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ItalianCentro Storico
Osteria dei Poeti in Bologna's Centro Storico is the 16th-century buca cellar with live music on Friday and Saturday evenings, running the canonical.
OrderTagliatelle al ragu, the salumi tagliere, the live-music Friday-night dinner.
TipBook the music nights a fortnight ahead online; the kitchen runs only dinner and the live music starts at 21:00.
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ItalianCentro Storico
Trattoria da Pietro in Bologna's Centro Storico off Via Indipendenza is the long-running family-run trattoria with the meat-grill speciality.
OrderTagliatelle al ragu, the cotoletta alla bolognese, the meat grill.
TipBook by phone on +39 051 6486240; lunch runs 12:00-14:30, dinner 19:00-23:00, closed Sunday.
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BologneseSanto Stefano
051 Osteria Santo Stefano sits inside the Corte Isolani arcade off Piazza Santo Stefano, plating the city's fresh-pasta canon from the 051 group's daily lab.
OrderTortellini in brodo, the tagliatelle al ragu, a board of tigelle with cured meats.
TipOpen every day for lunch and dinner until midnight; arrive off-peak as the Corte Isolani tables fill fast on weekends.
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Bolognese TrattoriaUniversita
Trattoria del Rosso in Bologna's University quarter is the canonical 1899-founded student trattoria, a no-reservations room serving the Bolognese pasta canon.
OrderTagliatelle al ragu, the cotoletta alla bolognese, the Saturday bollito.
TipWalk-in only; arrive by 12:00 for lunch or after 21:30 for dinner. Cash preferred but card now accepted.
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Bolognese TrattoriaCentro Storico
Trattoria da Gianni in Bologna's Quadrilatero is the long-running family room on Via Clavature, running the canonical Bolognese carte and the Sunday carrello.
OrderTagliatelle al ragu, the cotoletta alla bolognese, the Sunday carrello dei bolliti.
TipBook a fortnight ahead for Sunday lunch; the Quadrilatero is loud after 19:30 and the lunch service is the calmer seating.
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PizzeriaQuadrilatero
Pizzeria Altero on Via dell'Indipendenza in Bologna is the 1957-founded pizza-al-taglio counter, an old-school Bolognese counter serving slabs of pizza rossa.
OrderThe pizza rossa al taglio, the crescentine fritte, the slab pizza with mortadella.
TipCash and card both fine; the counter runs 11:00-22:00 daily and the queue thins after the lunch peak.