from the rest of Italy. It isn’t a city of pizza and seafood: it’s a city of butter, of raw meat, of tiny filled pasta and of wines from hills an hour’s drive away. If you’re here for a few days, this guide will be more use to you than a ranking.
The ranking locals follow
It’s called I Cento di Torino, it’s published by EDT (in Italian) and it comes out every year. What sets it apart is how it divides the city: fifty restaurants and fifty piole, in two separate rankings with equal standing. The dividing line is the bill: above thirty euros you’re in the first list, below it in the second.
It isn’t a split between good and less good. It’s a split between two ways of eating, and in Turin both really exist.
The top ten restaurants in the latest edition are Condividere, Del Cambio, La Limonaia, Cannavacciuolo Bistrot, Ristorante Carignano, Unforgettable, Casa Vicina, Consorzio, Al Gatto Nero and Magazzino 52 (full list, in Italian). The ranking changes every year: if you’re reading this page long after the last update, check the current edition.
What a piola is
It’s the Turin word for an osteria: tables close together, a checked tablecloth or a paper one, a short handwritten menu, house wine. The best ones are full at lunchtime with people who work nearby, and that’s the most reliable sign there is.
A piola doesn’t take bookings by email and doesn’t have a website. You phone, and you phone early.
What to order
If you only have a few dinners, these are the dishes Turin does better than elsewhere.
- Vitello tonnato. Thin slices of cold veal with a tuna sauce. In the traditional version the sauce has no mayonnaise.
- Agnolotti del plin. Tiny ravioli sealed by hand with a pinch, which is what plin means. They’re served with roast-meat juices, with butter, or al tovagliolo: in a napkin, with no sauce at all.
- Carne cruda battuta al coltello. It isn’t a French-style tartare: it’s Piedmontese beef chopped by hand with a knife, dressed with oil, salt and lemon.
- Bagna càuda. October to February. Garlic, anchovies and oil, kept hot in the middle of the table, for dipping vegetables. It’s a dish for sharing and for a long evening.
- Bollito misto. Mixed boiled meats, in winter, with their sauces.
- Bonet. The chocolate and amaretti pudding that ends the meal.
To drink, the wines of the Langhe and the Monferrato: Barbera for every day, Nebbiolo and Barolo for special occasions. And if you order a coffee at the end of the meal, in winter try a bicerin: coffee, chocolate and cream in a small glass, not stirred.
How an evening in Turin works
- Aperitivo is taken seriously. Between six and eight many bars serve a buffet with your drink. It was born here, and in some areas it’s almost a dinner: if you’ve booked a table for nine, bear that in mind.
- People eat early compared with the south. By half past eight the dining rooms are full, and in many piole the lights go off at eleven.
- Many places close on Sunday evening and on Monday. It’s the rule visitors most often miss, and the most common way to end up without dinner.
- Book, always. The good places are small. In the weeks of the big events, such as ATP Finals week, booking on the day is almost impossible: book your tables when you book the home.
Where to look, neighbourhood by neighbourhood
- Quadrilatero Romano. The densest cluster of places, in a few pedestrian streets behind Porta Palazzo. Very good for aperitivo, crowded at weekends.
- San Salvario. The area that has changed most in recent years: young chefs, food from other countries, every price range. A short walk from Porta Nuova.
- The centre, between Piazza Castello and Via Roma. The historic restaurants and the nineteenth-century cafés. Formal, and more expensive.
- Vanchiglia. Small and local: most of the people at the tables live there.
- Borgo Po and the hill. Cross the river and the prices change; in return, you get the view.
- Crocetta. Residential and quiet, with classic restaurants and a market worth a morning visit.
They’re also the neighbourhoods where we manage homes: if you stay with us, your arrival instructions include the café for breakfast, the nearest market and the places we go ourselves. The areas, and how a stay works, are on the Turin page.
And the markets
Porta Palazzo is the largest open-air market in Europe, and in the morning it’s a sight in itself: fruit and vegetables, cheese, fish, spices. If you have a kitchen — and in a flat you do — it’s the cheapest and most Turinese way to eat well one evening in three. The other places to see in the city are in ten places to visit in Turin.
An honest note
We don’t take commissions from restaurants, and we don’t recommend any of them in exchange for anything. The ranking quoted is by a third-party publisher, and the suggestions above are the ones we give to guests in the homes we manage. Places open and close: before you go out, give them a call.
How to book one of our homes, and who answers during your stay, is on our page for guests.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best restaurant guide to Turin?
I Cento di Torino, published by EDT and updated every year. It divides the city into fifty restaurants and fifty piole, with a bill above or below thirty euros as the dividing line.
What is a piola?
It’s the Turin word for an osteria: tables close together, a few dishes, house wine, a modest bill. The best ones are full at lunchtime with people who work nearby.
What are the typical dishes of Turin?
Vitello tonnato, agnolotti del plin, carne cruda battuta al coltello, bagna càuda in winter, bollito misto, and bonet for pudding. To drink, the wines of the Langhe and the Monferrato.
Which neighbourhood is best for finding somewhere to eat?
The Quadrilatero Romano for the number of places and for aperitivo, San Salvario for the young chefs, the centre for the historic restaurants, Vanchiglia and Crocetta for neighbourhood tables.
Do you need to book?
Yes, almost always: the good places are small. And many close on Sunday evening and on Monday. In the weeks of the big events, book your tables when you book your accommodation.
What time do people have dinner in Turin?
Early compared with the south: by half past eight the dining rooms are full, and many piole close at eleven. Before that there’s aperitivo, between six and eight, which in some places is almost a dinner.
Written by the editorial team of Maison Métropole.
