Magazine Behind "Michelin Star Of Italy" Awards San Diego's Cori Pastificio Top Honors For Italian Restaurant

March 3, 2024

Italy’s top food & wine publishing group Gambero Rosso has awarded San Diego's Cori Pastificio with its highest honors, which only five Italian restaurants in the entire country received.

Similar to France's Michelin Star Awards, Italy's Gambero Rosso acknowledges top Italian restaurants around the world on an annual basis. Judges travel to nearly 30 countries every year, judging over 400 Italian restaurants on their cuisine, wine selection, service, and ambiance. This year, the Italian food and wine magazine, once again, awarded North Park's Cori Pastificio with top honors of Three Forks, representing restaurants with the utmost culinary expertise in authenticity, exceptional service, and an expertly curated wine list. 
"We are extremely honored to be 1 of 30 restaurants in the world, as well as 1 of the only 5 Italian restaurants awarded in the USA to have earned three forks by Gambero Rosso - being the highest ranking representing restaurants with the utmost of culinary expertise in authenticity, exceptional service, and an expertly curated wine list," commented Cori Pastificio Chef & Owner Accursio Lota. ⁠"Gambero Rosso is the Italian equivalent of a Michelin Star - a leading rating group in the food and wine industry in Italy, and a digital and printed guide of the best Italian restaurants in the world "

Originally from Sicily, Chef Accursio Lota first entered the culinary spotlight when at age 18 he was chosen to represent his school at a national culinary competition. Accursio moved to California when he was 22 years of age to work at the Biltmore Four Seasons in Santa Barbara, where at one point he catered a fundraiser for then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama at Oprah Winfrey's home. The first restaurant Accursio cooked at in San Diego was at The Marine Room in La Jolla Shores. In 2012, Accursio and his wife started an underground fine dining restaurant club called Limone, where they designed pop-up events with themes related to the seasons.

In November 2012, Accursio became the Executive Chef at Solare Ristorante in Liberty Station, where he received numerous awards and accolades during his tenure, including winning the 6th edition of the Barilla Pasta World Championship in 2017 and honored with the prestigious Three Gamberi acknowledgement from Gambero Rosso. In December 2019, Chef Accursio opened Cori Pastificio - a Sicilian-style Italian restaurant & pasta shop in North Park with a menu centered around fresh made pasta and Italian comfort foods. In December 2020, Gambero Rossi announced that Cori Pastificio was the 2020 New Opening of the Year. Cori Pastificio also received top honors last year and the year before. 

Cori Pastificio is located at 2977 Upas Street in San Diego's North Park. For more information, visit coripasta.com.