La Grassa: the capital of ragu, tortellini and mortadella.
Bologna eats on the cucina emiliana grammar that earned the city its nickname, La Grassa (the fat one). Tagliatelle al ragu, tortellini in brodo, lasagne verdi alla bolognese, mortadella IGP and the salumeria culture of the Quadrilatero still anchor every osteria carte from Via Pescherie Vecchie to Strada Maggiore. The sfogline still roll pasta by hand in shop windows along Via Drapperie, and the Camera di Commercio of Bologna deposited the legal ragu recipe in 1982. Modern rooms like Ahime, Trattoria di Via Serra and Oltre run alongside the century-old institutions of Trattoria Anna Maria, Al Pappagallo and Diana. Sunday lunch is the major weekly meal; the Quadrilatero shopping spine fills with locals doing the salumeria run by 11:00. Espresso at the counter still costs about 1.20 euros, a Sangiovese tasting in Modena is 45 minutes by train, and the queue for tigelle on a Saturday morning wraps the corner of Via Belle Arti.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Bologna, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
The plates that define eating in Bologna.
Tagliatelle al ragu alla bolognese is the canonical Bologna pasta: hand-rolled egg tagliatelle dressed with long-cooked minced beef, pancetta, soffritto and tomato. Never spaghetti.
Where: Trattoria Anna Maria, All'Osteria Bottega, Da Cesari, Trattoria di Via Serra, Osteria dell'Orsa
Tortellini in brodo is Bologna's Christmas-and-Sunday pasta: tiny egg-yolk parcels stuffed with mortadella, prosciutto di Parma, pork loin and Parmigiano Reggiano, served floating in a clear capon and beef brodo.
Where: Trattoria Anna Maria, Diana, Tamburini, Trattoria Meloncello, All'Osteria Bottega
Lasagne verdi alla bolognese is the Sunday-lunch grand-format pasta: spinach-green egg sheets layered with ragu, besciamella and Parmigiano, baked golden in at least seven layers.
Where: Trattoria Anna Maria, Diana, Da Cesari, All'Osteria Bottega, Trattoria di Via Serra
Mortadella di Bologna IGP is the city's defining cured pork: a pink, pistachio-studded, finely emulsified sausage, hot-cooked, served sliced thin as antipasto or stacked in a tigella sandwich at every salumeria counter.
Where: Tamburini, Atti, Paolo Atti & Figli, Salumeria Simoni, Osteria del Sole
Gnocco fritto is Emilia's puffed pillow of fried bread dough, served hot with a board of mortadella, prosciutto di Parma, salame and squacquerone. Eat warm, pulled apart with the hands.
Where: Trattoria Anna Maria, Diana, All'Osteria Bottega, Trattoria di Via Serra, Osteria Broccaindosso
Crescentine, also known as tigelle, are small round griddled flatbreads from the Apennine foothills south of Bologna, split hot and stuffed with cunza (lard-and-rosemary paste), mortadella or squacquerone cheese.
Where: Trattoria Anna Maria, Sfoglia Rina, All'Osteria Bottega, Trattoria Meloncello, Osteria Broccaindosso
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Bologna.
Trattoria Anna Maria in Bologna near Via Zamboni is the city's most-photographed sfoglia trattoria, run by Anna Maria Monari since 1985 with hand-rolled tortellini.
Signature: Tagliatelle al ragu, Tortellini in brodo, Lasagne verdi
All'Osteria Bottega in Bologna's Saragozza is the Daniele Minarelli and Valeria Tonelli room, a tiny dining hall running the canonical Emilian carte with precision.
Signature: Tortellini in brodo, Tagliatelle al ragu, Cotechino with mostarda
Trattoria di Via Serra in Bologna's Bolognina is the Flavio Fabbri and Tommaso Trifoni room, a 28-seat osteria with the city's most-cited tagliatelle al ragu.
Signature: Tagliatelle al ragu, Tortelloni di ricotta, Cotoletta alla bolognese
Ristorante Diana on Via dell'Indipendenza in Bologna is the 1909-founded room running the canonical Bolognese carte and the famous Sunday carrello dei bolliti.
Signature: Tortellini in brodo, Lasagne verdi, Carrello dei bolliti
Da Cesari in Bologna's Centro Storico is the four-generation Carati family trattoria, operating since 1955, a steady room for the canonical Bolognese carte.
Signature: Tagliatelle al ragu, Cotoletta alla bolognese, Tortellini in brodo
Ahime in Bologna near Via San Vitale is the Lorenzo Vecchia and Filippo Pennestri room, a 30-seat natural-wine bistro rooted in fermentation and Emilian produce.
Signature: Tortelli di erbette, Trippa with parmesan crust, Daily fermented vegetables
The medieval market grid east of Piazza Maggiore, with Tamburini, Atti, Paolo Atti and the salumeria-and-sfoglina spine of Via Pescherie Vecchie and Via Drapperie.
Best for: Salumeria, Sfoglia pasta, Aperitivo
Also: centro-storico
The 12th-century university quarter around Via Zamboni and Piazza Verdi, with student osterias, late-night kebab counters and the historic Osteria del Sole walk-in.
Best for: Osterias, Budget, Late-night
The bohemian western quarter along Via del Pratello, with bars, osterias and the late-night Bologna of the post-1977 student tradition. Aperitivo central from 18:30.
Best for: Aperitivo, Cocktail bars, Pizza
The southeast quarter around the seven-church basilica and Strada Maggiore, home to All'Osteria Bottega, Trattoria di Via Serra-adjacent picks and the bourgeois lunch trade.
Best for: Trattorias, Wine bars, Sunday lunch
The southwest quarter under the 666-arch portico walking up to the Madonna di San Luca, with neighbourhood osterias and the Trattoria di Via Serra at its foot.
Best for: Neighbourhood osterias, Sunday walks, Trattorias
The post-industrial quarter north of Bologna Centrale station, now Bologna's multi-ethnic and natural-wine corridor with Mercato Albani and the new wave of casual rooms.
Best for: Multi-ethnic, Markets, Natural wine
Peak food season: September to November (porcini, white truffles from Acqualagna and Savigno, new oil, new vintage Lambrusco) and April to June (asparagus, fava beans, the first cherries from Vignola). August is the slowest month; many trattorias close for two to three weeks for ferragosto.
Local dining hours: Lunch 12:30 to 14:30, dinner 19:30 to 22:30. Most trattorias stop seating by 22:00. Sunday lunch is the major weekly meal; many small rooms close Sunday evening and all day Monday.
Tipping: Coperto (cover charge) of 2 to 3.50 euros per person is standard. Service is not added separately. Round up the bill or leave a few coins for very good service; never more than 5 to 10 percent and never on the card terminal.
Peak food season in Bologna is September to November (porcini, white truffles from Acqualagna and Savigno, new oil, new vintage Lambrusco) and April to June (asparagus, fava beans, the first cherries from Vignola). August is the slowest month; many trattorias close for two to three weeks for ferragosto.
Local dining hours: Lunch 12:30 to 14:30, dinner 19:30 to 22:30. Most trattorias stop seating by 22:00. Sunday lunch is the major weekly meal; many small rooms close Sunday evening and all day Monday.
Coperto (cover charge) of 2 to 3.50 euros per person is standard. Service is not added separately. Round up the bill or leave a few coins for very good service; never more than 5 to 10 percent and never on the card terminal.
If you only have one meal, eat Tagliatelle al ragu. It is the dish most associated with Bologna.