Truly delicious Italian restaurants in Rotterdam

Italiamo is the site for every Italy lover. Even if you are not heading to Italy, they know how to bring the Italy feeling to you. Here you can read everything about the best pizzas, the undiscovered gems of Italy, but also about really delicious Italian restaurants in Rotterdam.

Finding Italian gems in 010? With food as a great love and a subscription to the Rotterdam hospitality scene, you can Machteld Schmidt blindly trust the answer. For Italiamo, she searched i migliori chef Italiani and sifted through menus down to the smallest detail and found the best Italian restaurants in the city by the Maas.

6x Italian restaurant Rotterdam

Due Tonino
If you truly want to feel like you are in Italy in Rotterdam, you know you are in the right place. Since 1991, the cheerful duo Tonino and Cosimo have been at the helm of this Italian restaurant on the edge of the city center, which is always full. The extensive menu is traditional with dishes from various Italian cultures. The ‘must eat’ is tagliatelle tartufo, but definitely try the sea bass in salt crust or veal medallion with raw sage. Also, as a wine lover, you can indulge here with no less than fifty different bottles and twenty by the glass. Due Tonino is a vacation in Italy in your own country (where, with a bit of luck, you might find Cosimo doing the splits between the tables). Salute!

Due Tonino – Goudsesingel 67, Rotterdam

Trattoria A Proposito
Within walking distance of Rotterdam Central, you will find this cozy Sicilian family restaurant. The extensive menu changes regularly (almost daily) and includes a combination of authentic pastas, vegetarian, fish, and meat dishes where, as a true Italian would do, the parmesan is freshly grated over your plate. The dessert menu is small but very nice; definitely try the semifreddo and tiramisu. Actually, everything is great, so just choose it all!

A Proposito – Weena 505, Rotterdam

Mangiare
A nice compact menu with good dishes and professional staff without pretensions. In a cozy vibe (with still some space) and a view of the open kitchen, you can enjoy delicious ravioli here; vegetarian with sage butter or filled with meat. Pure Italian pleasure: the well-known pasta al Parmigiano Reggiano where, with flames in the cheese, the spaghetti swirls through. By the way, the platters here are filled fresh from the morning for antipasti and filled sandwiches, so this is definitely a go-to for coffee (with something sweet) and lunch. Go.taste.it! Mangiare has two Italian restaurants in Rotterdam Center: one location near Central and in the oh-so-cozy Pannekoekstraat.

Mangiare – Van Oldenbarneveltstraat 150 & Pannekoekstraat 93a, Rotterdam

Angelo Betti
Betti started with a small ice cream shop in the South in 1922, and three generations later, his grandson and namesake runs the pizzeria and gelateria in Rotterdam-North. The pizza menu is so large that it makes you hungry; everything you can think of is on it. The dough is homemade and kneaded with love, resulting in a light, crispy feast. As a ‘dessert’, there is a very good option: homemade ice cream according to an age-old family recipe. That long history is also reflected in the interior: the photos and pamphlets on the wall tell the story of the Betti family. It is a bit dark, but that makes it cozy.

Angelo Betti – Schiekade 6B, Rotterdam

Mamma Licia
One in the category of ‘small, somewhat noisy, very homely place with authentic food as if you are in Italy’. With the big trump card being nonna Mamma Licia, everything, and I mean everything, is inspired by her. You will find a nice combination of good music, even better Italian food, and it breathes love for the boot in every way.

The owner is a smiling, originally a musician from Puglia, the host is from Rome, and the chef passionately serves his fresh carbonara at the table – take this tip! Both the pasta and the dough for bread and pizza are homemade from Italian flour, and you can taste that. Even better: adjacent to ‘t ristorante is the delicatessen shop Mamma Licia Market with fresh goodies to take away. Or follow a real workshop there.

Mamma Licia – Oudedijk 159A, Rotterdam

Osteria Sala Federico
An Italian restaurant in Rotterdam with a daily changing menu featuring only fresh products from Italy. How does he do it, you might wonder. Well, owner Peppe Cappellano a.k.a. ‘the biggest smile of Kralingen’ makes no concessions when it comes to quality and coziness. His ‘living room’ Sala Federico (named after his son) is a cozy, very pleasant osteria where there is always a buzz, whether it's the guests, the very friendly staff, or the music. There is no fixed menu, so when it's gone, it's gone. With a bit of luck, you might score the pasta sugo or pomodori, but the meat, fish, and vegetable dishes are also (fresh) top.

We Dutch have a habit of ordering a cappuccino ‘on the side’. That is possible, but then you pay a hefty price of five euros. Bring a flexible wallet, because you might go completely crazy at this Italian restaurant. Osteria Sala Federico is such a place where you start early and end late, and the Saturday lunch is highly recommended. Peppe is very active on Instagram and TikTok, worth following (and tasting)!

Osteria Sala Federico – Oostzeedijk Beneden 227, Rotterdam

Text: Machteld Schmidt
Image l.r.: Due Tonino, Angelo Betti, Mangiare