Top 10 restaurants in Turin

Scannabue

Scannabue is in the happening district of San Salvario, where modish restaurants and bars line the streets. It is in a former car showroom and is themed to look like a 19th-century Turinese cafe, though it is perhaps more reminiscent of a Parisian bistro, with its chocolate brown and olive green furnishings, wooden floorboards, and the odd curio dotted about. The menù degustazione (€30) includes a selection of creatively presented starters such as rabbit, beef tartar and cod and mash, along with homemade agnolotti del plin (pasta squares) stuffed with rabbit, beef and pork.
• Dishes from €9. +39 011 669 6693, scannabue.it. Open daily 12.30pm-2.30pm and 7.30pm-2am

Eataly

Established in Turin in 2007, this large food emporium in a former factory building offers the best of the country’s produce, from carefully selected prime beef cuts to first-rate wines including Piedmont’s world-renowned barbaresco and barolo. A large section is dedicated to slow food, the international movement born in Turin that values locally grown, seasonal products and regional cuisine. Dotted around the premises are informal restaurants and cafes, each serving tasty dishes prepared with high-quality seasonal and local ingredients: freshly baked breads, cheeses, cured meats, cold-cuts, hand-made pastas, and even ice-creams and pastries.
• Dishes from €5.80. +39 011 1950 6801, eataly.net. Open daily 10am-10.30pm

Porto di Savona

One of the city’s oldest restaurants, Porto di Savona opened in 1863 when Turin was the capital of Italy (1861-1865). The restaurant is on the city’s beautiful Piazza Vittorio, and the warm interior is laid out like a 19th-century tavern, with period furniture and tiled floors. The menu includes black truffle risotto (€10) and handmade tagliatelle with creamy castelmagno cheese (€8.50). The dishes of the day feature seasonal ingredients, from the region’s sought-after peppers to crunchy hazelnuts used for desserts. In autumn and winter, bagna cauda features on the menu, a garlic, oil and anchovy dip typically eaten by dipping raw vegetables including cardoon, cabbage and peppers.
• Dishes from €6. +39 011 817 3500, foodandcompany.com. Open daily 12.30pm-2.30pm (Sat and Sun until 3pm) and 7.30pm-midnight

Consorzio

In the heart of the quaint Quadrilatero Romano district, Consorzio is a warm-and-welcoming restaurant offering traditional cuisine with a twist. The co-owner’s father is an avid truffle hunter who scours the forest floor in the autumn and provides the restaurant with this much-prized fungus – traditionally grated over handmade tajarin (a thin version of tagliatelle) – while his wife supplies the restaurant with biological wines from her family vineyard in the province of Asti. More adventurous types can opt for the quinto quarto (€16) featuring a selection of offal, including baked brain wrapped in tinfoil. This elaborate dish takes two days to prepare, and includes veal sweetbread, brain, tripe, anchovies and Marsala, plus another 20 or so ingredients including capers and black-eyed beans.
• Dishes from €9. +39 011 276 7661, ristoranteconsorzio.it. Open Mon-Fri 12.30pm-2.30pm and 7.30pm-1am, Sat 7.30pm-1am only

Circolo dei Lettori

The Circolo dei Lettori was formerly a private members club where Turin’s intellectuals, writers, poets and artists used to meet, as attested by the rows of artist portraits (former members) that line the restaurant’s walls. Today, the association hosts book launches, reading groups, workshops, and a restaurant with cavernous interiors, bare-brick walls and crimson carpets. On the menu are creative takes of regional dishes including finanziera, a hearty dish of veal offal and cockscomb cooked with Marsala wine, vinegar and herbs, that is said to have found fame at the nearby restaurant Del Cambio, one of the world’s oldest (it opened in 1757) and finest, as reflected in its menu.
• Dishes from €13. +39 011 432 6827, circololettori.it. Open Mon-Sat midday-2.30pm and 7.30pm-midnight

Da Cianci Piola Caffé

With tables spilling onto the square in the warmer months of the year, this bustling piola – laid-back eatery – offers hearty portions of regional dishes at unbeatable prices just a few steps from Piazza Castello, the city’s main square. Tagliatelle and gnocchi are supplied by a trusted provider in the nearby town of Cuneo, while pasta sauces and condiments change on a daily basis according to what’s available. The snug interior features walls packed with knick-knacks: a violin, a handful of hanging chairs, framed photos and even a fridge. The antipasto misto (€6) includes tomini, a fresh and creamy soft cheese, pickled vegetables, and anchovies, a key ingredient in Piedmont’s cuisine.
• Dishes from €6. +39 388 876 7003, Facebook page. Open daily 12.30pm-3.30pm and 6.30pm-11pm

Trattoria Fratelli Bravo

Run by two brothers, this trattoria at the foot of the hills to the south east of Turin serves authentic Italian and regional dishes, including vitello tonnato con nocciole (€9.50), an antipasto dish of cold veal covered in a creamy tuna and caper dressing, and here sprinkled with hazelnuts that grow in the misty hills of the Langhe region. In autumn, white truffle is ceremoniously grated over freshly made tagliolini, enjoyed at tables, cheek-by-jowl, covered in red and white plaid tablecloths. Signed football shirts adorn the walls (Turin is the home of Torino FC and Juventus), along with decorative kitchen utensils and wine bottles – there are over 200 types on offer – neatly lining wooden open-shelf cabinets.
• Dishes from €6. +39 011 661 0435, Facebook page. Tues 7.30pm-1am, Wed-Sun 12.30pm-3.30pm and 7.30pm-1am

Osteria ‘n Cicinin

It translates as “a tiddy bit” in local Piedmontese dialect and so it is – a small, itsy-bitsy restaurant run by Claudio and Angela: he in the kitchen and she at the tables. The cuisine is simple and honest, and the atmosphere friendly and convivial. The young couple daily scour the local markets, carefully selecting the freshest produce. As a result, the menu changes regularly. The plump agnolotti, pleated ravioli-like pasta stuffed with meat, are lovingly made by Claudio who proudly boasts it’s his nonna’s (grandmother’s) recipe. The aptly named “full belly lunch menu” includes a generous portion of pasta followed by dessert and coffee, and is a steal at only €7.
• Dishes from €5.50. +39 011 1945 4951, osteria-ncicinin.it. Open Mon-Sat midday-2.45pm and 7pm-11pm. Closed Sundays and Tuesday lunchtime

Osteria di Pierantonio

A stone’s throw from Turin’s Lingotto conference centre, this friendly osteria, with tables spilling onto the street, attracts the locals at lunchtime for its €10 set lunch. The owner Pier provides greens from his own vegetable garden, and daily forages the market for fresh seasonal produce. Desserts are all homemade too, including bônet, an exquisite regional dessert similar to creme-caramel but made with amaretti (almond-flavoured macaroons), cocoa and a touch of rum. The restaurant regularly hosts food-themed nights that bring together the local community, including mushroom and polenta nights (€20) in the autumn and winter.
• Dishes from €6. +39 011 674 528, osteriadipierantonio.it. Open Mon-Sat midday-3pm and 7pm-midnight

Antiche Sere

Tucked away in the quiet residential neighbourhood of Borgo San Paolo to the west of Turin’s city centre, this friendly family-run osteria features dark wooden furniture, period chairs and framed photos from the early 20th century. The menu, scribbled on recycled paper, is strictly seasonal: autumn sees hearty soups, including bean and mushrooms and chick pea soup (€6), along with wholesome polenta, mushroom and sausage dishes (€8). In the warmer months meals are enjoyed on a pleasant vine-shaded terrace.
• Dishes from €6. +39 011 385 4347, no website. Open Mon-Sat 7.30pm-1am

The Salone del Gusto takes place from October 23-27