Dispensa Emilia is an italian restaurant in Centro Storico, Parma.
Editorially verified August 27, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Signature dishes: Tigelle, Gnocco fritto, Tagliatelle al ragu
Must order: Tigelle filled with prosciutto and squacquerone to start.
Tip: Order at the counter and take a table; it is the cheapest respectable route to a full Emilian salumi spread near the station end of town.
Address: Via Giuseppe Zanardelli 2, 43126 Parma
Antica Osteria della Ghiaia fries torta fritta by the basket near Parma's old market and hosts a tortellata every 23 June for the feast of San Giovanni.
Signature: Torta fritta, Tortelli d'erbetta, Tortellata di San Giovanni
Order: Torta fritta with salumi; add the tortelli before the baskets win.
Tip: Dinner runs Friday and Saturday only; every other day it is a lunch house. Book June 23rd weeks ahead for the tortellata di San Giovanni.
Osteria dei Servi works the old Ghiaia market square in Parma with Vacca Rossa beef, cavallo pesto and vintage-furnished rooms open every day of the week.
Signature: Vacca Rossa beef, Tortelli d'erbetta, Cavallo pesto
Order: Vacca Rossa beef, the red-cow breed behind the original Parmigiano.
Tip: Open seven days including Sunday dinner, and vegetarians eat better here than the meat-heavy menu suggests; ask for the veganisable risottos.
IRamen ladles the broth bowls Parma's traditional kitchens never touch, with vegan ramen options listed on HappyCow, across from the Parco Ducale side.
Signature: Ramen, Gyoza, Edamame
Order: The house ramen; vegans get their own broth and toppings.
Tip: The most dependable non-Italian kitchen in a city that has few, and one of the only places in Parma where a vegan gets a hot main after 21:00.
Antica Osteria della Ghiaia fries torta fritta by the basket near Parma's old market and hosts a tortellata every 23 June for the feast of San Giovanni.
Signature: Torta fritta, Tortelli d'erbetta, Tortellata di San Giovanni
Order: Torta fritta with salumi; add the tortelli before the baskets win.
Tip: Dinner runs Friday and Saturday only; every other day it is a lunch house. Book June 23rd weeks ahead for the tortellata di San Giovanni.
La Corriera Stravagante pours craft beer beside gourmet sandwiches like the Completo, spalla cotta with gorgonzola, on Parma's east side until 02:00.
Signature: Il Completo sandwich, Gourmet panini, Craft beer
Order: The Completo: spalla cotta, pickled onions, gorgonzola and mayo.
Tip: Kitchen and taps run to 02:00 six nights a week, which makes it the eastern district's answer to a late dinner as much as a pub.
Taverna del Castello sits below Torrechiara's frescoed castle south of Parma, feeding prosciutto-country walkers on the village's stone lane before the climb.
Signature: Prosciutto di Parma, Tortelli d'erbetta, Torta fritta
Order: Prosciutto di Parma aged in the hills you can see from the door.
Tip: Park in the small lot below the village and walk up. Pair lunch with the Castello di Torrechiara, the best-preserved castle in the province.
I Pifferi occupies an old post house from the era of Duchess Marie Louise at Sala Baganza near Parma, on the edge of the Boschi di Carrega woods.
Signature: Nonna Lina's herb tortelli, Timballo al tartufo, Salumi with torta fritta
Order: Nonna Lina's herb tortelli with melted butter and Parmigiano; in summer eat them in the shaded garden.
Tip: Combine it with the wine museum in Sala Baganza's Rocca and a walk in the Boschi di Carrega, the old ducal hunting forest.
