George R.
Yelp
Summary: The only place we decided to go to twice on our vacation. A great combination of food, warmth, and atmosphere.
Room: This is a tiny place with around 15 or so tables. Actually, I'm not sure how many tables it had because they kept rearranging them, connecting some with others to create bigger tables for the large groups that were there both times. The walls are lined with shelves of wine bottles and everything is that light amber color at night that makes everybody look so good. It's tight, but workable, and the waiters seem to be able to float between the tables like they had twice the room. Very cozy and charming inside.
Service: On the first occasion we had a waiter who was very convivial and it almost seemed like he wanted to sit down and join us. He helped us to pick the food and the wine and all of his recommendations were spot-on. The second time the waiter was a little more transactional, but this could have been because they were so busy. In both cases I'd rate service highly and we never had to hunt the waiter down for anything.
Food: Well, this is where it shines. Portions here are big. Even big by US standards. We ordered a charcuterie plate for two people and it was huge: filled with sliced, cured meats, mortadella, cheeses, pickled vegetables, and fried zucchini that was amazingly good. We tried four different pasta dishes and couldn't agree who won because they were all so good. The mixed grill for two could as easily have been for three or more and was really delicious. We also had the wild boar over polenta, a rich, textured stew over firm polenta cakes that melted in our mouths. On the next visit we again hit the pasta (because we couldn't get enough!) and tried several of the grilled beef options. My sliced filet medallions over arugula was seriously amazing and I'm going to try to make something like it at home because it was so delicious and had such great contrasting textures over the greens. Finally, in a food corollary to the famous line in The Graduate: "I have one word for you: Tiramisu." We probably had dessert at almost every lunch and dinner during the trip and at least one of our party had tiramisu each time. Theirs was probably the best of the lot. Their mascarpone cream had a texture normally reserved for the angels and the cake and espresso retained their texture and flavor really well even when submerged in the cream. There is also a dessert of mascarpone cream with crumbled cake on it. Amazing!
Separate call-out for the wines necessary here. We found great wines (Amarone, Barolo, etc.) that were less than what you'd pay in the wine shop in the US. We were drinking seriously good wines that would have been special-occasion for us at home--and two bottles per dinner!
Value: Insane. The food, service, and prices were so good I'd have been pleased to go back a third time as well. And like I said, they were not serving precious little dollops of food meant to be eaten course after course--these were filling plates at really good prices. After the first time we knew to order less. Next time I'd probably get a pasta dish and share an entree, or just get a few things and share it all. Can't wait to go back!
One more thing: Bologna was originally build over canals, like Venice, though most are completely covered by building. One of the few remaining can be seen across the street from the entrance to Biassanot. It stretches over to the next block.