Trattoria Il Fantino

N.B - Please book to not disappoint. Arrived in Modena to the request of this restaurant. Tucked away lil restaurant with brilliant service given by bilingual courteous & smiling staff. Great menu with lots of delicious specials available too. Great range of desserts too. The balsamic vinegar is very thick & to die for, available to buy to bring home too!!

Tasty food in wonderful relaxed atmosphere - if you’re in Modena, try Trattorio Il Fantino. Traditional food at reasonable prices. Very tasty and highly recommended.

This is the place to eat when in Modena. The food is amazing, the service is excellent, and the atmosphere is laid back Italian. We ate here twice, and each time, it was outstanding. Felt very comfortable eating here a real gem.

second time here, never disappointed! amazing food and nice service

Very tasty food, well-cooked, nice options in the menu and the specials were incredible!! The desserts were also very good. They missed the 5th star due to service: we were 4 people, they brought only 2 tigelle (small, round shaped bread slices) in the starters instead of 4 and when we asked for 2 more they charged us 10 euros extra!

Good quality food at a decent price. The guy who served us was friendly and helpful. He spoke good English. Everyone in our group enjoyed their food. The gnocco were particularly good and the meat on the ribs just fell off. Relatively short menu with daily specials. Looking forward to going back.

Starting with tortellini in chicken broth, a local delicacy and it’s amazing, flavour packed and perfectly cooked with a clear broth. Now for pork rolled with mortadella and sage. Balsamic smells like heaven…..with the consistency of molasses’s. Outstanding! The stuffing is hard to discern, but perhaps parmigiana, breadcrumb and sage… super good. Well worth a visit. Home cooked by Momma, super fresh and rusticly exquisite. Do yourself a favour and check it out.

I had high expectations for this place, given its location in Modena, but unfortunately, the experience fell far short. The service was not just unprofessional but bordered on rude. When I asked for a bottle of Lambrusco di Sorbara, I was met with a snide comment along the lines of, “Should I take the metro to get it for you?”—an unnecessary and offensive remark. The food was equally underwhelming: poorly prepared, lacking flavor, and certainly not worth the €50 I spent. For a city known for its culinary excellence, this was deeply disappointing. I believe every restaurant has its off days, but a minimum level of respect and quality should always be maintained. Sadly, neither was present here. I cannot recommend this establishment.

everything you've read is true and more. authenic cuisine from the region and odds are you'll be sitting next to locals. no reservation? you'll be out of luck so book in advance. the food, wine, and gracious hostess was exceptional. the only "have to" meal in Modena. seating is extremely limited and don't let the modest setting fool you - you will not be disappointed.

What a meal... This restaurant is worth a detour and a quick drop-by in Modena. Nothing fancy, this place looks like a very neat mom and pop Italian restaurant which is frequented by both locals and tourists (thanks to TripAdvisor) and serves truly delicious Italian food. Their pastas are out of this world. Friendly staff and great service. Eccellente!

Best meal I ate in Italy. My friend and I sprang for the tasting menu. For just over 30 Euros we got a bounty of full-portioned handmade pasta and meat dishes, a bottle of wine, pork spread and bread, and a small dessert tasting. The server brought us ice-cold limoncello and nocino, then left them on the table for us. Il Fantino was delicious, generous, quality, and well worth the money. Make reservations as the place fills up even in winter.

Very busy - a full house on a Wednesday evening in late September. We had heard a great deal about this resto - great food, great price, best food in Modena. We were less than impressed. For our prima pasta dishes, one was overly salty and the other was unseasoned and bland . Our secondi dishes were also disappointing. My roast veal (a cold platter) cried for salt and pepper; my wife's bocconcini di pollo (chicken titbits [yes - "tit bits", as translated in their menu]) were to have a balsamic vinegar sauce (it was so acidic as to be almost inedible). Portions were large but quality was mediocre. Service was fast and friendly. Price was quite good, but there are better choices within a two block area, if you want to eat something special. Overall, this is an overrated restaurant.