The Sunset Travel Awards celebrate the best in travel in the West. These restaurants are the 2025 winners of the Where to Eat & Drink: Inspired Italian category. Check out the complete list of winners here. For our definitive and searchable travel directory to help you plan your next trip in the West, click here.
Tavernetta Vail
Four Seasons Resort and Residences, Vail
Colorado’s esteemed Frasca Hospitality Group has joined forces with Four Seasons Resort Vail at this restaurant that celebrates lesser-known but super satisfying Italian Alpine cuisine. Think buckwheat malfaldine pasta with short rib ragu and wild quail stuffed with Alpine sausage, served in an elegant dining room, complete with Tuscan villa-worthy takeout wine window.
Pasta Sisters
Pasta Sisters
This L.A. institution made its name by serving some of the best handmade pastas in the city in an unassuming strip mall (the vernacular architecture that is home to so much of L.A.’s best cuisine). The friendly service, attention to detail, and extreme convenience of the walk-in concept were, and remain, a revelation.
Tony’s Pizza Napoletana
Tony’s Pizza Napoletana
This must-visit San Francisco institution helmed by 13-time World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani offers nearly a dozen regional styles from Neapolitan to Detroit. Our personal favorite is the award-winning margherita, but order early because there’s a limit of 73 margherita pizzas made per day.
Little Original Joe’s
Little Original Joe’s Marina
In a city slammed with good Italian joints, this charming spinoff of the renowned 87-year legacy restaurant Original Joe’s successfully marries the warmth of an old-school Italian neighborhood eatery with flash fit for the Marina. This 100-seater has become a classic, too, serving as both a testament to the Duggan family’s nearly 90-year culinary legacy in the city.