Cute place in Bologna. Long line when we first arrived. Moved pretty fast…read more First room is for fresh uncooked pasta and other items for purchase. They sit you in the back room and the ambience is fairly casual. We tried a couple of pasta dishes with wine. And then had the pavlova dessert. I wish we could've tried more pasta. Great sauce and great texture and flavor in the pasta. I'm glad we waited in line. Service was timely and friendly. Please try if you are ever in Bologna.

This is one of the most recommended pasta spots, and we thought it was good but not super…read moreoutstanding. We all ordered a different pasta dish, and passed them around so we could try everything. We got the tortelloni in soup, bolognese, lasagna, sausage pasta, rabbit pasta, and gnocchi. The favorites amongst everyone were the gnocchi, sausage pasta, and tortelloni. We thought the others were just okay. It's really crowded and busy inside, and our server did not seem to be having a good day but everything was still served pretty promptly.

Really cool shop. We were drawn in by how much stuff they had and there certainly is a lot to…read moreexplore on the shelves. We wanted some local representative wine so we went to the EXTENSIVE wine cellar and asked for help. The recommendations took us all over the cellar and were super thorough and nice. Great place if you're looking for either wine or a gift to bring back home (chocolate, candy, sauces, etc.).

This place is packed with chocolates and wines up to the ceiling! Various chocolates - so so many!…read moreSome quality-looking balsamic vinegar. I was really impressed with this place. They also had their own brand of honey. And different kinds of course. They looked really good. I wanted to buy more than just one bottle of wine but there would just be no way it would fit in my luggage.

Stopped in as part of a food tour, so the experience was probably different than it would be if we…read morehad just popped in. As a result, the service was super friendly and attentive. There are a bunch of cute stores. Solid amount of options between pasta, cheese, meat, produce. I'm not sure I necessarily would have needed to come here it it weren't part of a food tour but in the end it was a nice experience. Not as overwhelming as some other similar markets may be and a nice way to see some of the authenticity of the area.

Perfect night at the perfect place to have dinner. Fried bread for antipasti, green lasagna with…read moretraditional ragu, tortellini with parmigiano reggiano cheese, and tortellini in beef and manzo broth. Complemented with white wine from Bologna winery and tiramisu for the dessert.

You will find here a large choise of cheese and ham at a very affordable price…read more The staff is very kind and will advise you on the choise of the best suited product for you.

You don't get much more classic lunch break than Vecchia Malga, one of many choices in the alleyway…read morestreet off of Bologna's main square, Piazza Maggiore. There are plates of thinly sliced meats with cheeses everywhere so it's hard to choose where to go, especially if you're a couple of vegetarians like us. We made a good choice here, ordering a cheese board for one and a mixed salad. The cheese board was so plentiful that we had to re-confirm that this was just a serving for one. It was. Really generous with 6 different local cheeses of various tastes and firmness, surrounding a cup of honey which sealed the deal for us. We loved this cheese board and left referring back to it as we had cheese in other places on our trip. The salad (I mean you have to occasionally eat vegetables...even in Italy) was basic, just arugula and tomatoes, but was super-fresh. Also they brought the region's famous bread in a paper bag. Well, I don't know if "famous" is the right word, but this is the only place in the world we'd experienced the bread brought in paper bags, so sign me up for its autograph. This was a great choice for a cheese plate among the many options on this street and in the area. The cheese board especially was our favorite cheese in the whole country.

Such an amazing experience for a couple of first time visitors to Italy. We enjoyed a sample board…read moreof meats and cheese, and while I thought the concept of lard as a condiment was strange, holy cow was that tasty! And I don't know why something as simple as tortellini in broth is so tasty, but it is the ultimate comfort food! The atmosphere was incredibly cozy on the cold and damp day we visited,. Our waiter took excellent care of us, and we enjoyed watching the butchers at work assisting customers. Tucked up in the loft with a glass of wine, and later a coffee, was a perfect afternoon!

Patio and second floor indoor dining by Piazzo Maggiore…read more Pluses 1. Good lasagna 2. April spritz good Areas to improve 1. Wine by glass - Sangiovese was not good 2. Ragu too salty Server disappeared and you pay inside at the register. Fun to people watch. Good value. Recommended!

We sat inside on the 2nd floor and had the Emilia platter and assorted Tortellini's and…read moreTortelloni's and a caprese salad. The place is also a deli and has very good food. Delicious in fact. It is a supreme way to avoid all of the suspect English only menu's at the door with strapping young Italians trying to draw you in to eat their generally inauthentic Italian fair. You will see locals in the know here. Our food tour guide directed us to go here and she was correct. The service was very efficient but the young lady serving us was deep into her Italian holiday serving tenure and not exuberant by any stretch of the imagination. Still she didn't make a single mistake. Still a little personality would have earned this place five stars! I'll have to give it four for that only.

FICO Eataly World is an amusement park, a museum, an exhibition hall, and a shopping center all in…read moreone huge building located in the outskirts of Bologna. FICO is dedicated to showcasing the best of Italian food, and visiting this attraction was a food lover's dream! Our visit started with a brief tour of the park, and our guide explained that the concept of FICO was to bring together the farming and factory aspects of Italian food production, which is why the park included displays of animals, a fruit/vegetable garden, a vineyard, and an olive grove. FICO also had a number of small-scale food production operations, and our guide started by bringing us to the Mortadella factory, where she explained how this pork sausage was made and brought us to taste a sample. We made additional stops at the exhibits on San Danielle prosciutto, Grana Padano cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, pasta, and fruit preserves. Our tour guide could have gone on explaining more and more, but our time was up and we had barely scratched the surface of the park, so we were left to explore on our own! FICO was divided up into five different food sections: cured meat & cheese, pasta & pizza, wine & vinegar, oil & beer, and sweets. Each section had its own selection of eateries/restaurants, vendors, and interactive educational displays, which dove into some aspect of how people interacted with some aspect of the world related to food including fire, animals, plants, the sea, and the bottle (wine, oil, beer). It would literally be impossible to write about all the different aspects of this park, and it is simply a must-visit for food lovers. Seeing all the different displays about DOP (protected designation of origin) gave me a much better appreciation about the particularities about regional specialty foods-- for example, mortadella could be made at FICO because the park is located within the relevant region, but Parmigiano Reggiano could NOT be made at the park, because it's located just a few kilometers outside the designated region. On the flip side, much of the park felt a bit commercialized, as there were obviously many corporate sponsors and vendors showcasing their wares, along with an entire shopping section at the end that included a bookstore, kitchen appliance vendors, and plenty of Italian foodstuffs. Nevertheless, the 10 Euro admission fee to FICO was an absolute steal, and you could easily spend an entire day here going through the exhibits, admiring the animals, relaxing in the outdoor areas, sampling different foods, and shopping your heart out.

Biggest food hall in the world with over 40 restaurants. FICO is a .org trying to promote food…read moretourism of Italy. There's also grocery store, volley ball courts, bing pong, concert stage, couple Gelateria, and mini golf course. The food prices are about average but can not commit on the quality. It's overwhelming and I'm not sure why you would visit for a second time unless you work or live nearby. Check off your list type of place.