Where to get the best Spritz in Bologna
Spritz, that red icy cocktail that’s never missing on the tables and in the hands of people under the portici of Bologna.
Spritz is well known and loved by everyone: both locals and foreigners visiting the city.
Here are the 5 places to drink a top-quality Spritz while you enjoy Bologna’s nightlife.
Spritz and aperitivo, the magic combo:
Aperitivo and Spritz are like bread and Nutella, a magic match: while “Aperitivo” nowadays means different things according to the context, Spritz is the specific type of drink, where Prosecco wine, ice cubes, and soda are mixed with a bitter: either it’s Aperol, Campari, Vermouth, Cynar or others.
During Aperitivo time, the beloved tradition to meet your friends just before dinner, both the narrow alleys of the “Quadrilatero” Bologna district and the larger streets of the University area get full of people happy to relax after a long day of work or studies.
Approx. between 6 pm and 9 pm, you’ll find unique combos (drink + cold cuts, drink + buffet of appetizers) to share with friends and enjoy the evening breeze. Spritz, of course, couldn’t be missing!
Thanks to its unique taste and its cheap price, Aperol Spritz is generally the most drunk as an Aperitivo. Other variations of Spritz include Campari Spritz, a way more bitter, Cynar, Vermouth and many others.
Spritz, as well as Prosecco or other low-alcoholic drinks are the best way to start the evening, often paired with a buffet of appetizers: In Bologna, most streets of the university area host these buffets where food is generally low-quality, while some other areas, such as Quadrilatero, have different butchers and bars with fresh “taglieri” of cold cuts, coming to you with the drink you ordered.
Let’s see the top 5 places to drink this special Italian cocktail:
In a nutshell:
- CAMERA A SUD
- CANTINELLA
- MARSALINO
- RUGGINE
- GIANNI VINI
The 5 Best places for Spritz:
1. CAMERA A SUD
In the heart of the former Jewish ghetto and a stone’s throw from the university area, Camera a Sud is the cozy place to be for an early evening drink and chat.
Bartenders there use many fresh local ingredients for the preparation of cocktails: local vermouth for their Spritz or “Americano” cocktails and fresh Gins from the farm to the table. Check out this secluded and cool corner during the summer, when enjoying their nice tables outside is a plus for your nice evening. The freshness of their farm-to-the-table products and the intensity yet balance of their drinks make the Spritz by Camera a Sud one of the best places for this pre-dinner drink.
Camera a Sud: Via Valdonica 5
2. CANTINELLA
This beautiful and charming open-air place inside “Arena del Sole” theater, has the same freshness or ingredients and attention to detail of Camera a Sud, since it was opened by the same owners. Cantinella is a specific spot in a cloister of the ancient building, in the middle of “Via dell’Indipendenza”, Bologna main street. Cantinella, which specializes in Aperitivo, has an excellent wine list as well as an excellent Spritz. All to be enjoyed in a rustic and ancient patio inside one of the city’s main Theaters!
Cantinella: Via dell’Indipendenza 44 (Arena del Sole)
3. MARSALINO
Marsalino bar, in via Marsala, is very popular among locals, both students, and workers. Aperitivo there is certainly a great deal and Marsalino serves chips and delicious bruschetta with your drink, and in case you’re more hungry, you’ll get the chance to taste their traditional revisited dishes. You will be surprised: Tortellini in Parmesan cream and truffle are the main example here.
The bar enters the top list of Spritz thanks to their “Lambrusco Spritz”, an original Spritz signed by them and prepared with Laumbrusco wine, one of our proud DOC regional wines.
The combination is pretty uncommon yet appreciated, so is the quality of their food, which with the originality of the Spritz, and the kindness of the staff make Marsalino a Bar not to be missed in Bologna.
Marsalino: Via Marsala 13 D
4. RUGGINE
Delicious home-cooked food, cut boards of cold cuts, and sandwiches await you in Ruggine, which has its kitchen that also covers Ragu restaurant, whom we already talked about for the Best Places for Lasagne in Bologna.
Ruggine’s Aperol Spritz is pretty rich in flavor and intense. And the place is pretty vivid and socially vibrant, without a huge crowd passing by, thanks to its secluded yet central location in an alley a stone’s throw from the 2 towers, Vicolo Alemagna.
Please note: sometimes you’ll have to wait for 15 about mins to get a table in Ruggine if you’ll go there around Aperitivo time on the weekends.
Ruggine: Vicolo Alemagna 2C
5. GIANNI VINI
Gianni Vini’s bar has a great location since it’s secluded but central.
The bar has outdoor space under the portico that is not as chaotic as most other bars with outdoor space. Gianni Vini has excellent sandwiches and appetizers to accompany its careful selection of wines or with a delicious Spritz.
Speaking of which, the bar does “Spritz Emiliano”, prepared with our local Lambrusco wine, like in Marsalino’s bar mentioned above.
The staff renowned to be very friendly and Gianni Vini s also popular for coffee and breakfast. Therefore, if you are staying nearby, such as in Via delle Moline or Via Irnerio, or also in Via Santo Stefano where they own a second bar, you’ll have the chance to come back in the morning to enjoy it under another light.
Among the appetizers offered with a drink at Aperitivo there are artisanal Taralli, “Nocellara del Belice” crushed fresh olives, coming from the only Italian cultivar that owns the D.O.P for its products, of which the bar also sells olive oil, and finally toasted peanuts and chips.
Gianni Vini uses the “Wine emotion method”, a special method to preserve wine in a controlled temperature, therefore they are very careful with their products.
In addition to the bar service, they have a retail sale of products from all over Italy: pistachio cream for croissants, special preserves, Sicilian homemade delicious chocolate, from farm-to-table organic jams for breakfast in the morning, making it a nice souvenir to bring back home.
Gianni Vini: Via Venturini 1/a – Via Santo Stefano 44