Ristorante Hostaria Savonarola

We strolled around the beautiful city center of Ferrara, full of history and charming old streets. For lunch, we sat at Ristorante Hostaria Savonarola. We ordered two antipasti dishes, two pasta dishes, and half a liter of wine. The food was excellent, and the wine was good. The waiters were quick and courteous, and the place was clean and well-organized. The total bill was €55.

Absolutely fantastic experience. Can't recommend this place enough for awesome food and service in Ferrara! Everything we had was exceptional, full of delicious flavor and the prices were reasonable given the location looking out at the Castle. I'm planning to drive 2 hours each way to go eat there 1 more time!

We went here to spend a long awaited weekend in Emilia-Romagna and it’s quite satisfying! We chose it because of the pricing, it’s very reasonable considering that this restaurant is very near to the castle (Castello Estense). However, I must warn you that the portion is quite small, which is completely justified because even their most expensive pasta only cost 12.5€ We booked the place for 13:00 but we came earlier since I was already very hungry at that time and it was a good decision. They already prepared our table and the most important thing is that we got the very last lasagne. Apparently it’s so popular that we need to grab it as soon as we can….. Nevertheless, I think what we ordered are totally recommended. We enjoyed the cold cuts which paired well with their bread (ask more for the ones with sesame, it’s so good!) since most of them are salty and the bread is slightly sweeter compared to the general italian restaurants. For the pasticcio, I truly enjoyed it since it’s very tipical of Ferrara and it feels like something new. I like the blend of the sweet bread with the maccherone with white ragù. But, I think it’s an acquired taste because my boyfriend doesn’t agree with it and it feels weird for him to eat a “sweet” pasta. Indeed, the bread is the typical sweet plum cake-ish bread that might seems weird when you think about it, but it reminds me a lot of dutch macaroni schotel. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed it a lot. The lasagne is good but not the best I’ve ever tried. All in all, for all of the food we ordered, we are satisfied. Such a nice lunch! I’d like to give this place 3.5 stars, but since it’s not possible, 4 stars it is. I have two things that annoyed me a bit when I was there: first, the waitresses are way too impatient. When we were deciding our orders, they kept coming and couldn’t seem to wait even for one minute. I mean, we would call them when we decided on our order, why couldn’t they wait? The same thing happened when we finished our plates. We ordered the cold cuts and as soon as we emptied the board, one waitress came and took it. We felt awkward because of it and even after that, we still needed to wait for around 10 minutes for our pasta. We thought that maybe it was a coincidence, but then the same thing happened when we finished our pasta, too! As soon as I finished my pasta, the filipina waitress just took our plates! Too fast!!! We were speechless and really, we don’t understand why would they be THAT fast? I know that fast service is a forte, but this is not it. For us, it seems like the restaurant doesn’t want us to spend an enjoyable time and having a nice chit-chat after meal. I know that if we leave as soon as possible, they can use our table for the next customer, but why can’t they leave us a room to breathe for at least… 5 minutes? Not even 30 seconds passed since I finished my pasta, mind you….. I literally just put down my utensils when she came and took the plates, reminding me of an all you can eat sushi restaurant. The last thing that I don’t like is the water bottle brand they use. It feels heavy for my tastebuds but I guess it can’t be helped. I will recommend this restaurant if they can slow down their reactions to empty plates 🙏🏼

Cappelletti in Brodo is underwhelming. The broth doesnt really taste like anything. Is very blend. The pasta is good but its not amazing. Cappelletti al ragu is good. Good flavour and salt. But also not incredible. Pasticcio alla ferrarese is not good. For our taste at least. Its dry and tastes a little like truffles (which if you dont like, can be difficult). It almost seems like 'leftovers cake'. We are not italian so I really dont know if that is what its suppose to taste like. Service is good. Staff is friendly. Coffee is good and served super hot.

Cream-Pocalypse – An Italian Tragedy on a Plate I came in hungry for pasta. I left questioning every life decision that led me to that table. This wasn’t Italian food. This was a culinary mugging. Let’s talk about the pasta. First of all—who the hell cooked this? It was so overcooked it could’ve doubled as glue. Mushy, limp, dead inside. If pasta had a soul, this kitchen tortured it and dumped it in panna as the final insult. And speaking of panna—good Lord. The plate was less “pasta with cream sauce” and more cream with pasta garnish. It looked like someone tipped over a gallon of expired dairy onto the dish and called it a day. I didn’t know whether to eat it or build a house with it. Italians would riot if they saw this mess. No seasoning. No texture. No balance. Just a thick, greasy cream swamp that clung to the tongue like a bad breakup. And if that wasn’t enough, there was a sprinkle of sad-looking parsley on top like it was going to save the dish. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. Even the plate looked a little shy. The only sweet part of the meal? The lovely waitress—and the owners, who were so embarrassed they didn’t even bring me the bill.

What a wonderful restaurant. Food was delicious. The staff are so nice! They helped me with my Italian! Truly a great place and will return again if I ever find myself in Ferrara.

Booking is essential, for good reason. The cuisine is quintessentially Ferrarese, which is arguably the best style in Italy. You'll more likely roll away than walk away...

Great experience, good price, quality food, and nice staff. Was not disappointed after coming here due to the Google Maps reviews. Off-menu available and while it was empty at the beginning, it was very busy a little bit later. Great tiramisu.

A good restaurant to try out s some local Ferraran fare. Sported the atmosphere of a classic osteria/hostaria.

Great place for typical Ferrara food, from pumpkin ravioli to salami and cheese. The food was impeccable, but the house wine we were offered was a bit turned and we had to exchange it for another one (a great white from Tuscany). The atmosphere was nice and warm, the location really nice (behind the castle), and the service was absolutely friendly and welcoming. The English menu is a reduced version of the Italian one, so bring your translator if you wish anything else or the specials of the day.

By far one of the best restaurants we ate at in the Emilia Romagna. We splurged and got a cheese/meat appetizer platter with bread before we had our main meal. We ate everything and wished we could eat more. Great place for typical Ferrara food, like the must-try Cappellacci Di Zucca Ferraresi (pumpkin ravioli with butter sage sauce), pecorino cheese and mortadella. Great location behind the Castello Estense (a must see). The dining atmosphere is casual and the servers are helpful if you don't speak Italian.