Portsmouth does Italian properly. Within a short walk of each other in Southsea you can find a Roman pinsa bar, a plate of handmade pasta and a wood fired pizza, and that is before you cross to the marina restaurants out at Port Solent. For a city this size, the choice is genuinely good.
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To rank them we worked through the Italian kitchens across Portsmouth and Southsea, leaning on the Google and Tripadvisor scores that hundreds of diners have left between them, read alongside what each place actually serves. The goal was to sort the genuinely good from the merely handy, and to reward the kitchens that keep a crowd happy rather than just the loudest ones.
Every restaurant was weighed on the same six things, from reputation and the food to the setting, the value and how easy it is to reach, with reviews counting for the most. A full breakdown of how the scores were built sits at the foot of this article.
The list is not fixed, and our writers will revisit it as kitchens change hands and the numbers move. For now, this is how the city’s Italians stack up.
1. Soprano’s
Soprano’s on Palmerston Road is the one the numbers quietly love, a steady 4.6 across well over four hundred reviews, which is the rare combination of a high score and a big crowd. It is a proper sit down Italian in the old mould, the sort of place you book for a long dinner of antipasti, pasta and a bottle of red rather than a quick bite on the way home. The menu covers the classics without trying to reinvent them, and the welcome is the kind regulars mention again and again, warm and attentive without hovering over the table.
Its spot on Palmerston Road puts it in the thick of Southsea’s eating and drinking strip, handy for a drink before or after, and it draws a mixed crowd of couples, families and groups. Being this popular has a flip side, weekend tables disappear fast and the room gets lively when it is full, so it is not the place for a hushed, candlelit two. For dependable, generous Italian cooking with service to match, though, it is hard to beat, and the sheer volume of happy reviews makes the case better than any menu could.
The best bits
- a consistently high score from one of the biggest crowds of reviewers in the city;
- a full classic menu, from antipasti through pasta to meat and fish mains;
- a central Southsea spot, handy for a night out on Palmerston Road;
- warm, attentive service that regulars mention time and again.
Bear in mind
- it is popular, so weekend tables disappear fast and booking is wise;
- the room gets lively when it is full, not the place for a hushed dinner.
If you want the dependable choice for a special meal, this is it.
2. Pinsarke
Pinsarke on Clarendon Road holds the highest score on this list, a near perfect 4.9, though from a smaller crowd than the big trattorias. Its calling card is pinsa, the lighter, crispier Roman cousin of pizza, made with a long proved dough that is easier to eat and, its fans insist, easier to digest than the usual base. The menu is short and focused, which is usually the sign of a kitchen that cares more about doing a few things well than filling a laminated card, and the room is small and personal.
That focus is also its limit, because beyond the pinsa there is less choice than a full Italian restaurant offers, and the size means you may wait or need to book at busy times. What you get in return is something genuinely hard to find done this well anywhere else near the city, which is exactly why its reviewers are so devoted. It is the kind of place people travel across Portsmouth for rather than stumble into, and the rating has been earned one careful plate at a time.
The best bits
- the top rating in the city for an Italian kitchen, and deservedly so;
- pinsa you will struggle to find done this well anywhere else nearby;
- a short, focused menu that the kitchen clearly cares about;
- friendly, personal service in a cosy little room on Clarendon Road.
Bear in mind
- it is small, so you may have to wait or book ahead at busy times;
- beyond the pinsa there is less choice than a full trattoria offers.
Come here for something you will not find on every corner.
3. Giuseppe’s
Giuseppe’s on Kent Road is the local institution, run by a Southsea name with decades in the trade, and it scores a solid 4.5 from close to three hundred reviews. It trades on exactly the sort of generous, old school Italian cooking that keeps regulars coming back, the kind of hearty, unfussy plates that do not chase trends because they never needed to. The welcome is a proper neighbourhood one rather than a chain script, and portions are generous enough that you are glad you arrived hungry.
It is a small room, so booking beats turning up on spec, and the style is firmly classic rather than cutting edge, which suits most diners but not the ones hunting for something new and clever. For comfort, consistency and a sense that the people cooking actually care whether you enjoy it, few places in Southsea match it, and the steady run of warm reviews reflects a kitchen that has earned its following over years rather than months.
The best bits
- a long standing name that locals trust, with the reviews to match;
- hearty, traditional dishes done without fuss or gimmicks;
- a proper neighbourhood welcome rather than a chain script;
- generous portions that leave you glad you came hungry.
Bear in mind
- the style is classic rather than cutting edge, which suits most but not all;
- it is a small room, so booking beats turning up on spec.
For comfort and consistency, book a table and arrive hungry.
4. O Sole Mio Two
Out at Port Solent, O Sole Mio Two trades the Southsea bustle for a view of the boats, and it pulls a 4.5 from more than four hundred reviews, a big, steady following helped by one of the best settings of any Italian in the area. The menu is broad and crowd pleasing, running from pizza and pasta to grills, the sort of range that keeps a mixed table happy, and the waterside location lifts an ordinary evening into a small occasion. There is proper parking on site too, a genuine rarity for the Southsea restaurants where kerbside space is a nightly battle.
The catch is distance, Port Solent is a drive out rather than a stroll from the city centre, and the setting does a fair share of the heavy lifting, so you go as much for the marina as for the plate in front of you. On a warm evening when you can sit out by the water, though, it is hard to think of a nicer place to eat Italian in Portsmouth, and the reviews suggest plenty of diners agree.
The best bits
- a marina setting that lifts the whole evening;
- a broad, crowd pleasing menu of pizza, pasta and grills;
- plenty of reviews backing up a steady, reliable score;
- easy parking on site, a rarity for the Southsea places.
Bear in mind
- Port Solent is a drive out rather than a stroll from the centre;
- the setting does the heavy lifting, so go for the view as much as the food.
Best saved for a warm evening you can spend by the water.
5. Mamma Mia Pizzeria
Mamma Mia on Fratton Road is the neighbourhood pizzeria that punches well above its weight, carrying a lovely 4.8 from its regulars. The review count is smaller than the big names, but the people who go clearly adore it, and a high score from a tight, loyal crowd often tells you more than a middling one from a huge one. It is a friendly, no frills local that treats you like a regular from the first visit, turning out proper pizza at prices that will not frighten anyone, and it works as well for a takeaway on the sofa as a sit down meal.
The limits are honest ones, it is pizza led rather than a full pasta and grills restaurant, and Fratton Road is more workaday than the polished Southsea strips. None of that dents the cooking, and it stands as a useful reminder that the best meal in the city is not always the one in the grandest room.
The best bits
- one of the highest ratings of any Italian in the city;
- proper pizza at prices that will not frighten anyone;
- a friendly, no frills local that treats you like a regular;
- handy for a takeaway as much as a sit down meal.
Bear in mind
- it is pizza led, so look elsewhere for a long pasta menu;
- Fratton Road is more workaday than the Southsea strips.
A reminder that the best meal is not always the grandest room.
6. Circolo Pizzeria
Circolo on Osborne Road rounds off the list, a dependable Southsea pizzeria carrying a 4.4 across nearly three hundred reviews. It is the easy, central choice when you want a good pizza without a trek or a long wait, sitting close to the bars and a short walk from the seafront, with a relaxed, walk in friendly feel that suits a casual night rather than a special one. The pizza does the job without fuss, and the steady score from a healthy number of reviewers shows it rarely lets anyone down.
It sits a notch below the top names on the reviews, which is why it lands here rather than higher up, and a busy Osborne Road can mean a wait at peak times on a weekend. For a reliable plate when you are already in the thick of Southsea and hungry, though, it is a safe bet that keeps its regulars coming back for more.
The best bits
- a central Southsea spot, close to the bars and the seafront;
- a steady score from a healthy number of reviewers;
- a relaxed, walk in friendly feel for a casual night;
- pizza that does the job without fuss.
Bear in mind
- it sits a notch below the top names on the reviews;
- a busy Osborne Road can mean a wait at peak times.
A safe bet when you are already in the thick of Southsea.
How they scored (out of 10)
The ranking at a glance
| Position | Restaurant | Area | Score (out of 10) | % (out of 100) |
| 1 | Soprano’s | Palmerston Road | 9.3 | 93 |
| 2 | Pinsarke | Clarendon Road | 9.1 | 91 |
| 3 | Giuseppe’s | Kent Road | 8.8 | 88 |
| 4 | O Sole Mio Two | Port Solent | 8.5 | 85 |
| 5 | Mamma Mia Pizzeria | Fratton Road | 8.2 | 82 |
| 6 | Circolo Pizzeria | Osborne Road | 7.9 | 79 |
What the comparison showed
A clear split runs through this list between the full sit down restaurants and the pizzerias. The restaurants take the top places, led by Soprano’s and the pinsa specialist Pinsarke, because a broader kitchen with table service gives diners more to warm to, while the neighbourhood pizzerias lower down are no worse at what they do, they simply do a narrower thing well.
Southsea dominates. Five of the six sit in or around the same few streets, from Palmerston Road to Osborne Road, with only O Sole Mio Two out at Port Solent breaking the pattern, and even it trades partly on a setting the city centre cannot match. For an Italian meal in Portsmouth, Southsea is the obvious place to start.
The scores also show how rating and review volume interact. Pinsarke’s near perfect 4.9 comes from a modest crowd, while Soprano’s and O Sole Mio Two earn slightly lower marks from far larger ones, and we have leaned towards the places that hold a high score at scale. A great rating from a handful of diners is promising, but one kept across hundreds is proof.
How we ranked them
This ranking was drawn up by Portsmouth And from openly available information as it stood in October 2026. Each restaurant was scored from 0 to 10 across six criteria, shaped for eating out rather than a one size fits all checklist. Reviews and reputation carried the most weight at 30 per cent, the food and the menu came next at 25 per cent, consistency backed by the number of reviews at 15 per cent, the setting and atmosphere at 10 per cent, value for money at 10 per cent, and ease of getting to the door at 10 per cent. We read the public ratings on Google and Tripadvisor, looked at what each kitchen actually offers, and compared the venues against one another rather than inspecting any of them in person. Treat the result as an editorial view and a snapshot, not an official league table, and expect the order to shift as menus and reviews change. Prices and opening times move as well, so confirm them before you book.
