Home | Food and Drink | Restaurants | The Best Italian Restaurants in Columbia, SC
Updated March 25, 2024
This article shares the top Italian restaurants in Columbia, SC. They are all charming in their own way, from hand-made pasta to white tablecloths and even an Italian deli we couldn’t leave out!
This guide to Columbia’s best Italian restaurants shares all of the best spots in town, why we love them and what we love to order at each.
There are so many great eateries in the area worth trying, so be sure to check out our list of over 20 awesome restaurants in Columbia.But if you’re specifically looking for Italian food in Columbia, read on!
What You’ll Find In This Article
- Map of Italian restaurants
- Our Top Picks
- Di Vino Rosso
- Alodia’s Cucina Italiana
- Il Giorgione
- Villa Tronco
- Delucca’s Italian Grill
- Il Focolare
- Za’s Brick Oven Pizza
- Enzo’s Deli
Map of where to get Italian food in Columbia
Wondering why Al’s Upstairs is not on our list? They closed in December 2023!
Italian Restaurants in Columbia, SC
Below you’ll find a roundup of the best Italian restaurants in Columbia. The first few on this list are the nicest of the bunch and perfect for a fine dining experience.
After that, we move into restaurants that are great for dinner but have a bit more casual vibe. All of these are still date night-worthy but are not considered fine dining. Finally, we share a few Italian pizzerias and delis.
Di Vino Rosso
807 Gervais Street | The Vista
Fine Dining Italian
Columbia’s nicest Italian restaurant
Di Vino Rosso is the best high-end restaurant in Columbia for Italian. It’s the perfect place for a fancy night out. You’ll find a beautiful setting, a delicious menu, white tablecloths and amazing service.
They were voted the Best Italian Restaurant in the Best of Columbia 2022 awards. They were also an honorable mention for Best Restaurant, Best Restaurant in the Vista and Best Charcuterie Board. No surprise here! Di Vino excels in everything.
Their menu is great and includes everything you’d expect at an Italian restaurant. Their signature dishes, though, are therack of lamband thepappardelle. You can’t go wrong with either!
Note: Di Vino Rosso was formerly Ristorante Divino. It closed in 2020 and reopened next door under a new name.
Alodia’s Cucina Italiana
101 West Main Street | Lexington
Fine Dining Italian
Lexington’s best Italian restaurant
If handmade pasta, excellent service and an intimate setting sound good to you, add Alodia’s Cucina Italiana to your list.
While all of their dishes are great,we especially love their homemade lasagna! It’s a huge portion, so plan to take some home so that you can save room for dessert. Which you definitely should! As far as appetizers go,their fried mozzarella is delicious.It’s like a grownup version of the delicious mozzarella cheese sticks you know and love. It’s now gourmet and infinitely better.
Alodia’s has a kids menuwith buttered pasta, spaghetti & meatballs and fettuccine alfredo. They also takeonline ordersand you can schedule a few days in advance if needed.
One interesting menu item when ordering online is theirfamily dinner for four. You can choose from fettuccine with chicken, bowtie gratinata, spaghetti or a penne dish. Each meal comes with your choice of Caesar or house salad and a loaf of their fresh-baked garlic bread. This is a great option for a family or if you are entertaining and want to keep it easy! Each family meal is $40.
Il Giorgione
2406 Devine Street | Devine Street
Italian Outdoor Seating Pizza
Family-owned Italian eatery on Devine Street
Il Giorgione is acute neighborhood Italian restaurantand the perfect spot to enjoy adate night out. They have delicious pasta and pizzas and a huge wine selection to pair them with.
What’s so interesting about Il Girogione is that it has been around since 2012 but it’s still somehow a hidden gem! They have a loyal following and it is an ‘if you know, you know’ type of place. Well, now you know!
We love their rigatoni al dorato, spaghetti alla carbonara, theirCaprese salad with house-made mozzarellaand all of their desserts! We like to get their pizza for takeout.You can see their full menu here. What you’ll notice is that compared to other Italian restaurants around town their prices are pretty reasonable. Pizza is $12 and their pasta is in the $16 range.
Il Giorgione has agreat patio areathat makes for theperfect lunch spoton days when the weather is nice. They also have a weekend brunch!
As far as parking goes, there is some in the back and you can also park along Devine Street. It’s right next to Backstreet Grill so you may need to walk a bit depending on the time of day.
Villa Tronco
1213 Blanding Street | Downtown Columbia
Fine Dining Italian Pizza
Charming Italian restaurant in downtown Columbia
Villa Tronco is a classic homestyle Italian restaurant located in the heart of downtown Columbia. Villa Tronco’s claim to fame is not just that they are the oldest restaurant in the state of South Carolina, but also that they have been serving fine Italian cuisine for just as long.
On the menu, you will find classic Italian seafood, pasta and chicken entrees. They also have handmade pizza cut into squares!
Villa Tronco is located on Blanding Street just off Main street. Truly the heart of the city! The restaurant’s iconic picturesque storefront draws you in with the promise of authentic Italian food. It is such a great spot for a date night in Columbia or a special dinner out.
DeLucca’s Italian Grill
1720 Sunset Boulevard | West Columbia
Italian
Casual Italian restaurant in West Columbia
DeLucca’s Italian Grill is a great Italian restaurant located less than 10 minutes from downtown Columbia in West Columbia. It’s a pretty casual setting but the dishes are elevated and delicious.
Their menuincludes everything fromhand-tossed NY-style pizzato chicken parm, grilled salmon, and roasted chicken alfredo. They also have bread baked in-house daily and they mix their pizza dough up each morning. You have to try their bread and compound butters!!
We have always enjoyed our meals there, but especially theirchicken parmesan, homemade lasagna and their caesar salad. Their pizzas are also great, or you can get a calzone or stromboli if you prefer.
DeLucca’s Italian Grill is pretty small and has somewhat of a cafe vibe. There are nice paintings and family photos scattered about. You’ll find a parking lot all around the building. It’s a shared lot with Jersey Mike’s but we have never had an issue with parking at DeLucca’s.
As far as takeout goes, you can’t order online but you cancall in a takeout order.
Il Focolare Pizzeria
2150 Sumter Street | the North Main area
Pizza
Laidback pizza parlor in the North Main area
If you are looking fortop-quality handmade pizzas,Il Focolareneeds to be on your must-try list. They have been serving up pizzas baked in theirwood-fired pizzaoven since 2019.
Their pizzas are all 13″ and come with standard toppings in addition to some unique ones. Thinkbrussels sprouts & chevre goat cheese pizzaor potato & rosemarypizza.
Il Focolare is located on the Cottontown side of the North Main Street district on Sumter street. As a restaurant brought to you by James Beard semifinalist City Grit Hospitality Group and award-winning chef Sarah Simmons, the quality of the food does not disappoint. Accordingly, it is a very popular spot and there may be a bit of a wait for your pizza at peak times.
Za’s Brick Oven Pizza
2930 Devine Street | Devine Street
Italian Pizza
Casual Italian eatery on Devine Street with brick oven pizza
Za’s is one of our favorite spots to enjoy a delicious brick oven pizza. It is a full-service restaurant and bar with an upscale casual dining atmosphere.
Located in the quiet neighborhood commercial corridor of Devine Street, their outdoor seating on the patio is worth checking out when the weather is nice.
Za’s has a great community feel and is a favorite spot for friends and families to meet. It’s a great place to relax and have a glass of wine with delicious pizza and other Italian appetizers and entrees. And if you’re looking for takeout pizza, you can order ahead online! Make sure to check them out for their brunch offering on Saturdays and Sundays.
Enzo’s Delicatessen
600 Heyward Street | near Downtown Columbia
Deli
NY Style deli in Five Points
Enzo’s is a New York-style deli located in Columbia’s Olympia Mills. They have both cold and hot NY-style sandwiches on the menu, several of which feature chicken cutlets.
We can’t get enough of theirchicken parmwith marinara sauce, mozzerella and pecorino romano. TheirHugo(chicken cutlets, swiss, lettuce, tomato and mayo) and coldItalian sandwichare also awesome.
Enzo’s huge subs are a Columbia lunch favorite with hot and cold options. They also make their own Italian desserts (try the cannoli!) from scratch and have a small Italian market for grab-and-go items.
Enzo’s was previously located in Five Points but relocated in April 2024.
We hope you enjoyed this list of our favorite Italian restaurants in town. Make sure to check out our other articles onwhere to eat in Columbia for more inspiration.
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