When it comes to Italian cuisine, only authentic fare will do. Below are the best and most authentic Italian restaurants throughout Richmond.
This vegetarian friendly Italian restaurant was rated as the best restaurant in Richmond by urbanspoon.com. Edo’s Squid, which is located near Virginia Commonwealth University, serves up seafood heavy Italian dishes. The serving sizes at Edo’s Squid are enormous. This restaurant, which is quite small and at times packed, offers a relaxed fine dining atmosphere. Pasta is served al dente and the sauces are rich, bold and hearty. Recommended dishes include the seafood packed Pasta Diablo and the gorgonzola pasta.
Zorba’s is a Greek and Italian fusion restaurant located in Glen Allen on West Broad Street. Zorba’s received a four out of five star rating from virtualtourist.com. The food is served by attentive staff and is reasonable priced. The atmosphere in Zorba’s is slightly upscale at this family run restaurant. The menu at Zorba’s is equally split between Greek and Italian fare. The pastas and doughs are made in house and portions are large. Due to the wide range of dishes, the combination platter is one of the most recommended dishes because it allows for a sampling of all the excellent cuisine at Zorba’s. The veal piccata and manicotti have been described as being to die for.
8 ½, located on Strawberry Street in Near West, is in the top twenty five restaurants in Richmond according to urbanspoon.com. This takeout only Italian restaurant, obviously named after the Fellini film, serves up sandwiches on freshly baked bread with Italian imported meats, and garlicky pizza. In addition to the freshly made food, 8 ½ also offers a small Italian grocery store. 8 ½ focuses on creating traditional Italian fare with fresh and authentic ingredients. Recommended dishes include the potato leek soup, pancetta calzone, and eggplant parmesan. Remember to save room for the cannolis!