Where to eat in Turin: bicerin, agnolotti and neighbourhood markets
A gastronomic guide to Turin: from historic cafés to the piole of Porta Palazzo, through agnolotti del plin, vitello tonnato and gianduia chocolate. Addresses and tips.
Turin: the gastronomic capital you did not expect
Turin is often associated with industry and Fiat, but insiders know it is one of Italy's most underrated gastronomic capitals. Gianduia chocolate was born here, the bicerin has been sipped here for two centuries, and the Piedmontese tradition of antipasti has evolved into a ritual that can fill an entire meal. Turin's cuisine is built on noble ingredients treated with peasant patience: vitello tonnato, bollito misto and agnolotti del plin are dishes that demand time and skill.
The food neighbourhoods
Quadrilatero Romano
The Quadrilatero Romano is the gastronomic neighbourhood par excellence. The narrow streets between Via Garibaldi and Piazza della Repubblica host wine bars, trattorias, historic shops and aperitivo spots. This is Turin's most authentic scene, blending students, office workers and food lovers.
Porta Palazzo and Aurora
Porta Palazzo hosts the largest open-air market in Europe: a kaleidoscope of fruit, vegetable, cheese, spice and multi-ethnic street-food stalls. The covered hall (Antica Tettoia dell'Orologio) is a temple of Piedmontese produce. The Aurora neighbourhood behind the market is home to the piole, Turin's working-class trattorias serving hearty, honest plates for a few euros.
San Salvario
San Salvario, the multicultural district behind Porta Nuova station, is the kingdom of ethnic food and craft beer bars. But it also hosts excellent Piedmontese trattorias and the covered market on Via Nizza.
Borgo Po and Crocetta
Borgo Po, across the river, is a residential quarter with refined but unpretentious restaurants. Crocetta, the quintessential bourgeois neighbourhood, has its historic trattorias patronised by generations of Turin families.
Must-try dishes
Piedmontese antipasti
In Turin the antipasto is not an introduction but a meal within a meal. Vitello tonnato (veal slices with creamy tuna sauce), carne cruda battuta al coltello (hand-chopped tartare dressed with lemon and oil), peppers with bagna cauda, insalata russa: in a serious trattoria they bring everything at once and the primo risks never arriving.
Agnolotti del plin
The small Piedmontese ravioli, pinched shut (plin in dialect), filled with roast meat, cabbage and rabbit, dressed with butter and sage or meat juices. Finding handmade ones in the Quadrilatero trattorias is an experience.
Bollito misto
The great Piedmontese bollito misto is a winter dish for generous tables: seven cuts of meat (muscle, tongue, head, tail, hen, cotechino, rolled meat) served with seven sauces (green, red, mostarda, horseradish). Historic trattorias serve it from a trolley.
Chocolate and pastry
Turin is the city of chocolate. The gianduiotto, invented in 1865, is the most imitated praline in the world. The bicerin, the layered drink of coffee, hot chocolate and milk cream, has been served since 1763 at Caffè Al Bicerin in Piazza della Consolata. Historic pastry shops (Baratti & Milano, Pfatisch, Gertosio) are museums of taste.
Grissini and breadsticks
Turin's hand-pulled rubatà breadsticks accompany every meal. They bear no resemblance to the industrial variety.
Markets and food shops
The Porta Palazzo market is unmissable: on Saturday mornings it is a total sensory experience. Mercato Centrale Torino, inside the Porta Palazzo building, houses artisan shops and quality food stalls. Eataly Lingotto, the first store of the chain born right here in Turin, offers tastings and a vast selection of Piedmontese products.
Budget tips
- The piole in Porta Palazzo and Aurora serve lunch menus for 10-12 euros with primo, secondo and house wine
- Turin's aperitivo almost always includes a generous buffet: for 6-8 euros you can make a dinner of it
- Tramezzini at Caffè Mulassano under the arcades of Piazza Castello are a classic Turin snack at 2-3 euros
- Porta Palazzo market offers street food at rock-bottom prices: farinata, panini, fresh fruit
- Loose gianduiotti at artisan chocolate shops cost less than gift packs and are fresher
- Turin is the city of arcades: you stroll and eat sheltered from the rain without spending on taxis
Where to stay and what to see
To plan your stay, also consult where to stay in Turin for accommodation in the Quadrilatero and the best areas, what to see in Turin in 2 days for an itinerary through the Egyptian Museum, the Mole and Superga, and how to get to Turin for Caselle airport, train and motorway information.