Best Restaurants in Emilia-Romagna

Where to Eat in Emilia-Romagna?

Emilia-Romagna is the pasta engine of Italy, and its dining map runs the full distance between the most famous tasting menu in the country and a four-table hosteria. The headline is Modena: Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana, which earned its third Michelin star in 2012 and twice topped the World's 50 Best list. But the region rewards the traveller who reads it as a string of towns rather than a single city, because the great cooking is spread across the Via Emilia, not concentrated in one centre.

Geography is everything here, and Modena carries both the avant-garde (Osteria Francescana) and the historic close-quarters classic, the four-table Hosteria Giusti. Imola holds San Domenico, the country's longest-standing two-star. Bologna is the trattoria heartland, with the Bolognina district's Trattoria di Via Serra and the Saragozza side's da Me and All'Osteria Bottega running tortellini in brodo and tagliatelle al ragù. Out toward Parma, Polesine Parmense on the Po is culatello country at Antica Corte Pallavicina, while the Adriatic coast at Rimini and Cesenatico turns the register to seafood.

Two Worlds at the Top

The region splits cleanly into two registers. At one end, the creative tier: Osteria Francescana and San Domenico set the ceiling, with kitchens like I Portici in Bologna, L'Erba del Re in Modena and Inkiostro in Parma below them. At the other, the producer-driven country tables, where Antica Corte Pallavicina ages culatello di Zibello DOP in 14th-century cellars and Trattoria da Amerigo in hilltop Savigno builds menus around truffle and tortellini. Expect the tasting-menu tier to run high; the trattorie remain genuinely affordable.

Reservation Tips

Osteria Francescana takes bookings months ahead and fills almost instantly, so plan that one first and route the trip around it. San Domenico and the starred kitchens want two to three weeks. The Bologna trattorie are smaller than they look — Trattoria di Via Serra seats about 35 — so reserve a few days out, especially weekends. For the Rimini and Cesenatico coast, summer is high season and Sunday lunch is the heaviest service; spring and early autumn are the calmer windows.