Nobody’s claimed this yet
Be the first local to put Italian in Syracuse on the map. Your Top 5 anchors the City Consensus for everyone who comes next.
Start a Top 5 for ItalianEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Syracuse.com, Eagle News Online, and The Daily Orange. Updated September 2026.
Pastabilities · Armory Square
The Armory Square landmark famous nationally for its Spicy Hot Tomato Oil, homemade pasta, and wood-fired pies.
Francesca's Cucina · Downtown
A Little Italy dining room on North Salina Street that The Daily Orange's reviewer drove downtown for, finding a menu of enticing options and a kitchen that understands how to cook interesting but authentic Italian food. The review's own caution is that service can be uneven, so give yourself an unhurried evening. Order the homemade pasta, and treat the room's traditional red-sauce plates as the reason to come back.
Avicolli's Coal Fire · Liverpool
Jared Paventi's This Is CNY dining-out review of the Avicolli family's Fayetteville coal-fired offshoot found a cast-iron skillet of spicy marinara loaded with crushed red pepper and melted burrata, served with toasted bread, plus a simple plate of tubular pasta in marinara and mozzarella that punched above its weight on the strength of the sauce. Order the burrata skillet and the coal-fired pizza.
Santangelo's Restaurant · Liverpool
A family-owned mainstay of 30-plus years for the classic Syracuse chicken riggies.