Bologna Dining

[Patrick_O]

Heading off to Italy for a couple of weeks over Christmas and New Year and will be in Bologna for a few days. I've browsed the archived threads and researched other sites and many of the same names keep popping up.

Trouble is, they all look quite dated. Are there any contemporary restaurants serving good food in Bologna? My SO and I enjoy good trattoia food and wine but also like modern restaurants and would really appreciate a recommendation that fits the bill in Bologna.

[weinoo]

The most "contemporary" food we had while visiting Bologna was not actually in Bologna. Instead, it was a nice train ride away, outside of Padua, at Veranda Il Calendrino, which I reported on here.

But I'm wondering - why go to Bologna for contemporary food - much of which is the same anywhere you go. The traditional foods of Bologna/Emilia are so wonderful, there's really no need for foam or pizza spheres.

[Culinista]

I spend quite a lot of time in this region. In Bologna proper: My favorite place for tagliatelle bolognese is Osteria Bottega, via Sta. Caterina 51. Caminetto d'Oro does updated Bolognese classics, and they have one of the best culatellos in town. I quite enjoyed the maialino and 30 month reserve prosciutto at Ciacco, while Pappagallo has a first-rate lasagne and good tortellini in brodo.

If you get to Modena, La Francescana should not be missed for modern food. I've heard great things about Hostaria Giusti, but we have yet to go. A visit to Acetaia Giorgio is fantastic for real aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena.

Great regional places in the countryside include da Amerigo in Savigno (my all-time fave, an unusual mix of traditional and modern cuisine all very locally sourced), Caffe La Crepa in Isola Dovarese, and La Buca in Zibello for astonishing culatello. We always stop by Dal Pescatore on the way down.

Oddly, I have never had outstanding mortadella in Reggio Emilia.

Edit: Christmas/New Years is a very bad time for gastronomic trips, as many places are closed.

Edited October 23, 2008 by Culinista (log)

[tupac17616]

If "contemporary" and "modern" are what you're after, you cannot miss Osteria Francescana in Modena. I'll definitely second Culinista on that. One of the best restaurants in Italy, in my opinion. You can read about my meal here if you're curious for some details.

Also, in Bologna, maybe consider a younger chef like Marco Fadiga of Marco Fadiga Bistrot. Here's what I wrote about it last summer:

My restaurant meals in Bologna were mostly at simpler trattorie. The one exception to this, though, was Marco Fadiga Bistrot, Via Rialto 23c, a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a member of the Jeunes Restaurateurs d'Europe association that was recommended by Cristina Parizzi. Clearly the name seems a bit French, the music here was French, and the vibe, too, was French. This would all seem to add up to a place that I wouldn't want to visit on this trip, perhaps, but the menu was very appealing, and very well-priced. When one has this much trouble choosing from among the menu options, it is usually a good thing, I think. I started with zuppetta fredda di pomodoro con baccalà, chilled tomato soup with creamy salt-cod, a crisp ciabatta crouton, and fried basil. The fried herbs appear to be one of chef Fadiga's things, as they prepared in all three courses. This soup was very flavorful, and very summery, I thought. Next I had gnocchi con finferli e canocchie (chantarelle mushrooms and mantis shrimp). This dish had great potential, but was, unfortunately, undersalted and therefore bland. This was my first time on the trip to try canocchie, but thankfully would not be my last. I find them incredibly delicious. Can one even find these bug-eyed creatures in the United States? I don't think I've ever seen them before. My secondo was outstanding. Calamaro farcito, finferli, pomodori was the simple menu description. Two fat stuffed calamari, filled with some kind of creamy mixture. I couldn't tell whether it was potato-based, or perhaps even a calamari puree of some sort, but it definitely had tiny chunks of pata negra ham from Spain in it. It was served with squares of yellowish polenta, grilled tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar. Very, very good. With food, a glass of wine, and tip, total was €39 for this meal.

[cinghiale]

Great regional places in the countryside include da Amerigo in Savigno (my all-time fave, an unusual mix of traditional and modern cuisine all very locally sourced)

Unsure if the OP's request for "modern" or "contemporary" restaurants refers to the decor (i.e, dated) or the food. That being said, I heartily second Culinista's recommendation for

In decor and cuisine, it's modern in a retro sorta way. The OP has likely seen the archived threads on Amerigo, like this one. Following on Mitch's foam comment, fortedei put it best with Amerigo:

Ah, Alberto Bettini still doesn’t get it. Either he hasn’t heard of Senigallia or he doesn’t care (or both). No molecular magic, no weird combinations of food, no green bread (as Cedroni does at Madonnina in Senigallia). Just great Bolognese food (and he hasn’t let the Gambero Rosso’s Tre Gamberi go to his head) at its best.

And the accompanying Design Inn is quite contemporary, as far as lodgings go.

[hathor]

Slightly north of Bologna is Il Sole Antica Locanda del Trebbo.

We had a truly outstanding meal there..but it was a few years ago. Contemporary in the sense that the preparations and flavor combinations were unique, but still firmly rooted in classic E-R cuisine.

Il Sole

Via Lame, 67

40013 Trebbo di Reno

Tel: 051 700 102

[Patrick_O]

Thank you all very much for your helpful comments and suggestions. As one poster pointed out, I was actually referring to decor rather that food.

In Rome for example, we always enjoy a mixture of dining experiences from the little family owned trattoria to somewhere like Gusto for example that serves excellent traditional Roman dishes but in a bright, modern setting. It's not foams and fuss that we're looking for.

I was just wondering if there were any such places in Bologna..no major problem if there isn't!

[Man]

I second hathor: i have had the chance to follow i fratelli Leoni at Il Sole in Trebbo over the years: many things have changed but the cuisine remains one of the best, in my opinion. My latest visit was January this year, report here click

[heightsgtltd]

Thought I'd bump this thread.

My wife and I will also be in Bologna over Christmas and New Years

I am unclear as to what will be closed and what will be open when it comes to restaurants.

We are particularly excited about having simple great food there as we get opportunities to have cutting edge stuff in NYC

[cinghiale]

I ate at Caminetto d'Oro on a December 26.

[heightsgtltd]

We've only been here about 24 hours but I have two things to report.

The restaurant in the wonderful hotel we are staying in (I portici) was just ok. We were exhausted and didnt want to stray too far from the place and it was Christmas eve.

It was more on the contemporary side, and in our opinion too expensive for the quality.

We ate lunch at Franco Rossi today and that was also expensive and not particularly good. I had heard that food had taken something of a downturn in Bologna but I am hopeful that we will have better experiences once we go to some of the more highly recommended places.

We are supposed to go to Montegrappa Da Nello this evening and will report back with a review...

Caminetto d'oro has been closed for the past two days but I think will open tomorrow.

[cinghiale]

My gf had dinner a few weeks ago at Mascarino in the University quarter (via Mascarella 5/a, 051/235424) and really liked it. She also thought Da Gianni (via Clavature 18, 051/229434) looked good, but she couldn't get a table. Dunno if either is open right now, though.

[weinoo]

Hope Montegrappa was good - we liked it, even though it was a bit touristy.

Da Gianni was so good that we ate there twice.

But our favorite of our Bologna stay was easily Trattoria Meloncello (via Saragozza, 240/A Ph. 051 614 3947...authentic and delicious...my full Bologna trip report is here.

[Alessia]

I'll definitely second Il Soleand Amerigo in Savigno as well as La Francescana (it's in Modena, but worth a visit).

For a more traditional meal, you might also wanna try Serghei on via Piella, 12 (ph. 051 233533) - even though I haven't been there in a while

[heightsgtltd]

WEll we spent the day in Ravenna which was great and had a late lunch at Ca de Ven which was good, but Nello was average to below average last night..

The artichike mushroom and truffle salad was ok, but it went downhill quickly from there. Everything was in a heavy sauce, the veal was like something I could get at a corner deli in Manhattan only not as good.

I have to say, we have been very disappointed with the food here. Again, we are not expecting cutting edge cuisine, just good traditional meals which we havent really found for the most part. I'll check out some of the suggestions that you guys have made, thanks!

Hope Montegrappa was good - we liked it, even though it was a bit touristy.

Da Gianni was so good that we ate there twice.

But our favorite of our Bologna stay was easily Trattoria Meloncello (via Saragozza, 240/A Ph. 051 614 3947...authentic and delicious...my full Bologna trip report is here.

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[Patrick_O]

Disappointed to hear that Franco Rossi was below par-we're booked in there for NYE.

In Rome at the moment and had an excellent lunch yesterday at Ristorante Cesarina on Via Piemonte. Cooking is classic Roman and the the suckling pig was the star of the show.

As always, we had a great time at Gusto aswell. Some of the staff can be a bit too cool for school but the wines are superb and the quality of the food ( especially their Italian and French cheeses) is always good.

Off to Florence later today and have a long list of places to try. We're shooting in the dark somewhat but looking forward to discovering some hidden gems!

[heightsgtltd]

Well I can happily say that Caminetto D'Oro did not disappoint for lunch.

We kept it simple, and they had great tagliatelle Bolognese. Not to mention, the service was very cordial and professional.

I can highly recommend this and I am glad to see that it has held up from other people's experiences!!

I think we are going to try and go to Melloncello this evening.

Edited December 27, 2008 by heightsgtltd (log)

[Alessia]

I'm glad I took a couple of classes with Maria di Giandomenico (the chef and owner of Caminetto d'Oro) and she is indeed cordial and professional herself

[Patrick_O]

Just back from a fantastic 10 days in Italy with 3 of them spent in Bologna. I will definitely be retuning as the period over New Year is not the best for dining as many restaurants are closed. Those that are open tend to lean more towards tourists and therefore it is difficult to get a true feel for the standard of local cooking.

However, we perservered and managed to eat quite well.

Franco Rossi.

We had dinner on NYE. It was a seven course set menu with wine and champagne included and became a struggle after about the third course as the portions were a little generous. There were three fish courses, one pasta, two meat and then dessert. Some of the cooking was good ( zampone was the star of the show) but some was very poor ( manza was truly awful). Overall, it was pretty run of the mill old fashioned food served in similarly old fashioned surroundings. It was fine to experience once but I can't see us ever going back.

Montegrappa Da Nello

Very enjoyable inexpensive trattoria. Definitley aimed at tourists but none the worse for it. Food is simple, honest and well prepared. Tortellini in brodo was full of flavour and the pasta had just the right texture. Veal chop was seared to a nice crust on the outside and nicely pink inside. No culinary fireworks but good ingredients properly cooked and good value for money-just what you want from a neighbourhood trattoria.

Teresina

Without doubt the best food we ate in Bologna. Situated on Via Oberdan, we had to walk past this place on our way to the city centre and liked the look of the menu and dining room so decided to try it. We were glad we did. Seated in the narrower of the two dining rooms, we started with gnocchi and tagliatelle with ragu. Both were very well made with the gnocci light as a feather and the pasta dense and toothsome. The ragu was as good an example of simple slow cooking as I've ever had. Mains were rabbit and pheasant. Both had been prepared with a lot of skill, particularly the rabbit leg which was boned, stuffed with a really tasty force meat and slow roasted. Both were simply served with roasting juices and braised chard.

Accompanied by a caraffe of very drinkable house red, this made for a fantastic lunch on our last day. I posted before the trip abour contemporary dining...this is exactly what I meant.

In between these meals we had great antipasti at the countless enotecas dotted around the Piazza Magiore and also a slice of decent pizza or two.

Back to work now about a stone heavier but already planning our return to Bologna where Il Sole and Marco Fadiga are on the radar!

Many thanks to everyone for helping make the trip so enjoyable.

[heightsgtltd]

We too were bummed that some of the best places were either closed, or not convenient to get to this trip!!

Sorry you had a mixed experience at Franco but that rings true with our meal. I am surprised you enjoyed Nello but maybe you had a better night there than we did.

On one of our last days, we had perhaps the best meal of the entire trip. Very simple good food that was very close to our hotel. It's called Trattoria Serghei, and is on a small side street right off of Augstus Righi about 2 blocks off of Independenza.

It's been in business for about 45 years, brother and sister run the room, and mom is in the back cooking as she has been forever. The quality of the food here was amazing, and the prices were way cheaper than almost anywhere else we went in Bologna.

I highly recommend this place for food, service and feel.

We also thoroughly enjoyed the gelato we had at two places. Sorbetteria Castiglione and I believe the other place was called Moroni. Some of the best we have ever tasted.

I dont think I mentioned this, but we also did a pasta cooking class with a wonderful woman and her daughter in their apt. that was one of the highlights of the entire trip.

www.bluone.com is their website and it was a memorable experience on a number of levels.

With the disclaimer that we were unable to go to Marco Fadiga in bologna and some places outside of Bologna that are supposed to be good (e.g., Imola) I have to say that the food overall in Bologna was not so great. The people at the cooking school were loathe to recommend any places which should have been a tip off..

That being said, we had a great trip overall and want to come back to the area though next time will probably stay and eat outside of Bologna..

I'll add more recommendations as they come to me..

Just back from a fantastic 10 days in Italy with 3 of them spent in Bologna. I will definitely be retuning as the period over New Year is not the best for dining as many restaurants are closed. Those that are open tend to lean more towards tourists and therefore it is difficult to get a true feel for the standard of local cooking.

However, we perservered and managed to eat quite well.

Franco Rossi.

We had dinner on NYE. It was a seven course set menu with wine and champagne included and became a struggle after about the third course as the portions were a little generous. There were three fish courses, one pasta, two meat and then dessert. Some of the cooking was good ( zampone was the star of the show) but some was very poor ( manza was truly awful). Overall, it was pretty run of the mill old fashioned food served in similarly old fashioned surroundings. It was fine to experience once but I can't see us ever going back.

Montegrappa Da Nello

Very enjoyable inexpensive trattoria. Definitley aimed at tourists but none the worse for it. Food is simple, honest and well prepared. Tortellini in brodo was full of flavour and the pasta had just the right texture. Veal chop was seared to a nice crust on the outside and nicely pink inside. No culinary fireworks but good ingredients properly cooked and good value for money-just what you want from a neighbourhood trattoria.

Teresina

Without doubt the best food we ate in Bologna. Situated on Via Oberdan, we had to walk past this place on our way to the city centre and liked the look of the menu and dining room so decided to try it. We were glad we did. Seated in the narrower of the two dining rooms, we started with gnocchi and tagliatelle with ragu. Both were very well made with the gnocci light as a feather and the pasta dense and toothsome. The ragu was as good an example of simple slow cooking as I've ever had. Mains were rabbit and pheasant. Both had been prepared with a lot of skill, particularly the rabbit leg which was boned, stuffed with a really tasty force meat and slow roasted. Both were simply served with roasting juices and braised chard.

Accompanied by a caraffe of very drinkable house red, this made for a fantastic lunch on our last day. I posted before the trip abour contemporary dining...this is exactly what I meant.

In between these meals we had great antipasti at the countless enotecas dotted around the Piazza Magiore and also a slice of decent pizza or two.

Back to work now about a stone heavier but already planning our return to Bologna where Il Sole and Marco Fadiga are on the radar!

Many thanks to everyone for helping make the trip so enjoyable.

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[chrisp]

I'm off to Bologna on the 16th and some of these recommendations sounds great. I'm much more in favour of turning up at a little Trattoria than booking a Michelin star place for Saturday night.

How busy are these places and how likely would we be to be able to just turn up and get a table - there are 5 of us?

[weinoo]

Trattoria Meloncello.

Always best to make reservations - it's good manners in Italy.

[Kropotkin]

...but if you are struggling with the 'phone and / or language, you can always book in person earlier in the week. An alternative is to show up early in the evening (c. 7.00-ish) as any spare tables should be available then. But steel yourself to try a few places if this is your strategy - as many will be booked-up for a Saturday

[pedalaforte]

I strongly second (or third) Trattoria Meloncello for lunch. For dinner, Trattoria Della Rosa. Definitely make reservations at Della Rosa.

A quick cut-and-paste from my diary (I bold-faced the places listed above):

...

Trattoria Meloncello was right next to the starting gate. We had planned to eat there anyway, but the place was packed. No tables, especially for five. When the owner told me “niente,” or something to that effect, my wife tells me my face sank so low that the woman took motherly pity and said, ah, wait five minutes. It was worth it. The food was all fantastic, but one memorable part of the day was the service. Here was a place with, as singer Greg Brown puts it, “all the love cooked in” to the food, and our server too fed us every ounce of his heart in passion-filled answers. He said “I speak the menu,” and we found it particularly interesting that, when we asked for an explanation of a dish, he had to put his note pad down to add hands-impassioned animation to his responses. This is to say nothing of the fact that one of our spouses – not mine, not yet – thought the young man exceptionally dashing. Yeah, well, maybe. But his sister was cute too, so there. This is an excellent place, family owned, with good, inexpensive food, a local clientele and magic for free.

That night we ate at a Slow Food snail place, Trattoria del Rosso, not to be confused with the Ristorante della Rosa, where we ate the next night, or Cascina della Rosa, where we are scheduled to stay in June. The food was both great and OK. Real good was that it was real cheap. Real good also were these things called crescintini, which are fried puffy dough balls filled, in this case, with squaquerone cheese, and on the side this fantastic dip/cheese/goo that was stracchino cheese with, I think, milk mixed in. Eat these. They also had an array of great vegetables, roasted mostly, but some caramelized, like onions, which should be. We got two desserts: the worst panna cotta since panna has been cotta-ed, and the best mascarpone mush with blackberries. Blackberries? Slow Food, local, regional? Who knows. But it sure was yummy.

Monday, Nov. 19 (Bologna)

Our first market day, starting right outside our door. Where did they all come from since last night? We had our morning cappuccino at the same café as yesterday on Piazza Maggiore, with the same shaved-head, dramatic barista in the orange bow tie over whom our wives drooled yet again. What is it with women and these Italian men? In my first-year, 100-word Italian I tried to tell him that our wives loved him: “Le nostre moglie … loro … uh … ‘amore’ … tuo. Tuo, no?” To which he said: “huh,” in Italian. I understood. One of his co-workers got it, and when he explained, coffee king seemed surprisingly embarrassed, but I did note that he flipped the coffee cups just a bit higher and a little quicker on the next round.

We weren’t only eating this trip, so we did make two noteworthy stops: (1) at the Artiginnasio to see its amazing, intricate, anatomical wood carvings that cover the walls of a 15th century medical school classroom. Mesmerizing. And, (2), at the small church, Santa Maria della Vita, to see a unique pieta by sculptor Nicolo del Arco, who crafted a life-sized series of seven terra cotta figures in various and expressive stages of remorse. Isn’t death brilliant in stone under dimly lit alcoves.

We snagged a bunch of take-out grub for lunch at lively Tamburini, then walked down the street to eat outside in the beautiful, quiet square at Santo Stefano church, with music by the resident crazed homeless preacher with all the answers. Of course, I can’t remember having any questions, but his answers were charmingly free. On the way back to the hotel, we had our first gelato at a place called da Gianni. Crema was the best.

Everyone was kind of listless and wanting a break, perhaps hoping to store energy for the evening’s planned culinary debauchery, so we went back to the hotel. But as soon as I sat down, I kept hearing the clock ticking off seconds from our too-short 10-day itinerary, so I ran over to the famous twin towers to do some climbing. I’m a sucker for dungeony, claustrophobic staircases, and this was a good one, with the light of a drizzly dusk just kicking in dramatic effects for photo opps at the top.

I’m boring myself here. I sound like a tourist. Damnit. I am.

Dinner at Trattoria della Rosa was one of the highlight meals of a highlight-meal trip. I got my trip nickname, Morty, there, and we christened Wendy with her name, Della. Get it, mortadella. I loved mortadella; Wendy – and everyone else it seems – hated it. “I know it’s not baloney, but do you think they can cram any more chunks of blubbery fat into one hunk of churned meat?” Cheryl could never get past the baloney and ketchup on white wonder she was fed one lunch time long ago while fighting forest fires in Utah. We met on a fire in Utah. Not the notorious baloney-ketchup fire, which was lucky for the forest’s community of trees. Baloney and ketchup? I would have let it burn and torched the town, too, for that indiscretion.

Della Rosa has a showman owner, never without spark and not shy about offering witty barbs and commentary. He had good reason to be cocky, if that’s what his personality was. Appetizers, including culatello and mortadella, were great, in particular a tuna and sea bass dish. Also in particular a prosecco, dish-in-a-glass starter that returned later as a finisher. We ordered several different vegetarian first courses, and when he got to me he said: “vegetarian, vegetarian, vegetarian, vegetarian – you, meat.” But which one, per favore? You know you’ve selected well, when the owner just shrugs and simply says “ragu Bolognese,” as if “of course you want our classic.” This was a playful place, and we laughed even when they brought my vegetarian wife a plate of meat, veal even, by accident; we debated whether or not it was an accident at all when the owner Emmanuele told Tammy at final hugs: “You eat some meat now!” That was after he kept returning to our table to feed us dessert moscato, then more prosecco. We loved this restaurant at every level. Cheryl says it was her favorite of the trip, and she might be right. It certainly was “the best so far,” that evening anyway.

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[pedalaforte]

Also, because they were recommended above, I will cut and paste info about Modena's Giusti and Acetaia Giorgio. Just my opinions, of course. I would return to both, expecially Giorgio! Do go to Modena for a day trip. Goodgle Acetaia Giorgio and set up an appointment. It will be a highlight of your trip. (Prices have gone up, as I look below. Ah, the world turns ...)

...

Tuesday, Nov. 21 (Bologna-Modena-Bologna)

Every day in Italy this trip was magical, but some reached mythic status. We took the morning train to Modena to visit a family-owned balsamic acetaia, Acetaia Giorgio, where they’ve been making the stuff for five generations. Aceto balsamico tradizionale (and it is the “tradizionale” part that is the important, distinguishing part) is just one more in the list of unbelievably perfect foods of Italy. Some day (today, this morning, right now would be a good time) you have to try this stuff, the real stuff, that is. There are only 60 producers allowed, and they are extremely closely regulated. Only vinegars judged good enough by a panel of experts are allowed bottling. Small, controlled production. But the taste! We tried five samplings dripped on to little spoons given to each of us. No, dripped slower than you’re imagining. It was a cold morning, and the vinegars oozed out more slowly than molasses on valium. We just melted with surprise at how different and how profound each was. 12-year=$65. 25-year=$105. 25-year, cherry wood=$145. 25-year, juniper wood=$190. For 100 ml! That’s a fuzzless tennis ball with a neck. And that’s the only size and shape of bottle allowed, so if you don’t see that bottle, it’s not the product. Don’t pass up a chance to visit this place. Giovanna and Giorgio are gracious hosts whose passions are tied deeply to tradition, family and, not least, flawless gustatory extravagance.

We expected lunch in Modena to be one of the treats of the trip. We had reservations for one of Giusti’s four tables stuffed behind the curtain and down the hall of the family’s real business, a salumeria. I have to be careful here. I want you to know that the food here – and the pleasant service – was exceptional at every level. Beautiful Mom, son, daughter all served us or cooked for us, and they did an equally beautiful job. In fact, I think I had MY best bite (perhaps) of the trip at this place – a main-course cotechino with zabaione that was a perfect blend of spicy and sweet. Every bit of food, to be honest, was great. So why am I pausing so foolishly about naming it must-stop? Maybe it’s a case of "must-stop-everywhere" syndrome. That is, we had so many other food experiences on this visit that matched this one that I wouldn’t single it out as a here-first-at-all-costs. I’m sure it’s my fault for reading all the reviews and building this mental picture of a quaint, rustic, grizzled place; then when you actually see the movie (or read the book) there’s a bit of a letdown when the star is short instead of tall or redhead instead of brunette. Nothing not great about short or redhead or this famous restaurant, it’s just not the package you envisioned, however somebody-else’s perfect it may be.

Back in Bologna, we needed vegetables/salad, and we went to a jazzy wine bar for dinner to eat light, drink lighter and retire early after an introduction to music by Madeline Peyroux. Where have we been?

...