The best Italian restaurants in Palmerston North range from a full dinner menu on Broadway Avenue to a neighbourhood pizzeria out in Fitzherbert. Italian restaurants in Palmerston North cover the dishes people actually come looking for, including spaghetti alla carbonara, gnocchi, lasagne, calzone and margherita pizza, with vegan and gluten free options on hand. Portofino on Broadway Avenue and Il Capo Pasta & Pizzeria in Fitzherbert are among them.
1Portofino
Portofino sits on Broadway Avenue in central Palmerston North and serves a Northern Italian menu that runs from antipasti through pasta, risotto and oven baked dishes to gourmet pizza and grilled mains. It belongs to a family owned group whose first restaurant opened in Parnell, Auckland in 1980, and the Palmerston North dining room has since been renovated into a more modern space. It suits a long dinner, a Sunday lunch or a larger group booking.
Services
- Pasta dishes including spaghetti alla carbonara, rigatoni amatriciana, gnocchi della casa and spaghetti alla vongole
- Oven baked pasta such as lasagna al forno, cannelloni ricotta e spinaci and penne rustici
- Risotto and seafood mains, including risotto alla pescatora and the piatto di mare seafood platter
- Gourmet pizza and calzone made with house pomodoro sauce and mozzarella
- Italian desserts and coffee, including tiramisu classico, panna cotta and gelato della casa
Highlights
- Portofino opened its first restaurant in Parnell, Auckland in 1980 and is still family owned
- Menu draws on Northern Italian cooking, with house made pomodoro sauce across the pizza range
- Desserts prepared on site by the restaurant’s own pastry chef
- House gluten free pasta and gluten free pizza bases available on request
- Set menu offered for large bookings
Location & Contact
Name: Portofino
Address: 155 Broadway Avenue, Palmerston North
Phone: 06 355 5860
Website: portofino.co.nz/palmerston-north
2Il Capo Pasta & Pizzeria
Il Capo Pasta & Pizzeria is an independent Italian restaurant on Ruapehu Drive in Fitzherbert, on the southern edge of Palmerston North. The kitchen runs a numbered menu of ten pastas alongside a long pizza list taking in Napoletana, capricciosa, diavola and two rolled calzones. It handles dine in, pick up, delivery and table bookings, which makes it as workable for a family dinner as for a weeknight takeaway.
Services
- Pasta dishes including spaghetti alla bolognese, spaghetti alla marinara and tagliatelle alla ricotta
- Classic pizzas such as margherita, Napoletana, capricciosa and quattro stagioni
- Rolled calzones, including calzone Venesia and calzone Napoletana
- Sides, desserts, milkshakes and hot and cold drinks
Highlights
- Fresh ingredients, sourced locally where possible
- Lunch service on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays as well as evening dining from Tuesday onwards
- Table bookings, pick up and delivery all taken through the restaurant’s own site
Location & Contact
Name: Il Capo Pasta & Pizzeria
Address: 194-200 Ruapehu Drive, Fitzherbert, Palmerston North
Phone: 06 350 0040
Website: ilcapo.co.nz
3Pompeii Pizza
Pompeii Pizza has traded at 163 The Square since 1988 and works as a sit down pizza restaurant that also takes pick up and delivery orders. Dough is made fresh each day and pizzas are built to order from raw ingredients, across a classic range and a longer gourmet range in three sizes. The kitchen also puts out lasagne, salads and crumbed mains, and keeps a separate vegan menu.
Services
- Classic pizzas in three sizes, Bambino, Di Famiglia and Colossus
- Gourmet pizzas including seafood, vegetarian and cheese led combinations
- Non pizza mains such as beef lasagne, vegetarian lasagne, Tuscan chicken and beef schnitzel parmigiana
- Garlic and herb pizza breads, seasoned fries and garden salads
- Pick up and delivery to most residential addresses inside the Palmerston North city limits
Highlights
- Trading on The Square since 1988
- Dough made fresh daily and pizzas made to order from raw ingredients, with no premade bases outside the gluten free range
- Separate vegan menu, including a vegan lasagne and vegan mozzarella
- BYO corkage on bottled wine, charged at $8 for a bottle up to 750mL
Location & Contact
Name: Pompeii Pizza
Address: 163 The Square, Palmerston North
Phone: 06 952 5575
Website: pompeii.co.nz
Italian Restaurants in Palmerston North at a Glance
| Business | Based in | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| Portofino | Palmerston North | Portofino opened its first restaurant in Parnell |
| Il Capo Pasta & Pizzeria | Fitzherbert | Fresh ingredients, sourced locally where possible |
| Pompeii Pizza | Palmerston North | Trading on The Square since 1988 |
How to Choose the Right Italian Restaurant in Palmerston North
- Decide first whether you want a sit down dinner with antipasti and dessert courses, or a pizza you can also collect on the way home, because the kitchens here are set up differently
- Read the pasta list before booking: some kitchens carry ten or more pasta dishes, while others build the menu around pizza and treat pasta as a smaller part of it
- Check gluten free bases, gluten free pasta and vegan cheese when you book rather than at the table, since availability and sizing vary by kitchen
- Match the location to your evening, with Broadway Avenue and The Square within walking distance of the city centre and Ruapehu Drive in Fitzherbert easier if you are coming from the southern suburbs
- Ring ahead for groups, birthdays and work dinners, because set menus, BYO arrangements and larger tables are organised in advance
Frequently Asked Questions About Palmerston North Italian Restaurants
What do Italian restaurants in Palmerston North usually serve?
Expect a core of pasta and pizza, with spaghetti bolognese, carbonara, marinara, lasagne and gnocchi appearing on most menus alongside margherita, Napoletana, capricciosa and quattro stagioni pizzas. Larger menus add antipasti, risotto, calzone, grilled chicken and seafood mains, and finish with Italian desserts such as tiramisu, panna cotta and gelato.
How much does a main course cost?
Published menu prices for a pasta main in the city sit broadly between $20 and $35, and pizzas start around $19 and climb with size and gourmet toppings. Menus that run separate lunch and dinner service, or that offer a set menu for large tables, are usually the ones worth checking directly before you book.
Which parts of Palmerston North have Italian restaurants?
The city centre carries most of them, with Broadway Avenue and The Square both within a short walk of each other and of the main hotel and cinema blocks. Further south, Ruapehu Drive in Fitzherbert puts an Italian kitchen close to Massey University and the Aokautere and Summerhill side of the city, which is handy if you would rather not drive into town.
Can I get gluten free or vegan Italian food in Palmerston North?
Yes. Gluten free pizza bases and gluten free pasta are commonly available on request, usually with a small surcharge, and at least one kitchen runs a full vegan menu with vegan mozzarella and a vegan lasagne. Tell the restaurant when you book rather than on arrival, since gluten free bases are often stocked in one size only. New Zealand Food Safety publishes general guidance on food allergies and intolerances that is worth reading if your requirements are strict.
Do Palmerston North Italian restaurants deliver?
Some do their own delivery within the city limits and others hand it to a delivery app, and a few take phone orders for pick up only. Delivery zones tend to stop short of Massey University and the outer rural addresses, so it is worth confirming your street before ordering.
Do I need to book a table?
Booking is sensible for Friday and Saturday evenings and for any group of more than four, and it is close to essential around graduation weeks and school holidays. Bookings can usually be made through the restaurant’s own website or by phone, and larger tables often need a day or two of notice so a set menu can be arranged.
Can I bring my own wine to an Italian restaurant in Palmerston North?
Some venues are licensed only, and some allow BYO on bottled wine with a corkage charge of around $8 a bottle and a limit of one bottle per person. Bottles normally have to arrive unopened and be sighted by staff, so check the policy when you book rather than turning up with a bottle in hand.
How do I know a restaurant meets food safety standards?
Every food business in New Zealand operates under a registered food control plan or a national programme, and is verified on a schedule set by how risky its food handling is. The Ministry for Primary Industries explains how food businesses are registered and verified, and your local council administers registration for most cafes and restaurants, so it is the place to ask if you have a concern about a particular premises.
How We Chose the Best Italian Restaurants in Palmerston North
Every business in this guide was found by searching for italian restaurants in Palmerston North, then checked against its own website. Names, addresses and phone numbers are taken from the business’s own site rather than a directory feed, so what you see here is what they publish themselves. We also check that each one is actually based in or genuinely serving Palmerston North, rather than a national operator running a local landing page. A business with no website of its own is not listed, because there is no primary source to verify it against.