The 2019 TheFork Restaurants Awards

A project born with the clear and declared goal of giving value to the new high-quality Italian restaurant scene. The goal was confirmed and strengthened with the second edition; we’re referring to the TheFork Restaurants Awards - New Openings by Identità Golose: it’s not a competition, but a scouting project created with the idea of celebrating the dynamic changes in our restaurants and the entrepreneurial spirit of those who approach this market with ideas and skills. And of giving this task to the chefs who, thanks to their work and their talent, have paved the way for these new places.

Which restaurants conquered the best Italian cooks in 2018? Which establishments have been capable of renewing themselves over the last year, thanks to a new chef or a new management? For the second year, TheFork andIdentità Golose asked this to 71 top chefs, and with their recommendations they created a list of 65 new places, which were then voted by the active users of the world’s leading online booking platform.

For this second edition, the gala dinner and the award giving ceremony took place in the beautiful Open Colonna, inside Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, with patron Antonello Colonna. The latter, in the creation of the menu that livened up the evening, was supported by the chef from Glass Hostaria in Rome, Cristina Bowerman, and by the chef of Madonnina del Pescatore in Senigallia, Moreno Cedroni.

TheFork Restaurants Awards is an idea of Almir Ambeskovic, regional manager of TheFork, and as for Identità Golose, of its two founders, Claudio Ceroni and Paolo Marchi. They were given the task, when summoned on the stage by the host of the night, Francesca Romana Barberini, to start the ceremony celebrating the ten restaurants most voted by the public. 

Here’s the complete list of the winning restaurants at TheFork Restaurants Awards 2019

The most voted 

L'Alchimia Ristorante & Lounge Bar - Milan, recommended by Andrea Berton and Antonino Cannavacciuolo 

All the other awards 

Zia Restaurant - Rome, recommended by Anthony Genovese

Luciano Cucina Italiana - Rome, recommended by Antonello Colonna

Condividere - Torino, recommended by Moreno Cedroni. It also won the Premio Speciale Zacapa

Sestogusto - Torino, recommended by Ugo Alciati

PianoAlto - Roma, recommended by Francesco Apreda. It also won the Premio Speciale Buddy Bank

Pizzeria Salvo Riviera di Chiaia - Naples, recommended by Pietro Leemann. It also won the Premio Speciale S.Pellegrino

Seu Pizza Illuminati - Rome, recommended by Gianfranco Pascucci

Rimessa Roscioli - Rome, recommended by Roy Caceres

Badalì Osteria - Florence, recommended by Maria Probst

Each one of these restaurants will be included in the "Insider" section of TheFork, which, as Ambeskovic explained «is the place where you can find the best restaurants in each time, the ones most awarded by the guides and with the best reviews from the public: on average these restaurants have 50% more bookings than the others, and enjoy a great visibility».

Paolo Marchi, instead, stressed the importance of having as many as three pizzerias in this final selection: «Until ten years ago, this would have been unthinkable. However, at Identità Golose, we’ve been convinced for a long time now that the pizza movement in Italy has grown in an extraordinary way. These are real restaurants, they research and work on quality, and it’s right that they are considered for this reason».

«Each one of the 65 restaurants selected in this second edition - Claudio Ceroni said at the end – is a winner in our opinion. We’ve worked at length to find the right format for this project, of which we’re very proud, and we believe it can give some inspiration to many enthusiasts and to many professionals so they can discover some interesting new places». A project which, as announced by Almir Ambeskovic, given its success in Italy will soon be exported also to The Netherlands and to France. 

A big satisfaction for Alberto Tasinato, patron at L'Alchimia. We wrote about its  opening in this article and then celebrated its first anniversary with a piece by Carlo Passera. A place that plays on the perfect balance between restaurant and lounge bar, thanks to the long experience of Tasinato (ex-dining-room manager with Andrea Berton and with Antonio Guida at Seta in Milan) and to the talent of young chef Davide Puleio, who trained among others with Luciano Monosilio when the Roman chef was at the helm of the kitchen at Pipero al Rex.

«I am very touched, - Tasinato said – these have been months of hard work and strong commitment, and we’ve been completely repaid for this. Our clients are becoming more and more attached to our offer and this is of course our greatest satisfaction. To this day, when we see the restaurant is full, we’re thrilled and thankful for our clients’ appreciation».

Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso