Italy is a country known for its incredible cuisine – from pasta and polenta to risotto and gelato. As a Mediterranean country, it is also known for its seafood, which is said to be incomparable to other areas. Italy boasts a rich tradition of seafood dishes, and with its abundance of coastline and seaside settlements, there is a vast array of produce from the sea. Local specialties may vary depending on the coastal region and may include sardines, anchovies, tuna, shrimp, saltwater crayfish (scampi), squid or cuttlefish, and mussels or clams.
While a few dishes, like linguine with clams, are pasta-based, others feature seafood baked with breadcrumbs, stirred into risotto, or deep-fried. Hearty soups and stews, pizza, and polenta are also popular Italian vehicles for marine delicacies. Several of these dishes are Italian-American rather than purely Italian and are labeled as such. (See the best restaurant for pasta in every state.)
Whole baked fish including branzino (European seabass) are popular in coastal areas, as is salt cod, especially in Northern Italy. Even in landlocked Umbria, Lake Trasimeno provides a bounty of fresh perch, pike, carp, and eel, which are often cooked heartily, mimicking pork or game dishes.
24/7 Tempo consulted numerous books and websites dedicated to Italian cuisine to compile a list of iconic Italian seafood dishes everyone should know. All of these dishes are available in one version or another in the United States. We chose restaurants where these dishes are available by consulting Yelp, Gayot, Eater, and other sites that list and rate Italian restaurants. Note that the images that follow don’t necessarily represent the dish as served at the recommended restaurant. (These are the top old-school Italian restaurants in America.)
Here are iconic Italian seafood dishes everyone should know
Linguine alla vongole
- What it is: Spaghetti with clams in their shells, with red or white sauce
- Where to try it: Don Peppe, Queens, New York
Lobster Fra Diavolo
- What it is: (Italian-American) Lobster pieces in spicy tomato sauce, usually served over pasta
- Where to try it: Nico Ristorante, Boston, Massachusetts
Fritto misto mare
- What it is: Mix of deep-fried seafood, typically including shrimp, squid, and sometimes small fish like sardines or red mullet
- Where to try it: Bellini, Coconut Grove, Florida
Clams oreganata
- What it is: (Italian-American) Clams on the half-shell, topped with herbed breadcrumbs and baked
- Where to try it: Uncle Vinnie’s Clam Bar, Raritan, New Jersey
Cacciucco alla livornese
- What it is: Tuscan fish seafood stew with fish, squid, mussels, etc. (supposedly five varieties, one for each “c” in its name)
- Where to try it: Fish Market, Alexandria, Virginia
Crudo di pesce
- What it is: Raw sliced seafood (tuna, fluke, langoustine, etc.) with condiments
- Where to try it: Marea, New York City, New York
White clam pizza
- What it is: (Italian-American) Pizza with minced garlic and fresh shucked clams
- Where to try it: Frank Pepe Pizza Napolitana, New Haven, Connecticut
Branzino al sale
- What it is: Whole sea bass baked in a crust of salt
- Where to try it: Fiola Mare, Washington, D.C.
Spaghetti alla bottarga
- What it is: Dried, salted tuna or gray mullet roe grated over spaghetti
- Where to try it: Salumeria 104, Miami, Florida
Baccala mantecato
- What it is: Venetian-style dried cod or salt cod mousse, usually with polenta
- Where to try it: Veneto Trattoria, Scottsdale, Arizona
Cioppino (Italian-American)
- What it is: San Francisco seafood stew with Dungeness crab and other seafood in a wine sauce with tomatoes
- Where to try it: Sotto Mare, San Francisco
Seppie or calamari ripiene
- What it is: Cuttlefish or squid stuffed with breadcrumbs and other ingredients
- Where to try it: Macello Cucina di Puglia, Chicago, Illinois
Acqua pazza
- What it is: “Crazy water” – fish poached in broth with cherry tomatoes
- Where to try it: Montainara, Woodland Park, Colorado
Pasta con le sarde
- What it is: Sicilian pasta, usually bucatini, with sardines, fennel, pine nuts, raisins, and breadcrumbs
- Where to try it: Pastai, New York City, New York
Risotto nero
- What it is: Black risotto with squid or cuttlefish and their ink
- Where to try it: Sapore di Mare, Miami, Florida
Buridda
- What it is: Ligurian seafood stew served with crostini
- Where to try it: Cinque Terre West, Pacific Palisades, California
Scungilli
- What it is: (Italian-American) Conch, usually served cold in a salad or hot in a spicy tomato sauce
- Where to try it: Pellicci’s, Stamford, Connecticut
Linguine al cartoccio
- What it is: Linguine (sometimes spaghetti) cooked in parchment paper or foil with assorted seafood
- Where to try it: The Olive, Sewell, New Jersey
Risotto ai gamberi
- What it is: Risotto with shrimp
- Where to try it: La Famiglia Ristorante, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Zuppa di cozze
- What it is: Mussels in a broth of white wine, garlic, and olive oil, served with crostini
- Where to try it: Camille’s, Providence, Rhode Island