Recent developments seem to indicate that the trend of flashy overstatement in restaurant design that characterised the past few years has fizzled out, making way for a new type of interior in which the aesthetics of the environment are closely amalgamated with the culinary offering, involving some sophisticated compositional solutions that rely on the architecture, rather than theatrical tricks with the decor. In this way, the architecture becomes a message in itself, on its own terms, prompting inventive spatial devices and a calibrated orchestration of materials and lighting systems that allow a multiplicity of stylistic languages. Text in English & Italian. Selection of the most architecturally interesting restaurants in Italy l Fully illustrated with designers, technical data and materials of each project 280 colour & 30 b/w illustrations