Charlotte Five's Readers' Choice

The Tasty 21: Vote now for the best Italian restaurant in the Charlotte area

Vote for your favorite place to eat Italian food near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Vote for your favorite place to eat Italian food near Charlotte, North Carolina. jjohnston@thetribunenews.com
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways

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  • CharlotteFive asked readers and staff to share the best places to get Italian food.
  • We started with 42 nominees, and 21 Charlotte-area restaurants are still in the running.
  • Vote for your favorite local Italian restaurant until noon Wednesday, April 22.

We asked for the best Italian restaurants in Charlotte, and we’re one step closer to crowning a winner.

First, CharlotteFive invited readers to share the top local places to eat Italian food. We reviewed your nominations and invited our staff’s foodies to add to the list of essential spots for gnocchi, cannoli and more.

We started with 42 nominees, and now the Top 21 are still in the running. Below, you can vote for your favorite Italian restaurant in the Charlotte area.

If you really want to show your love for a restaurant, feel free to refresh this webpage and cast more votes. Here’s the schedule for the next rounds of this contest:

  • The third round will determine the Top 10. It is currently live and will be live until noon Wednesday, April 22.
  • The fourth round will determine the Top 5. It will be live from about 1 p.m. April 22 until noon Friday, April 24.
  • The fifth round will determine the Top 2. It will be live from about 1 p.m. April 24 until noon Tuesday, April 28.
  • The sixth round will determine the winner. It will be live from about 1 p.m. April 28 until noon Thursday, April 30.

We originally planned to include the Top 20, but we expanded the field to the Top 21 due to ties. Here were the restaurants that received the most votes in Round 2:

  1. Antico Italian Restaurant
  2. Open Kitchen
  3. Osteria LuCa
  4. Basilico Italiano
  5. Giacomo’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant
  6. Portofino’s
  7. Little Mama’s
  8. Mama Ricotta’s
  9. Aqua e Vino
  10. Mano Bella
  11. Ever Andalo and Stagioni - tie
  12. Dolce Osteria
  13. Fiamma Ristorante
  14. Luce
  15. Enrico’s Italian Restaurant and Toscana - tie
  16. Angeline’s, Capishe: Real Italian Kitchen, Caruso’s and ESO Artisanal Pasta - tie

This contest is meant to be fun rather than a scientific poll. To be in the running, nominees had to have a presence in the Charlotte area and have fewer than 20 locations nationwide.

In Round 1, there were several ties. Here were the top restaurants, in order of how many times they were picked:

  1. Antico Italian Restaurant
  2. Basilico Italiano
  3. Osteria LuCa
  4. Giacomo’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant
  5. Open Kitchen
  6. Little Mama’s
  7. Mama Ricotta’s
  8. Portofino’s
  9. Aqua e Vino
  10. Ever Andalo
  11. Toscana
  12. Dolce Osteria
  13. Fiamma Ristorante and Stagioni - tie
  14. Zio Casual Italian
  15. Angeline’s
  16. Mano Bella
  17. Il Bosco and Via Roma - tie
  18. Aria Tuscan Grill, Caruso’s and ESO Artisanal Pasta - tie
  19. Bistro D’Antonio, Flour Shop, Pizzeria Omaggio and Spaghett - tie
  20. Capishe: Real Italian Kitchen, Enrico’s Italian Restaurant, Luce and Oggi Ristorante Italiano - tie

Here are the original 42 nominees, in alphabetical order:

  • Angeline’s
  • Antico Italian Restaurant
  • Aqua e Vino
  • Aria Tuscan Grill
  • Basilico Italiano
  • Bistro D’Antonio
  • Buona Vita Restaurant and Bar
  • Capishe: Real Italian Kitchen
  • Caruso’s
  • Cicchetti
  • Dolce Osteria
  • Enrico’s Italian Restaurant
  • ESO Artisanal Pasta
  • Ever Andalo
  • Fiamma Ristorante
  • Flour Shop
  • Forchetta
  • Giacomo’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant
  • Il Bosco
  • Indaco Charlotte
  • Leo’s Italian Social
  • Little Mama’s
  • Luce
  • Mama Mia Too
  • Mama Ricotta’s
  • Mano Bella
  • Movida Pizza Pub
  • Oggi Ristorante Italiano
  • Open Kitchen
  • Osteria LuCa
  • Pizzeria Omaggio
  • Portofino’s
  • Primo Prime
  • Salmeri’s Italian Kitchen
  • Spaghett
  • Stagioni
  • Stella Nova Restaurant & Bar
  • That’s Amore
  • Toscana
  • Via Roma
  • Zinicola
  • Zio Casual Italian

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Simone Jasper
The News & Observer
Simone Jasper is a service journalism reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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