The elegant and very Historic Old School Ristorante
Buca San Petronio
located Via de'Musei 2/4; Bologna BO 40124
We also have to say hi to Roly, who along with Alessio, were my servers for the evening. A couple of 4 tops came in while I was dining and the soft music with the mixture of English and Italian conversation made it just perfect.
I know you will love the healthy portions of food. I must warn you they give you a lot of food! Yet, it is the warm authentic friendly and kind Italian hospitality that will win you over.
And you sit in an ancient building of around the late 1300s. What more could you ask of the city of Bologna!
2.
VaMoLa Ristorante
Via dei Moline 3
"So, at first I thought reopening my childhood library
was a good idea,"
-Giovanni
So starts the story of Giovanni's bookstore, wine enoteca, cultural center, and now, real ristorante where you can enjoy any book freely.
Giovanni says, "When I was growing up, libraries/bookstores were the place to go to socialize, too. And to buy books, which people read. But now I was competing with the very big bookstores and so people didn't really want to buy books. So, I thought, okay, let's serve wine and books. That is a very bohemian cool idea. So, that was pretty good at first. But people didn't really want to buy the books, just read them with the wine and perhaps steal the books. Which happened, a lot!"
Giovanni laughs, "So, at first that is a very good idea. Then people asked to have something to eat. I didn't have a kitchen, so I had one pasta dish: tagliatelle that you usually, in Bologna, 12 years ago, make in your home. Nobody really goes out to eat tagliatelle, like the tourists do now. So, we serve only tagliatelle for one year. That is pretty good. And then, we have a bigger kitchen, and a bigger kitchen and I organize cultural events EVERY night. Book readings, lectures, poetry sessions, skits, and all sorts of cultural events to involve the community. I realized I loved doing that." 
"Yet my daughter is 4 years old as the years progressed and I had to be a dad. I couldn't physically be here every day and night doing cultural events and my young team was more interested in serving food and wine to my guests. So that finally evolved into the bookcases filled with books you can read in every room and every nook and cranny and drink a glass of wine or eat dinner. Now, we have many people."
"Food and wine;"
"Culture and Memory:
"The taste of cuisine,
and art "
"hand in hand,"
Are just some of the quotes
of Giovanni Favia, when
speaking of his Volando.
Giovanni's second ristorante, A Balus, is very special to him.
"Whereas VaMoLa sort of just created itself and originally was a thought of keeping my childhood memories of my library that I went to as a young kid, A Balus is a very precise well thought out plan of actually opening a real ristorante." 
The Tortellini in Broth, a simple dish around the world, is my ultimate favorite here. It is a rebirth of my childhood memories, too, of my own Italian "nonna" making these in her kitchen while my other siblings took swimming lessons opposite her home. My father would come and pick us up everyday and say, "Mamma! I told you, don't let her make tortellini. She needs to learn how to swim!"
And yet, very Old-fashioned elegance. 
Today, the adorable little dogs hid under the coats, so I put mine near them in case they wanted a little variety.
Amin laughs when every person who walks in gushes over the little dogs first.
"Yes, I take care of my friend's dogs, and they are very quiet and love to just cuddle there. They sit there from morning to night."
Amin starts his day, by the way, with 7:00 am phone calls to the seafood auction houses in Venice and on the Mediterranean coast. 
"I choose whatever catch of the day they have, and of course I find the items we need for our daily menu. I trust my suppliers and they immediately have these driven to me. They usually arrive about 9:00 am, and that is where chef comes in and inspects the seafood and starts the preparation. I order the seafood and I let my chef create. It is a good system!" he laughs. "It is always fun to taste what he makes, too. That is the good part."
Amin tells me that he admired and respected his head chef and kept all of the recipes yet lets Mark be creative in his interpretation and so most have modern twists to them. They're amazing, as you can see, and the shrimp that I had in my seafood salad today was the most tender I have ever had.
Not really a "salad", more of an experience, as Amin takes the sealed jar that is prepared as you order it, shakes it in front of you, as if making a famous cocktail and pours the entire contents of fresh exquisite seafood onto your plate that has colorful homemade croutons scattered about.
"Every item is fresh,
caught that day & brought to your table.
The Chef prepares your order as it is placed.
Sea, Caught, Eaten."
-Amin
As I am enjoying my seafood salad and trying not to eat the multi-colored homemade bread put in front of me, although with that I shall fail, they bring the catch of the day, a St. Peter's fish from the Mediterranean, to show me before bringing it to a guest's table. It is very big and Amin tells me that it is a dish for 2. 
Peruvian Tapas Cocktail Bar
"My restaurant, Buca San Petronio, is a place where you can experience authentic Bologna recipes, but for the people of Bologna and for visitors around the world, sometimes you want something mysterious and exotic, so I redesigned the lounge to reflect the recipes and culture of the Peruvian people," says Maurizio about his 1 week old baby, Nu Lounge Bar. 
For Adult playtime after work, a late night dinner or aperitivo buffet.
RosaRose Bistrot at Via Clavature 18B
has been opened since 1988 with the coolest chandeliers,
Frenchy Bistro atmosphere yet PURE BOLOGNESE CUISINE
THAT is made with naturalness and love.
The first thing that you will notice is the friendliness of the team as you walk in the door and then your attention will be drawn immediately to the chandeliers. A lot of chandeliers.
The director laughs and says, "Yes, the owner loves chandeliers."
So, you sit under these precious accessories, at a checkered table clothed table and as eclectic as it all is; the music, the decor, the authentic Italian hospitality, the minute the food arrives, you feel like you're dining in their house! Home cooked meals. 
With the freshest handmade plates made to order and hearty original recipes served to you at a casual table, the food is straight from the Italian Grandmother and Grandfather's kitchen of Bologna. I say Grandfather's too, because although all the capos tell you it is from Nona's recipes, all the Cuocos are men!
And with the fresh pasta made at one of the sister restaurants that the Owners have, you're given the choice of gluten-free fresh or wheat pasta, with every dish.
One of the most varied Gluten-free options in all of Bologna.
The kitchen makes all of its own plates handmade every day, including Gluten free pasta portions of all varieties. Very cool as they have a kitchen dedicated just for that. Super friendly funny team of Mario, Mauro and Maurizio. I nicknamed them the M&Ms.
The homemade Lasagna from Bologna.
I had the ultimate pleasure of sitting down with Jacque and his translator, Luca, to hear his story, once again. I had interviewed Jacque about 12 years ago, and he says he remembers me only by my charming mannerisms. Okay, he said my mannerisms, yet I added charming.
"I was young, 22, when I started here as a cook. I had met my wife, who is from Bologna, in Switzerland and followed her to her home country. I had never been a cook, yet I learned how to do the Bolognese recipes and I absolutely loved it. I knew that is what I needed to do with my life."
Begins the eloquent, beautiful love story of tradition.
You will sit among the Luciano Pavarotti pictures, and all of the great opera and theater stars of the day.
You will not see the cook!
"My son is very shy. His domain, and he is excellent in the kitchen, is the kitchen. He loves his work and he is so very focused. He wouldn't come to a table, if I asked him. He loves to create the food he serves you as the host. Me? I spent 17 years in the kitchen and bought the restaurant. Now, I LOVE my guests. I love to come to the table and I love being front of the house. We're a good match!" 
A beautiful plate & one of the French dishes. 
"You know back in the day, Grassilli was THE place for celebrities and the jet set of Bologna. We don't really have an "old-school" jet set any longer, as Bologna has evolved into a somewhat known foodie city and the tourists are all coming. Yet back in the day, you had to be seen here at Grassilli," says Jacque.
I asked him if he missed these days.
"Yes, definitely, the feel of ristorante, the formality mixed with the simple very good food of Bologna. I do miss the dressing up, as now we are more casual to blend with the times. My servers are still very respectful and attentive, yet we know that the visitors are not expecting white glove service." 
The Freshest Homemade Pasta daily & gluten free. Bringing the culture of Bologna, Italy to London. With live music by Francesca Monte and cultural events for Italians in London, MATTERELLO strengthens its social & cultural hub for the community making it an experience in dining and Italian experiences. 
While most of the homemade pasta for the Bologna location is made in La Capriata or the Clavature Bistrot, London makes theirs on site. 
Antonio's restaurants all have the best Italian food. Huge portions and a feel good Italian meal is what you'll receive. The fact that all of their gluten free or normal pastas are handmade every day and they're cooked and served to order, is a given. But when you see and taste the food, you'll know why you came to Bologna, where the original recipes all come from. 
La Capriata
Strada Maggiore 19; Corte Isolani
La Capriata is Antonio's "fine dining" jewel in Bologna. It is tucked away a couple of hundred feet from the Towers in the Center of Bologna down Strada Maggiore and inside the arch of the Corte Isolani. It's worth finding, even though it is hidden. 
And have I mentioned, playful? It is Italian, so although the restaurant is the fine dining gem, the team is playful and fun. However, very serious about people sensitive to gluten.
Alessandra, "We have a kitchen dedicated strictly for gluten free products, pasta & homemade bread. The kitchen, I would say, has perfected the recipes and everybody tells us that they can't tell the difference between normal pasta or the gluten free that we make."
It's true. Amazing & Delicious.
Bologna has 3 nicknames:
The Learned One, due to its claim on the oldest university in Europe; the fat one for its delicious cuisine and the red one due to its many tiled roofs of that color.
White linen tablecloths, and a sophisticated relaxing atmosphere; that with the Capo, Antonio, is always welcoming rather than intimidating, and homemade pasta every day on site, is La Capriata. 
Charm,
Elegance,
Refinement.
