Best trattoria in Bologna for your sunday dinner
So it’s sunday evening, here you are in Bologna and you wish find out why it’s named “city of food” and “la grassa”, but everything seems to be closed? Don’t worry, actually not everything is closed and here’s our list of some great traditional trattorie (restaurants with a penchant for simplicity and local homey food) that are happy to welcome you on a sunday evening.
Trattoria Da Me
Let’s start with the winner of a local episode “4 ristoranti” a very popular Italian reality show that sees 4 restaurants fighting for the best on its category. Yes you guessed right, winner Da me’s category was trattorie. They say that here you can find some of the best tortellini and lasagne around, but you can also enjoy some delicious crescentine. Specialized on traditional, local food, Da me also offers nice reinterpretations (does pumpkin savory mini-cake with balsamic vinegar, parmesan cream and amaretto wafer sound good?) and some very well crafted twists from tradition. Better to reserve.
Cantina Bentivoglio
A classical hub for live jazz music, this big underground restaurant that looks like a canteen also offers some solid, legit traditional food. Handmade fresh pasta is queen here, with an array of tortelloni, tortellacci and tagliatelle, as well as meety “secondi” (from the duck breast with smashed, lemon-aromatized potatoes, beetroot gel and balsamic to the braised beef with sangiovese wine and creamed polenta with parmesan).
Hostaria San Carlino
A small, simple family restaurant with a carefully crafted, traditional menu and the bonus of a nice choice of wines, Osteria San Carlino offers Bologna’s signature cotoletta alla bolognese as well as some impressive tortellini, tortelloni and tagliatelle al ragu, plus some other rustic choices like salted codfish with potatos, fried zucchini flowers and gramigna con salsiccia. A small and trustworthy menu that closely reminds of a comforting a family dinner.
Antica Trattoria Spiga
A bit off the beaten trek, nested on small, long Via Broccaindosso, this tiny trattoria has a very nice selection of comfort food. The hours d’oevre menu is rich in fried treats, from zucchini flowers filled with cheese to salted codfish fritters, while the home made fresh pasta list has local classics such as “gramigna con salsiccia” and tagliatelle with ragù. The guys at Antica Trattoria Spiga are also big on truffles and mushrooms, that you can enjoy with some rustic crostini or with a rich fresh pasta.
Taverna del Postiglione
Here’s another very central and yet apparently hidden place, romantically located in a charming spot, between Via Marchesana and Via De Toschi, that seems to come straight from the Middle Age. The interior is warm and the menu offers an array of traditional fresh pasta with local classics (lasagne, tagliatelle, tortelloni) as well as nice twists, from the vegetarian tortellini on a bed of pumpkin cream to “castagne” (fresh pasta filled with braised meat with a reduction of balsamic). Super meaty, its “secondi” list has three choices of cotoletta (schnitzel): Milan style, Bologna style and Postiglione style.