The TheFork Awards with Mastercard return for the eighth edition, the recognition dedicated to the best new openings and managements of Italian catering, which for the second year sees Mastercard as the title sponsor of the initiative.
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This year there are as many as 48 new gastronomic addresses selected by a prestigious jury of 74 internationally renowned chefs, who consecrate them as the most interesting new entries in the national scene.
Curated by TheFork in collaboration with Identità Golose, the initiative traces an updated map of new signature tables: the selection includes 27 venues in the North, 9 in the Center and 12 between the South and Islands, providing a dynamic snapshot of contemporary catering.
At the top of this geography of taste is Lombardy, which leads the ranking with 10 restaurants, followed by Trentino-Alto Adige (5), Apulia (4), Piedmont (4), Emilia-Romagna (4), Lazio (4) and Tuscany (3), a testament to a ferment that crosses the entire Peninsula.
Tuscan restaurants
For Tuscany the 3 restaurants are: Tarassaco Ristorante (Bientina, Pisa), chef Luca Nuti; Antesi at Belmond Villa San Michele (Florence), chef Alessandro Cozzolino; Oltre (Castellina in Chianti, Siena), chef Maurizio Bardotti.
The snapshot offered by the 48 nominated restaurants confirms some key trends of the new Italian catering. Alongside a strong presence of fine dining, the number of contemporary osterias is growing, capable of reinterpreting tradition in a more accessible and informal way, and vertical formats such as “hybrid” venues between bistro, wine & meat and cocktail bar are emerging. This variety of proposals, from high territorial cuisine to more casual but curated experiences, reflects a broader evolution of the market.
On the one hand, in fact, consumers select fewer outings but more experiential ones, willing to invest in restaurants with high narrative and research content; on the other hand, they seek quality and identity even in more informal contexts, in line with the attention to value, territory and sustainability described by the main sector observers for 2026.
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