Osteria Al 15

Update: Second visit broke my heart. Apparently only weekends are the chef present for dinner. Normally she comes in the morning and prepares the Ragu and such. But the dinner service is left to the line cooks This means the standard of the food varies wildly. The food was really bad this time. The steak is the worst steak I've had in a while. even our previous favourite, the tiramisu, was nowhere near the world beater they were yesterday. This would be 3 stars for everything if we based it on this visit. It was so different from the previous day that we thought maybe it's our fault that we had flu and that affected our taste buds. But when we walked out we saw people with plates of unmistakably dry pasta, and that told us it's definitely them, not us that day Come on weekend dinners only, to make sure the chef is there, and the food is of high quality as we experienced the first time Original review: I hardly give out 5 stars. And even more rare is scoring 5 on all levels. But this place is insane The service is so effortlessly charming, and they were so nice. From the start, they saw that we had our luggages, so they opened the restaurant earlier for us when we arrived early. Then, they were great in explaining everything, and patient in answering questions. They checked in on us and made us feel welcome without being overbearing at all, it just feels so natural. We really, really enjoyed the service and wanted to tip even though we never do, but they denied us from doing so. The food is perhaps just as amazing. The pesto Modena was absolutely insane, a blast of flavour, and the same profile as your green pesto except much much better due to using pork lard instead of olive oil. The tigella wasn't as good, quite dense. Squecquerone cheese was pleasant, very creamy like the interior of a burrata, with a tad of acidity, no stretchiness, and a hint of garlic aroma Lasagna was really good, the top was well crusted which is rare, the pasta was pleasant, and the whole thing has a nice body, esp from the cream sauce composed of mozzarella and parmigiana. Meat flavour comes through as a hint, it's not very big chunks Gramigna texture was great, Al dente without being overly hard, and the Ragu was full bodied. It's not a must try because a lot of places probably do it well in bologna, but it doesn't take away from how great this tastes, esp since outside of bologna not many places get this right The tiramisu is simply the best I've had, and I've had a lot. It's life changing, I don't know what else to say, esp the cream. I'm told it's the quality of the mascarpone, but also it's very technical. Only small complaint is that the sponge is a little too moist, but the flavour was impeccable Must try, I've only good things to say about this place. We are going back again the next day

It is a little bit far from the center, but is worth it the walk. When we arrived on a sunday for lunch, we were lucky as we didn't have reservations, and they were basically fully booked. We were probably the only non Italians there. We started with the local bread crescentine, that is deep fried dough, and the ricotta with Balsamic. That was a very strong start. For first course we ordered the lasagna and the tortellini a la panna. And I can say, both were amazing! Texture, flavour and depth of flavours. For main we ordered the Bolgnese version of the Cotoleta, that is topped with a cheese from the region of the Emilia Romana called Squacquerone. That was amazing, the roasted potatoes were also good. We had so much food that we have skipped the dessert.

Very good food and very friendly staff. My girlfriend and I went there, she got a lasagna and I got the steak. The steak was very delicious and pretty big for the pricepoint. The lasagna tasted pretty good aswell. The waitress addressed my question regarding ingredients (due to allergies) perfectly and was a great help. In conclusion, the food is nice the restaurant looks lovely and the staff is friendly and good for people with allergies. I highly recommend eating here.

Great service, and the steak had so much flavor. Day 4 in Italy and best meal yet. Get a reservation just in case. They open at 7pm but quickly filled up and had constant calls from people making reservations. House wine on tap was great and only 10 euros for a whole bottle.

One of the best food experiences we had on our Italy trip. Couldn’t get a reservation before hand but they were still so friendly and accommodating. Now for the food, I could write page after page about each plate; it was simply divine. The sardine with peppers and spicy mayo were the perfect starter. The pasta with sausage and white cream sauce was so decadent, i just couldn’t get enough of it. Literally had to eat the very last drop of the sauce. The green lasagna was definitely unique and with hearty meat ragu in between its layers, made it one of the best lasagnas we’ve had. Highly recommend this Osteria for your Bologna food experience.

This was so good we went back 2 days in a row. We went at 7pm and 8pm and didn’t have to make a reservation but I would probably recommending doing so for larger groups. The food was incredible and I recommend getting a wicker bottle of their house wine. We tried to lasagna, gramigna and tagliatelle bolognese and all of them were a 10/10.

Having searched for out of the centre restaurants we saw the reviews and decided to try this restaurant. 15 minutes walk from the centre square, it was lovely to get into a quiet side road. We arrived at 7pm when it opened and we managed to get a table without booking, but we were told like many others we needed to vacate by 9pm. They must have had lots of reservations. The staff spoke both Italian and English to us. The service was very fast and there were plenty of staff waiting which was great. The house wine was very cheap and very drinkable. We had the lasagna which was delicious, we counted 7 layers. We then followed this with meat balls and veal. Both were really well cooked. We were really pleased with the food, it was delicious. The bread they brought out was also really tasty. Worth walking out of the centre and trying this restaurant. Worth booking unless you are early.

an absolutely wonderful, joyful experience the atmosphere was warm, cozy and authentic. The food spectacular went two nights in a row. I truly recommend the walnut tortellini sorbet and tiramisu are quite nice ways to end the night.

We absolutely loved this place! It was a couple of fires down from our apartment and we closed out our evenings there almost every night. The shank was delicious! The bolognese was delicious! Desserts were wonderful! The beer was tasty and all reasonably priced. Next time we are in Bologna I will make an effort to get back here.

The best food I've had in Bologna. Friendly staff and a nice quiet area. I will be back soon!

A remarkable eggplant parmigiana, though the menu says don't call it parmigiana. Tortellini in brodo, pork medalliions very good as well.

Unpretentious and indisputably delicious. Best Lasagna and tourmalinTortellini en brodo we've had. Get the Crestine (fried square bread) and eat it hot with the cool ricotta and carmelized balsamic. Best meal in memory. Are outside on a quiet street.

Wow, things have changed. It's no longer dress nice and be classy. The told us mgt changd hands. And it shows. The waiter offered us a mix for the meat, cheese, and bread for an appetizer for three people. Bread showed to be .50 each, meat and cheese was €4-€5 total. Thought, how much can this cost? Turned out to be 27 euros. For 6-8 small pieces of bread, very little meat,and a small thing of cheese. Really? You get to be kidding. It cost more than our three Primis..... Food is nowhere as good as it used to be. I know I don't come here often, but I will not be coming back here ever.

A place so nice it's worth going (more than) twice. Seriously, this tucked away Osteria is such a gem and provided us with some of our best meals in Bologna. We came here our first night as two weary travelers looking for any sort of sustenance, and we were graciously received and tutored on all sorts of typical Bolognese dishes. It took just one bite of their amazing Tortellini to really seal the deal. We wanted to eat around Bologna at other places, but in our time there honestly nothing compared to the quality of our first meal... So we went back a couple more times! Each meal was better than the last, and every experience there was a real treasure. If you're able to go, start with some Crescentine and Tigelle with things like Squacerone and Friggioni and Pesto Modenese (note: not your typical pesto.. Ask about it first). From there, either the Tortelloni (in Broddo or however) or Lasagna (vegetarian) are epic. Apparently their secondi like the Cotoletta Bologna is pretty good too, but we ended up getting hooked on their primis. Seriously.. Go here and enjoy some really nice local food with a taste Sangiovese della casa, and you need not much more

Staff was very helpful and friendly they recommended the crescentina bread (which is delicious) We got the crescentina and tigella bread with soft cheese spread and a tomato onion paste for starters. The soft cheese and crestente bread was delicious. We weren't a fan of the tigella bread as it's quite doughy almost similar to a bagel. For mains I got the tortelloni with artichokes which was very delicious and my sister got the tortellini with a cream sauce. She said it was quite heavy and couldn't eat all of it. Overall, a friendly casual dinner with good quality food. I would recommend it for a traditional dinner.

This restaurant was one of my favorite dining experiences in all of Italy. The restaurant is in a fairly residential neighborhood, and the decor is completely owl-related. Owl statues, owl wall hangings, owl lamps, owl everything. Not really sure why, but I didn't care because I was too busy stuffing my face with deliciousness. When we showed up maybe around 8 or 9, the place was nearly packed, but we were seated right away. Now, first things first, Osteria al 15 does NOT offer a menu in Italian. They only have them in English, and they only provide them if you ask for them. Which basically means you shouldn't be ordering off the menu. Trust your waiter, who may very well be the owner - somehow he seemed to be serving most or all of the tables. We started with a platter of charcuterie, which seems to be the signature antipasto here.. a scoop of fresh squacquerone cheese (my virgin experience - to. die. for.) and various cured meats - prosciutto, pancetta, mortadella (a.k.a. bologna), and salumi. Served with housemade "crescentine" - fresh, fluffy, bubbly, yummy. The word "bread" doesn't seem good enough to describe the crescentine. Further humoring our gluttony was a plate of fresh ricotta - the best I'd ever had in my life at the time (that is, until visiting a cheese factory the following day) and authentic balsamic vinegar (ditto on the vinegar before visiting an "acetaia"). Altogether absolutely marvelous. This course could very well serve as your entire meal - no doubt. However, we carried on. We shared the tortelloni stuffed with ricotta, topped with a creamy artichoke sauce (delicious), plus the tagliatelle with four types of wild mushrooms. Of everything we had at Quindici, the tagliatelle was the only item that was somewhat disappointing - just lacked the same punch that every other dish had. And for dessert, tiramisu! Who knew this stuff was supposed to be served in a bowl - it's really much more about the custard than the ladyfingers. A wonderful dining experience in a wonderful city. Great atmosphere - laidback and very fun. Will certainly return if I find myself in Bologna - in fact, I may go back to Bologna specifically to eat at Osteria al 15 once more!

We found this place by accident as the one we wanted wasn't open till 8pm (not really unusual in Italy). But I must say that must have been divine intervention. The place was lovely and the staff very friendly & funny in a very Italian way. The Antipasti were great - the local cold meats are known for their quality. Combined with the local soft cheese and fried bread it's a simply divine combo. The rest of the food was also very nice and local. The local Sangoviese from the house is a pretty decent drink with the food and much better than the price suggests. The desert according to my young adult offspring was 'the best'. So make sure you can fit in a mascarpone frutti di bosco. All in all a place I would come back to if I come to Bologna again. Which is likely. It's a charming place.

Great restaurant off the beaten tourist path. It is located in a residential neighborhood about 1/2 mile outside the Piazza Maggiore. They had one waiter who spoke English (looks like John Travolta 40 years ago) which was very helpful. He navigated the menu for us (it's in English) letting us know about the regional favorites. We ordered lots of things but loved the antipasto with the ricotta and balsamic and the tomatoes and onions the best. Did not love the pesto, I prefer traditional herb pesto. This pesto is made from the mortadella fat and is really just ground up meat fat. Also enjoyed the tortellini with speck and walnuts. FYI speck is like bacon. The Marscapone with chocolate was fantastic and comes with shaved chunks of very good dark chocolate. It's not a heavy dessert so don't skip it even if you're full. Enjoy! We went early (7:30) they were packed when we left (9:00).

We found this restaurant our last night in Bologna thanks to the great Yelp reviews and it didn't disappoint. We arrived late and they seated us right away. The restaurant was homey and eclectic, with an old school charm that was instantly comforting. The waiter brought us menus in both English and Italian and suggested we start with a half carafe of the house red. My boyfriend ordered the lasagna which "melted in his mouth." I ordered the Tortellini en Brodo - the regional specialty of Bologna - which was great. Dozens of tiny tortellini in a rich broth -- awesome. I also ordered cheese with pears and honey - the cheese was gooey and melted (as it should be) but I couldn't taste the pears and the honey had crystallized so it was hard to eat. It still was tasty. For dessert we ordered the cheesecake with pear - a rich ricotta cheesecake infused with pear liquor and small pieces of pear, and the zuppa d'englaise with chocolate shavings - perfecto!

We went to this restaurant during our weekend away in Bologna and neighbourhood. Just passed by around 7 pm with no reservation and the restaurant was open and empty as dinner time didnt start before 8 pm. We booked a table for 8:30 and when we came in we were surprised by the crowd of people in this small place. We both ordered antipasti and pasta. Antipasti were to die for...alle prosciutto, salami, breasaola, cheese, all vegetables, etc..were just delicious...When pasta arrived - which was very good as well, we only regretted that the whole dinner didnt consist of big portion of antipasti. It is a great restaurant, make sure you make a reservation and as mentioned by someone before - there is no English menu, but you will be ok and get served:) People were very friendly and accomodating:) Great place to have a real Italian dining experience.

Excellent Bolognese-style osteria. Make sure to order the antipasto (big enough to make a meal) and lots of crescentine. Eat slowly as that way you will be able to eat more menu items!

Bologna cuisine at it's finest. I could be a regular here if it wasn't a 15hr drive, the antipasti rocked, lasagna was perfect, and everything else was amazing as well. I will be back soon.