Bologna Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

[dillybravo]

Now that someone else has had the nuts to say it first:

I thought Battibecco was a huge waste of a tourist trap too. Underwhelming, although if it had been 20E a head instead of 100E I might have been satisfied. Even the culatello (preperation: slice it) was not particularly wonderful.

[crazycow28]

Now that someone else has had the nuts to say it first:

I thought Battibecco was a huge waste of a tourist trap too. Underwhelming, although if it had been 20E a head instead of 100E I might have been satisfied. Even the culatello (preperation: slice it) was not particularly wonderful.

Oh! Yeah.....Crazycow28 Super Star!

[ethandt]

I just got back from Italy and spent one night in Bologna...had dinner at De Cesari and it was one of the best dinners I have ever had.

[ann]

We spent 4 days in Bologna last fall, and I recommend both Da Cesari, via dé Carbonesi 8 (tel 051.226.769) and Trattoria Gianni, via Clavature 18 (tel 051.229.434). Try the wines of Fattoria Zerbina, probably the best of the region.

[viaChgo]

We vacationed in Bologna in 2000 for a week & had a great time! A wonderful city! A great place to eat!

I don't remember the streets, but there's a gelateria that's next to the Palace Hotel. Go there often!

I'll have to dig up the name of this restaurant...but it's a very casual place-one seating, no menus, everything served family style in great big bowls & platters that get passed from table to table. The price is fixed & the food keeps coming & coming. I'll get the name of the place & post later.

Also, you can take day trips to Modena & Parma by train very easily. Both places are wonderful food destinations for obvious reasons (balsamico & parm-reg) but have great places to have lunch. There's a great market in Modena.

[Alexander Forryan]

Zip

I go to Bologna every other month for a few days to eat.

I'd agree with all of the posts so far. Bitone is still good, but is quite a way out of the centre and not as good as it was. Tamburini is good, although I think Atti is slightly better.

I have recommended Diana (Via dell’Independenza) here before, for the Bolito Misto.

As far as I’m concerned the best restaurant in Bologna is: -

Franco Rossi

Via Goito 3

Bologna (just off the Via dell’Independenza)

I first found this restaurant after reading Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s Book – The Splendid Table. The food here is perfectly prepared by Chef Lino Rossi, a giant of a man who creates the most delicate food. I'd recommend the degustazioni menu, which you may have to ask for.

Recent highlights have been :-

Veal Paté with black truffles

Thinly sliced Goose Breast on Soufflé potatoes with a saffron sauce

Venison Ragu

Pumpkin Ravioli made by Chef Lino's Mother - This is a particular regional favourite of mine, which I always have, somewhere, on my trips to Emilia Romagna. However, this one IS the best I've ever tasted!

Baked Rabbit, wrapped in Swiss Chard

Franco Rossi has an extensive cellar and is worth asking to see. Let the sommelier guide you choosing regional wines to accompany your meal and you won't be disappointed.

Edited July 14, 2004 by Alexander Forryan (log)

[ariggsby]

I would second the recommendation of Da Cesari above. Btw, order the apple/pear torta if they have it.

[Lisa1349]

I will be in Bologna in Septemeber for SANA, the international organic food show. I've read through the tips and suggestions above. Will any eGulls be there as well? We're staying the Una Hotel Bologna, a boutique hotel on via Petrmellara.

I currently do not plan on getting rest, except when I'm too full to eat, waiting to eat again.

[tanabutler]

I will be in Bologna in Septemeber for SANA, the international organic food show. I've read through the tips and suggestions above. Will any eGulls be there as well? We're staying the Una Hotel Bologna, a boutique hotel on via Petrmellara.

I currently do not plan on getting rest, except when I'm too full to eat, waiting to eat again.

Can you post more about SANA? Grazie!

[Lisa1349]

Can you post more about SANA? Grazie!

SANA Website

They seem to be all about organic, wholistic lifestyle. I'll be there scoping new products for our new location opening next year.

[Alexander Forryan]

Lisa

I'll be Bologna from 7th - 10th September 2004 and will be sure to check out SANA. Thanks for the tip. PM if you want to meet up for Coffee

Alex

[hathor]

Lisa

I'll be Bologna from 7th - 10th September 2004 and will be sure to check out SANA. Thanks for the tip. PM if you want to meet up for Coffee

Alex

Lisa, Alex: would you mind letting us know how SANA is? Its too late for me to attend this year, but I would really love to get there next year. Thanks!!

hathor

[Lisa1349]

I'll be happy to post all about SANA with pictures when I get back. Unfortunately, I don't have a laptop.

[hathor]

I'll be happy to post all about SANA with pictures when I get back. Unfortunately, I don't have a laptop.

Great! Thanks Lisa! Enjoy!!

[vesnuccia]

all have recomended good expencive am michelin restourants

if you want to eat where people from bologna eat in an no expancive good restoraunt where they serve just regional dishes and a grandma makes the tortelini go to

tratoria boni

via don luigi sturzo 22/c

bologna

+390516154337

http://www.trattoriaboni.it/

maybe is not nice as a papagallo (one of the nices restoraunts in bologna) but here you'll eat the real spacialita emiliane

one thing:

you have to order crescentine and tigelle

:-)

kisses

[Boris_A]

Welcome and thank you, vesnuccia!

I highly appreciate recommendations for simple restaurants which are esteemed among local conoscentis. This is the kind of information most difficult to gather, IMHO.

[Joe H]

Vesnuccia, an informative website and a great story about balsamic! I'll certainly remember you on a future visit to your wonderful city!

[Carlsbad]

3 days in Bologna sounds like rough duty. I'll try Trattoria Boni next time I am near there.

[Zip]

Thanks for the post, Vesnuccia. We will definately check it out.

[KyleW]

If you have I car while there, I'd highly recommend looking into Villa Gaidello in Castelfranco Emilia, on the outskirts of Bologna. It was probably the best meal of the trip. It's a B&B in the countryside and it serves a nightly multicourse dinner. All you do is show up and brace yourself! It's 65 Euros but it's all you can drink!

Hope this helps . . .

I agree whole heartedly! I stayed at Villa Gaidello for 2 days.. THe dinner is one of the most remarkable eating experiences I have ever had! 6 courses over 4 hours.

[Michael M]

I recently returned from a trip to Bologna in order to take a week-long language course, though I was also there to eat well. This site is one place I've culled information from, so I'm giving back my culinary reviews. This trip was December, 2004, my second trip there.

First, some generalizations. For Italians in general, food is still more of an important part of the culture than in the U.S. That being said, it is still possible to get mediocre food there. And though on this trip it seemed that even the most casual bar served an excellent wine as their every day choice, not every bar had good sandwiches (quality of prosciutto, etc.), not every pastry was heavenly, and not every gelato worthy of mention. Also, the breads just aren't anything to get excited about in Bologna in terms of pure grain excitement - the kind that comes from a good sourdough loaf, pizza crust, freshly ground corn tortilla, etc. Their starchy forte is their egg pasta, where they truly excel. A two-block stroll in any direction will take you past some pasticerria's store window stacked with trays of filled pastas whose dough is the golden color of (dare I mix geographic metaphors here?) a late summer Tuscan sun.

For this trip, I only ate dinner at one trattoria because of my classes, which was Trattoria Anna Maria (via Belle Arti, 17A), which recently got a mention in a Bon Appetit spread. It's a warmly lit and inviting space, pleasant servers, superior tortellini in brodo. I also had a dish with cardoons and sausage that was also outstanding. Their house wine was a Sangiovese di Romagna, fruity and straightforward. A quartino of that (which came with a dish of mortadella cubes and some parmaggiano) plus these two dishes ran 27 E.

The remainder of my eating was done more casually, so let me arrange the reviews by type. Hope this helps someone else enjoy this wonderful city. A note that, as per tradition, many stores are closed from about 1:00-3:00 in the afternoon.

PASTICCERIE

One of the consistent superior pastry makers there is Paolo Atti e Figli (via Drapperie, 6), of which there are two stores, around the corner from each other. Items I kept coming back to included their delightfully moist Panetone a Milano, filled with candied fruit and made with a natural leavener (like a sourdough). This made for an incredibly moist crumb with a complex flavor which, luckily for me, they sold by the slice during the holiday season. They make amazing riciarelli, an almond macaroon from Sienna that so far are the best I've had. Also an individually sized torta filled with prosciutto, artichoke, cheese and egg that was my lunch many days. I also like that at the end of the day, they run out of certain things, so that I know they're fresh the next day.

GELATO

Two of the city's touted gelaterie were closed for the season (Ugo Gelato and Gelato Stefino), but if you're there in April or thereafter, try them out (Ugo is on via Ugo Bassi, the other on via Galliera). However:

Sorbetteria Castiglione, via Castiglione, 44, remains one of my favorites for their milk-based gelati, which seem a little richer than the usual Italian-style. Flavor hits include almond with almond macaroon, almond with caramelized pine nuts and hazelnut.

Le Vele Gelateria, via Saragozza 63/E. I've never seen this mentioned anywhere, but it should be. They make Sicilian-style granitas, as well as some incredible milk gelati (didn't like their fruit ones as much - not as intense). They have one called "Indian [something]" the color of darkest mahogany, that is made with chocolate and brandy; this is a personal favorite. Their Fior di Panna is also excellent.

Il Gelatauro, via San Vitale 82. Wonderful fruit gelati, very nice milk ones. I liked their cinnamon and squash, ginger, persimmon, and especially fennel seed. Though I just ran into it by chance, after arriving back home, I saw this glowing review from Faith Willinger (http://www.faithwillinger.com/travel_dett.asp?id_travel=115). They advertised that they made panettone without preservatives, though I didn't have any.

BAR-PASTICCERIE and BARS

So, a place to go have breakfast Italian style, with a pastry and caffe or cappucino (cappuco in the local dialect). Also a place for your mid-morning caffe, your mid-afternoon sandwich and caffe, etc. Since the term "bar" connotes something different than, say, an American Hooters, let's imagine a spectrum of What An Italian Bar Can Be: on one end is a small place that does not make their own food, perhaps bakes pastries from frozen doughs, and puts together some sandwiches. They serve coffee, wine, amari, spremuta (fresh squeezed fruit juices). Even though the food might not be spectacular, their coffee can be. On the other end is a place which makes their own pastries from scratch, and probably also biscotti, candies, maybe pastas. Their bar serves the same things (coffee, etc.), but they have no savory items (sandwiches). In between are the hybrids.

Bar Pasticceria Progetto/Gamberino, via Ugo Bassi, 12. Another example of a place that on its receipt says something different than the sign outside. Great, friendly staff, good coffee, excellent pastries. Some highlights include their light, buttery brioche with orange-scented cream, a pastry shaped like a rough ball and filled with either giandjuia or zabaione (I gorged on the former; just look for the golf-to-tennis-ball-sized balls coated in cocoa), sfogliatelle filled with ricotta (they had my favorite in the city). On one morning I did get a not-as-fresh brioche, but the other days I did. Also, a very good cappucino can be found here.

Caffe delle Drapperie, via Drapperie, 12. After many dull sandwiches I had as snacks (tasteless bread, mediocre prosciutto), they had the first sandwich I really enjoyed, though it was easily topped the next day and thereafter by the ones at Dei Commercianti below. At the "just a bar" end of the spectrum.

Pasticceria Bar Soverini (via Oberdan, 13) was recommended by Fred Plotkin in his book, and after 3 tries I couldn't muster enthusiasm for anything there except these sandwich cookies filled with giandjuia. The one filled with zabaione, the biscotti and the various brioches all forgettable. Coffee not that impressive, either.

Bar Dei Commercianti, Strada Maggiore,23/C (whose reciept says Caffe Mokarabia, the name of the coffee brand they use, very confusing). A very nice all-around bar with tables for light lunches or dinners. They also set up a nice spread of free snacks during "happy hour." This place had the nicest panini in Bologna (of the ones I tried), as well as a delicious torta with artichokes (like a quiche). The house wines were always excellent, and the staff there, composed of the owner and a number of college students, were all extremely friendly. They even remembered which wines I liked and started bringing them without my asking. A great place to relax and have a light bite.

Bar Roberto, via Orefici, 9A. Nice coffee, friendly service, I was not impressed with some of the pastries. I did, however, like his sfogliatella with ricotta and the cappucino. I was not able to try enough of the selection here, though, and I would definitely return and try more based on the level of service and that sfogliatella.

Caffe degli Orefici, via Orefici, 6F. Though this bar doesn't specialize in making their own pastries (though they do have these and sandwiches), the real draw for me is the area with tables on the redesigned second floor that seems to float above the attached coffee bean store and has a wonderful view of the street.

WINE BARS

Enotecha Italiana (via Marsala, 2) is more like a wine store with a bar, no seats. A large assortment of wines and spirits, 20 or so available by the glass along with snacks, lots of interesting though expensive food gifts (chocolate bars, marmallata, etc.), the staff of older men there were helpful though disengaged enough to discourage too many visits.

The Godot Wine store (hard to find, had to keep looking for it, ha ha) is a casual bar with an enoteca in the basement. They serve about 10 wines by the glass, explained in detail on a blackboard each day, along with 5 or 6 light dishes (sliced meats, a soup, a salad, etc.). Very knowledgable and friendly staff. It's actually not hard to find at all, at via Cartoleria, 12.

A stylish modern wine bar that wouldn't be out of place in New York or London, I loved Bar di Geremia e Marchetti, via Altabella, 14A. They serve about 10 wines by the glass, and 3 plates of snacks. One day I ordered the cheese plate with mostarda, and for 8 E got a huge assortment of uniformly amazing cheeses and mostarde, too much for one person. Later I realized that even if I didn't order food, you got a small place of something with your wine - olives, prosciutto, bread, chips - it changed each day. A great, friendly staff who remembered my preferences, they had my favorite wines of the trip.

FOOD RETAIL

Majani (chocolatier, via Carbonesi, 5) was a fun visit, and their product is good. These are not the most modern-styled candies, nor the best I've had in Italy, but worth a visit.

For high quality olive oils and conversation about the state of wine and olive oil production in Italy, visit the Elaioteca at via de'Giudei, 3D.

Tamburini, via Caprarie, 1. A food-lovers paradise, always crowded, on the pricey side, but worth the visit. Meats, cheeses, the best breads I've had in Bologna, prepared foods. If you feel like snaking your way through the long line, you can eat in their cafeteria-style as well.

There are two markets that I'm familiar with (though there are others). They are open early in the morning, then close around 12:30, opening again from 3:00 or so to 6:00 or so. Mercato Ugo Bassi (or dell'Erbe), via Ugo Bassi, 2. This inside market is what my heaven will look like. Produce, cheese, meats, seafood in every nook and cranny. The other market, the Mercato Quadrilatero, runs up and down different streets (vie Clavature, Drapperie and Caprarie), all within a very small area that used to be where the city's craftsmen plied their trades, on delightfully crooked and narrow old streets. Luckily, this is also where many of these food destinations are as well (Bar Roberto, Caffe degli Orefici, Atti, Tamburini).

[John Whiting]

For this trip, I only ate dinner at one trattoria because of my classes, which was Trattoria Anna Maria (via Belle Arti, 17A), which recently got a mention in a Bon Appetit spread.

←

I'm delighted that Anna Maria is still in business; I hope that she is still vigorously rolling out the pasta in the kitchen annex you go through to get to the dining room. This is a genuine everyday trattoria. I recommended it to a frieind from Turin who was studying in Bologna for a couple of weeks and she ate there the whole time. Staying at the nearby University Hotel on a couple of occasions, I did the same. It's that "better standard of ordinariness" I'm always carrying on about.

[Ore]

Ciao,

Very nice review. I look forward to a nice weekend in Bologna soon! One thing I would like to know about is places to stay for a weekend. Budget in mind. where would you recomend??

Ciao,

Ore

[Michael M]

Ore,

I stayed at two inexpensive hotels, Hotel Paradise and Hotel Due Torri, which I reviewed here. Both were 50-60 E per night, though these prices might be higher later in the year. I would return to Hotel Paradise happily, and I know they had a smaller room for less. Also, book with them directly instead of through Orbitz - it's how I got a lower price.

[Angelo Recchi]

Michael, what a great description of my beloved Bologna, the city where I spent 6 years of my life (and where I keep going at least twice a month).

I would add "Osteria del Sole", a real unusual thing. It's a place where you can bring your own food, bought in the shops next to it (it's in the very centre, Vicolo Ranocchi), and then have a bottle of wine to share with your friends.

The place is very old, dating back to 15th century (restored a lot of times), and it's the only real bolognese one which has survived to the modernization of Bologna.

ciao!

Angelo