Most Italians consider their hometown to be the foodie nucleus of Italy – and obviously, therefore, the world. But our readers voted one city the most delicious of them all: Bologna, a place folded into the northern Emilia Romagna region.
Bologna is a city of many sides and many names. Some call it “La Dotta” – the learned one; a reference to the university which was founded in 1088 and now the oldest continuously operating university in the world. Some know it as “La Rossa” – the red one; to describe the rusty, burnished hues of its mediaeval old town as well as its infamously left-leaning politics. And others describe it as “La Grossa”. The fat one.
This is Emilia Romagna’s capital – the region that gave us parmesan, parma ham, mortadella and balsamic vinegar. It’s where lasagne, tortellini in broth and bolognese were cooked up for the first time (although it should be noted that British spag bol bears little resemblance to the real deal). Chefs here are crazy for using the best possible ingredients, locally grown or produced, seasonal, and tampered with as minimally as humanly possible.
It’s somewhat surprising, then, that Bologna is comparatively under-visited and underrated among Italy’s cities. It's one of the side effects of existing in a country flecked with metropolises that read like a traveller’s do-before-you-die bucket list. Rome, Milan and Venice top lists of Europe's most-visited cities, each drawing in more than 10 million visitors a year. Bologna, in comparison, saw a diminutive 1.5 million arrivals in 2019.
The happy after-effect is that restaurants – even in the most tourist-friendly neighbourhoods – have to cultivate a crowd of regulars, hewn from students and well-to-do tech types who call the city home. Visitors are far less likely to stumble unknowingly into a tourist trap. An important note: these loyal followings make reservations essential: call ahead, especially on weekends and evenings, and don’t be surprised if your first choice eatery has no tables left if you try your luck at a walk-in.
Peak supper time is around 9pm here. Make the most of later mealtimes by tackling an aperitivo stop or two – locals kick off at about six, leaving work or university to head for one of the bars beneath the famous porticos (kilometres of grand arch-covered walkways, designated a World Heritage Site) for Negronis and pizzettes. These are best followed by a passeggiata – the evening ritual of taking a walk before dinner – to work up an appetite.
When the time for the main event finally rolls around, saunter into woman-led Trattoria da Me (still a rarity in Bologna's old-school cooking scene) for epic lasagne, Trattoria Bertozzi for traditional plates of pasta, or Osteria Bartolini, a Bib Gourmand winner, to dive into a seafood-heavy menu. Perhaps surprisingly, only one restaurant here holds a Michelin star – I Portici, set in the Eden theatre, where Emilian cooking is giving a fine-dining spin. Or maybe it's precisely this lack of buttoned-up gastronomy that made this city our foodie readers' favourite of them all – drawn by a love of authentic, scruffy-around-the-edges trattorias and frenetic food markets. A place where grabbing a mortadella-stuffed sandwich and plonking down in an ancient piazza is every bit as revered as white tablecloths and tasting menus. Come hungry. Leave dazzled.
Bologna was voted the best city in the world for food in our Readers' Choice Awards 2022. For more results from this year's survey, check out our round-up of all the winners.