Best Italian Restaurants in Joburg

It’s been 10 months since we moved to Joburg! And now, I finally feel like I’ve tested out enough restaurants to write about food. Italian is always a great go-to cuisine for any time of the year: get antipasto and salad on a hot summer day or get a cozy linguini or ravioli when you’re feeling the chill.

We’ve dined-in, we’ve done delivery and now I’m ready to tell you about the best Italian restaurants in Joburg!

I update this post as I continue to explore in Joburg!

Best Italian Restaurants in Joburg

Tortellino d’Oro

Tortellino d’Oro is a restaurant and delicatessen, with lots of Italian goodies. The restaurant is located in the Oaklands Shopping Center.

Tables are set up in the deli entryway and during dinner, more tables are added in the deli. I love this use of space. Our first dinner here we were seated among coffee bags and gorgonzola: two of my favorite things.

A triage of butter, artichoke paste, and olive tapenade is served with bread once you’re seated at Tortellino D’Oro. The artichoke paste and olive tapenade are SO good and can be a dish on their own. We had to order another round of bread, not only to soak up our pasta sauce but also to get those last nibbles of the spreads. You can also buy these in the deli section (we did…).

Menu

I love the pear and gorgonzola salad. I’ve ordered it each time we’ve visited as a shared salad.

Literally every single pasta on the menu sounds amazing. In our visits so far, we’ve ordered the summer pasta, seafood pasta (with tiny clams), and homemade ravioli.

Another fun thing to order is the antipasto from the deli counter. Head on over to the deli to pick out a selection of marinated onions, zucchinis, peppers, eggplants, and 3 different kinds of artichokes. Cold cuts are also available.

Be careful here as the plate is weighed for cost and it can run up to R300. We didn’t realize and kept requesting more veggies be put on our plate. So if you’re on a budget, mention how much you want to spend total on the plate.

Check out the menu here.

When to go

Visit for lunch or dinner as the menu is the same.

Make a reservation just in case as the restaurant can easily fill up. Check it out and let me know if you think this is the best Italian restaurant in Joburg. I certainly think so!

Budget

If you keep your eye on the prices, you can spend under R300 for two pastas dishes and a tip. However, if you go wild like us (with salad, antipasto, and two dishes) then you could be looking at a R600 bill or more.

The deli

A selection of Italian imports is available including olives, cheese, canned tomatoes, truffle oil, and pasta. You can also purchase some of the meals in (almost) ready-to-serve boxes to eat at home.

If you’re purchasing cheese, make sure to check the expiry date. Probably because of import speed the cheese usually expires in a week or less from when you’ll purchase it. However, this could have just been our luck when we’ve gone and purchased. We did eat a gorgonzola a couple of days past its expiry date and I’ve lived to tell the tale: it was delicious.

Franco’s Pizzeria & Trattoria

Funny story… The first time we meant to go to Franco’s Pizzeria & Trattoria I accidentally booked Trabella Pizzeria in Parkview. Wilhelm and I were both talking about going to dinner “at that Italian place in Parkview.” He assumed Franco’s because he had read about it, whereas I assumed Trabella because we had walked by it once. Well… imagine his disappointment when I took us to Trabella… HA. I remedied the situation by booking the correct “Italian place” a week later.

Anyway, Franco’s is a Joburg institution serving classic Italian dishes, making it one of the best Italian restaurants in Joburg. Franco built the pizza oven back in 1987 and it’s been burning ever since.

The restaurant has a family-style vibe but also feels romantic on a table for 2!

Menu

There is a wide range of pizzas sure to please everyone. You can even get a calzone.

The pasta dishes are just as Italian as they get: simple ingredients transformed into deliciousness.

Check out the menu here.

When to go

Go for dinner to get the full vibe of the place with chatter from families, couples, and friends.

You should make a reservation no matter what. Franco’s fills up and most people make reservations so avoid disappointment by planning ahead, especially Friday-Sunday.

Budget

Pizzas and pasta dishes are around R120. So, for 2 people, you could spend under R300, not including drinks. Plan to spend more if adding appetizers, vino, and dessert.

Stelle

Stelle is a hidden gem in Sandton. Tucked away in a lovely garden with a 100-year-old acorn tree providing shade, Stelle is one of the best Italian restaurants in Joburg.

We had dinner here after visiting Alto 234, the highest bar in Africa. Just a short uber ride away, it was the perfect end to our evening. The ambiance is romantic with fairy lights around the garden.

Menu

Ingredients are local but also rely on Italian imports for that great authentic flavor.

We had an excellent seafood pasta and tortellini.

Do not skip on the gelato! Although we were going to pass it up, the host insisted we try a bit of the pistachio gelato. WOAH. It tasted of pure cream and pistachio.

When to go

Stelle has reduced hours due to COVID-19. Call ahead to book for dinner as they are open on request.

Otherwise, head there for lunch Tuesday-Sunday between 12 and 3pm.

On Sunday afternoons, a musician comes to play in the garden. Reservations go fast for this so book ahead.

Closed on Mondays.

Budget

We ordered 2 pasta dishes and 2 glasses of wine for around R600.

Super Sconto

Part grocery store and part deli, you can shop and get an excellent panini at Super Sconto. Do your grocery shopping for imported tomato sauces, pastas, and more. Then, go upstairs to get cheeses and meats. We got the gorgonzola panini with roasted veggies. andoa another with mozzeralla.

Coalition Pizza

If you’re craving pizza for take-away or delivery, look no further than Coalition Pizza. I love their super-thin Neapolitan-style pizza crusts that stay crispy even while being transported on an UberEats motorcycle. I like finding one or two really good pizza spots in a city before I stop trying out new options. We’ve ordered from a couple of other places before but nothing is as reliable as Coalition.

Menu

Coalition Pizza has a small range of pizzas, but that doesn’t matter because you’re sure to find something that speaks to you. I love the Silsehi pizza and the Juliana pizza.

The Silshi pizza is topped with goats cheese, mushrooms, red onions, and cherry tomatoes.  The Juliana is a “Bianco” pizza (no tomato sauce) with grilled zucchini, pesto, mushrooms, wild rocket, and fresh chili. We’ve also gotten the Margherita and the Jemmeli pizzas before.

Check out the menu here.

When to go

There are three locations across Joburg: Parktown North, Sandton, and Blairgowrie.

I’m happy with getting UberEats from Coalition. We haven’t yet visited their locations because pizza is one of our go-to “IDK what to make for dinner tonight” (read: “I don’t feel like making dinner” hehe) options.

If you’re intent on dining at Coalition, make a reservation. The Parktown North location recently opened up a cute-looking wine bar that would make a fun dinner date!

Budget

Pizzas range between R100-150. As the pizzas are thin, I’d recommend about 1 pizza per person with an appetite.

Honorable mentions for the best Italian restaurants in Joburg

Adriatic Warehouse: If you’re looking for a huge variety of Italian products in Joburg then Adriatic Warehouse might be for you. It’s not actually a restaurant but it deserves a mention. This large-scale catering warehouse imports Italian goods. Here you can find San Pellegrino, chocolates, wines and beers, pastas, pasta sauces, olives, passata, and so so much more.

Although the warehouse seems overwhelming you can easily purchase just one item from the boxes. Items are around R30-50 but you can easily go wild with buying pasta that you *won’t* find in a regular grocery store (like we did.) When we arrived at the warehouse, we were offered coffee and later taken to test the gelato and pizza. These are not for sale but showcase the coffee beans, the pizza flour, and the gelato powder products available for sale in the warehouse. This was so much fun. Be sure to tell someone it’s your first time so you get the full experience.

This also seems like an awesome rainy-day activity. We spent 1.5 hours here.

Cafe 28 is located in the Inanda Greens Office Park, overlooking a golf course We’ve ordered delivery from here before. The pizza was good but I still preferred Coalition. Wilhelm really liked the pasta dishes and if he was writing this list, maybe he would have bumped it up. However, I barely remember the meal. I think that going to Cafe 28 in person will be a better experience so maybe next time I’ll have more to say about it! Check out the menu here.

Modena is a popular Italian dining spot in Parkhurst. We’ve ordered delivery from here and it was good! It always looks busy whenever we walked by so I recommend making a reservation just in case. I’ve also visited for lunch and had a great meal. I still think Tortellino d’Oro has the best of everything. Check out the menu here.