Tagliatelle al ragu
Photo: Catia Giaccherini · CC BY-SA 3.0

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.

The Bolognese ragu took shape in the 18th-century kitchens of the Emilian nobility, with the first written recipe attributed to Pellegrino Artusi's 1891 La Scienza in Cucina. The Camera di Commercio of Bologna deposited the official legal recipe on 17 October 1982: minced beef cartella, pancetta, soffritto of carrot-celery-onion, tomato passata, white wine, milk and beef stock, simmered three hours and bound to tagliatelle 8mm wide. The same Camera deposited the legal tagliatelle width: 8mm cooked, the 12,270th part of the Torre Asinelli height. Trattoria Anna Maria and All'Osteria Bottega serve canonical versions.

5 editor picks for Tagliatelle al ragu in Bologna, ranked by editorial score. All Bologna signature dishes · Tagliatelle al ragu across every city.

All'Osteria Bottega ★ 4.7

€€ItalianSaragozza

All'Osteria Bottega in Bologna's Saragozza is the Daniele Minarelli and Valeria Tonelli room, a tiny dining hall running the canonical Emilian carte.

OrderTortellini in brodo, tagliatelle al ragu, the salumi board of Bonfatti mortadella.

TipBook three weeks ahead by phone; the room seats 28 and the lunch service has the easiest tables.

Trattoria di Via Serra ★ 4.7

€€Bolognese TrattoriaBolognina

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.

OrderTagliatelle al ragu, tortelloni burro e salvia, friggione.

TipBook three weeks ahead online; the lunch service is the easier seating and the kitchen runs the same carte at both meals.

Trattoria Anna Maria ★ 4.6

€€ItalianUniversita

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.

OrderTagliatelle al ragu, tortellini in brodo, lasagne verdi, gnocco fritto.

TipBook a week ahead for dinner. Lunch is calmer and the sfogline still hand-roll pasta in the window between services.

Da Cesari ★ 4.4

€€Bolognese TrattoriaCentro Storico

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.

OrderTagliatelle al ragu, cotoletta alla bolognese, friggione on the side.

TipBook a fortnight ahead by phone; the family carte does not change and the wine cellar is run by Massimiliano Carati personally.

Osteria dell'Orsa ★ 4.2

€ItalianUniversita

Osteria dell'Orsa in Bologna's University quarter is the canonical student trattoria operating since 1979, a no-reservations canteen for tagliatelle.

OrderTagliatelle al ragu, crescentine with the salumi board, sausage with friggione.

TipWalk-in only; arrive by 12:00 for lunch or after 21:30 for dinner to skip the line. Cash and card both fine.

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Tagliatelle al ragu makes more sense with someone from Bologna explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

Taste Tagliatelle al ragu with a local in Bologna

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