Chef and restaurateur Accursio Lota of Cori Pastifico (Courtesy photo)
Food, Italian, North Park, South Park, Bankers Hill, Little Italy

‘High Honors Given to Local Italian Restaurants’

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

The prestigious restaurant and wine guide published by Italy’s Gambero Rosso International has called out its favorite Italian restaurants in the world for 2022. The researchers paid visits to 400 of them in more than two dozen countries. Lo and behold, a handful of San Diego kitchens made the list, based on their various attributes.

Cori Pastificio Trattoria in North Park earned high praise for its cacio e pepe fritters, meatballs, and ravioli filled with butternut squash and duck sausage (we couldn’t agree more!). A shout out was also given to the illustrious career and talents of chef-owner Accursio Lota, who won the Barilla Pasta World Championship in 2017.

Buona Forchetta in South Park was cited for its consistently good Neapolitan pizza and wine list, as well as for its friendly atmosphere.

Over in Bankers Hill, the beloved Cucina Urbana was named for its “brilliant wine list” and overall concept of incorporating a wine shop into the restaurant.

The wine list at Ambrogio 15, which has a location in the Little Italy Food Hall, also caught the attention of the guide’s judges because of its appealing range of boutique and imported choices.

And just down street, the popular Civico 1845 was commended for the vegan options available on the menu. Think pasta ragu strewn with seitan and creamy rice milk bechamel sauce, which didn’t go unnoticed.