Zidane, Zanetti and Where Calcio Eats… Our Top Restaurants from 2025-26

As any seasoned calcio traveller knows, the game itself is only half the story. The real soul of an Italian matchday is found in the local joints where fans gather before kick-off, or where you toast a win long into the night.

From coastal towns to northern strongholds, these are our favourite restaurants from our travels during the 2025-26 season.

Alla Brace, Pescara

Sitting on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, there is no shortage of fancy seafood restaurants in Pescara. One that stood out was Alla Brace on Via Gioacchino da Fiore, where we stopped for some traditional arrosticini.

An Abruzzese delicacy, these small meat skewers are ideally consumed with a beer. They come in different kinds, normally pork, beef and liver, and the locals will have you believe you ought to polish off 20-30 in one sitting.

We put away 15 before throwing in the towel. But there’s more to Alla Brace than arrosticini, namely a delicious focaccia with soft cheese and local sausage for €8 and an excellent selection of beers too.

But what really stood out, aside from the food, was the warm welcome which, like the arrosticini, is an Abruzzese tradition. The owner was beaming to see visitors tucking into the local fare, and his advice on what to order and what drinks to pair it with felt less like a sales pitch and more like being introduced to a family tradition.

Ristorante Da Angelino, Turin

From the outside, Da Angelino looks like dozens of other unassuming, grey buildings in Turin’s affluent Borgo Crimea district. Step inside, however, and you are instantly hit by the sheer weight of Juventus history. This place isn’t just a restaurant; it’s an absolute shrine to Juve legends.

Run by Mauro Falvo, whose parents Angelino and Rita started the business, the walls are crammed with decades of football memories. You’ll spot photos of Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli, Alessandro Del Piero, and Gigi Buffon. And the one and only Zinedine Zidane. Introduced to the trattoria by Edgar Davids and Paolo Montero, the Frenchman loved it so much he ate here almost every day during his five years in Turin, even flying the chef out to help him prepare during Euro 2000.

While the current squad doesn’t drop in as regularly since Juve moved training grounds, the food remains a brilliant, no-nonsense tribute to Piedmontese tradition. Zidane’s favourite (pasta al dente with cherry tomatoes and pesto) is still a fixture, alongside slow-roasted veal and local Alba wines. It’s a homely, bustling spot that gives you a genuine sense of the club’s golden eras.

Trattoria Da Rino, Venice

Venice matchdays usually involve a scenic water bus to the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, but our culinary highlight of the city was just a few seconds from the official Venezia FC ticket store in Campo SS Apostoli. Tucked behind one of Venice’s many stone bridges, we found out about Trattoria Da Rino while nursing a spritz at a nearby kiosk.

Now in its 30th year, this family-run trattoria looks small from the street but sprawls back into a centuries-old building, offering a lively, welcoming atmosphere. It’s slightly north of the main Rialto hub, meaning it escapes the worst of the claustrophobic tourist crowds while still keeping you close to the action.

The food here is a mix of excellent local seafood and a spot of theatre. We started on our waiter’s recommendation with the capesante gratinate al forno – sweet, juicy baked scallops served in their shells with herbs and a light, caramelised cheese crust. But the real main event is the cacio e pepe. At just under €25, it’s a bit of an investment, but it’s finished tableside inside a massive wheel of Parmesan cheese. Watching the waiter fold the pasta through the melting cheese and fresh black pepper is a fun moment to remember.

El Gaucho di Javier Zanetti, Milan

More than a decade after hanging up his boots, former Inter captain Javier Zanetti is still bringing a real flavour of Argentina to Milan.

His plan was simple: to create a restaurant and share his heritage with his adopted city, and he now has two places. The first one he opened, El Gaucho Javier Zanetti, sits close to the canals of Navigli in the quiet Via Carlo d’Adda, and is as traditional an Argentine asador – a grill house dedicated to the art of cooking meat – as you will find outside of Buenos Aires.

There’s an Argentina shirt hanging up by the bar – he represented his country 145 times – and photos from his playing days on the wall, with the 2010 Champions League win front and centre.

After having a good look around, we settled in with a couple of empanadas and the most delicious grilled sweetbreads, which were drizzled in lemon and melted in the mouth.

And there was no rush. It’s dimly lit and cosy with tables fairly close together creating a warm atmosphere. Near the back you can watch a master at work by the grill and hear the meat sizzling away.

The steaks were cooked to perfection and paired with a bottle of Zanetti’s own Malbec before the tiramisu sealed the deal.

Trattoria Ermes, Modena

You know you are on to a good thing when walk-ins are an absolute non-starter. We arrived in Modena on a Thursday morning but it wasn’t until Saturday that Trattoria Ermes could squeeze us in for lunch. It was worth the wait.

A small, rustic osteria in the north-west corner of the city centre, its size and staff made for an intimate experience, their warmth and enthusiasm translating to the plate. The walls are decorated with a mix of art paying homage to founder Ermes Rinaldi (a figure so renowned a documentary was made about him after his death) and calcio memorabilia belonging to the city’s only club.

Stories of I Canarini can be collected by the bucketload from owner Alessandro and his friends who regularly visit. These involved jokes at the expense of rivals Reggiana, who they beat on Labour Day and who will spend next season in Serie C.

Though it was the day after, this is a handy spot for a pre-match meal given its proximity to the Stadio Braglia. You’ll likely need to stretch the nine-minute amble with a few laps of the Parco archeologico Novi Ark though to work off the meatballs.

The tortelloni ‘Old Modena’ style is a must and dessert introduced a new way to enjoy lambrusco – soaking it up with bensone, a dry biscuit-like cake that absorbs the liquid like a paper towel.

A  heart-felt ovation for the star of the show – chef Paola – allowed patrons to reciprocate the feel-good factor the food induces. After entering this small restaurant expect its big heart to leave you with the sentiment of having visited lifelong friends.