Cortex Bistrot is a modern italian restaurant in Centro Storico, Parma.
Editorially verified August 27, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Signature dishes: Wild boar pappardelle, Snails with mushrooms, White chocolate with mango
Must order: Wild boar pappardelle with prunes.
Tip: A Gambero Rosso new entry for 2024, it stays quieter than the famous trattorias, which makes it the sensible last-minute booking in the centre.
Address: Borgo del Correggio 20/B, 43121 Parma
Croce di Malta keeps a small bright modern room off Parma's Piazza Garibaldi, cooking precise seasonal plates built on herbs and artisan produce.
Signature: Seasonal tasting plates, Fresh pasta, Herb-led vegetable dishes
Order: The day's fresh pasta with whatever the market delivered.
Tip: Gazzetta di Parma reviewed it warmly in January 2025 for balanced, modern cooking. Sunday is lunch only and Thursday is the closing day.
La Filoma bills itself as the oldest restaurant name in Parma and cooks like it: culatello with Parmigiano, black-truffle risotto and proper tortelli.
Signature: Culatello di Zibello, Risotto al tartufo nero e culatello, Tortelli d'erbetta
Order: Culatello di Zibello DOP with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.
Tip: The claim to be Parma's oldest dining room is the house's own, but the belle-epoque interior near the Duomo does most of the convincing.
Angiol d'Or puts its terrace tables in front of Parma's Duomo and Baptistery, cooking traditional dishes with a creative hand and a serious cellar.
Signature: Beef tartare, Tortelli d'erbetta, Torta della nonna
Order: Beef tartare, then tortelli with the Baptistery in view.
Tip: Ask for the outside tables on Vicolo Scutellari at lunch; the pink marble of the Baptistery does the decorating for free.
Trattoria Corrieri fills an old posthouse courtyard near Parma's Parco Ducale with torta fritta, tortelli d'erbetta and anolini served all day long.
Signature: Tortelli d'erbetta, Anolini in brodo, Torta fritta con salumi
Order: Torta fritta with Prosciutto di Parma, then tortelli d'erbetta.
Tip: It runs continuous service from noon to midnight, so aim for 15:00 or 18:30 to skip the queues that build at classic meal times.
Trattoria del Grillo in Vigatto won TV Parma's contest for the city's best torta fritta, pairing the fried puffs with Ponte Romano prosciutto crudo.
Signature: Torta fritta, Cappelletti in brodo di cappone, Gnocchi al salame e Lambrusco
Order: Torta fritta with prosciutto crudo, about 6.50 euro the basket.
Tip: Reservations are phone-only. The torta fritta arrives in waves, so pace the salumi board or the pasta courses will defeat you.
Croce di Malta keeps a small bright modern room off Parma's Piazza Garibaldi, cooking precise seasonal plates built on herbs and artisan produce.
Signature: Seasonal tasting plates, Fresh pasta, Herb-led vegetable dishes
Order: The day's fresh pasta with whatever the market delivered.
Tip: Gazzetta di Parma reviewed it warmly in January 2025 for balanced, modern cooking. Sunday is lunch only and Thursday is the closing day.
La Filoma bills itself as the oldest restaurant name in Parma and cooks like it: culatello with Parmigiano, black-truffle risotto and proper tortelli.
Signature: Culatello di Zibello, Risotto al tartufo nero e culatello, Tortelli d'erbetta
Order: Culatello di Zibello DOP with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.
Tip: The claim to be Parma's oldest dining room is the house's own, but the belle-epoque interior near the Duomo does most of the convincing.
Trattoria Il Cortile serves Parma classics in a vaulted Oltretorrente courtyard room: anolini in brodo, tortelli d'erbetta and slow-braised veal cheek.
Signature: Anolini in brodo, Tortelli d'erbetta, Guancialino di vitello
Order: Anolini in brodo, then the braised veal cheek.
Tip: The Oltretorrente side of the river stays calmer than the Duomo streets at dinner, so this is the easier good table on a Saturday.
Angiol d'Or puts its terrace tables in front of Parma's Duomo and Baptistery, cooking traditional dishes with a creative hand and a serious cellar.
Signature: Beef tartare, Tortelli d'erbetta, Torta della nonna
Order: Beef tartare, then tortelli with the Baptistery in view.
Tip: Ask for the outside tables on Vicolo Scutellari at lunch; the pink marble of the Baptistery does the decorating for free.
Trattoria Corrieri fills an old posthouse courtyard near Parma's Parco Ducale with torta fritta, tortelli d'erbetta and anolini served all day long.
Signature: Tortelli d'erbetta, Anolini in brodo, Torta fritta con salumi
Order: Torta fritta with Prosciutto di Parma, then tortelli d'erbetta.
Tip: It runs continuous service from noon to midnight, so aim for 15:00 or 18:30 to skip the queues that build at classic meal times.
