Grassilli — Restaurant in Bologna

Last night, a group of dear friends and I set out on a noble quest: to enjoy a pleasant meal at Grassili, a restaurant that—based on its Instagram—seemed to promise an evening of culinary delight. We had dreams. Hopes. Aspirations of pasta so divine that it would make an Italian nonna weep with joy. But what did we get instead? We got turned away.

Yes, dear reader, turned away. Rejected. Sent packing like Victorian street urchins begging for a crust of bread. And why? Were we rowdy? No. Poorly dressed? Absolutely not—I was wearing a blazer that made me look like a young Elton John at a business meeting. Did we lack a booking? Also no! We had a reservation, and yet we were met with the kind of frosty reception you’d expect from a 19th-century butler who has just discovered you’ve brought a muddy dog into the drawing room.

The host—whose personality could best be described as “haunted mannequin”—greeted us with the enthusiasm of a hostage reading out a ransom note. We explained our booking, only to be told with a withering look and a shrug that there was “no record of it.” Ah yes, the classic “mysteriously vanished reservation” trick—because clearly, the real problem here is that we hadn’t used an ancient scroll sealed with wax and delivered by carrier pigeon to confirm our booking.

I pleaded. I reasoned. I even did my best Hugh Grant impression in an attempt to charm my way to a table—nothing. We were told that they were “fully booked,” despite the fact that I could see, with my very own eyes, multiple empty tables. Perhaps they were reserved for the ghosts of diners past, forever doomed to a better service than we received.

Eventually, after a standoff that felt longer than the entirety of War and Peace, we left, hungry and defeated, forced to scavenge the streets for food like Victorian paupers (we ended up at a delightful kebab shop, where we were greeted with more warmth and hospitality in 30 seconds than Grassili could muster in a lifetime).

So, in conclusion: if you enjoy being dismissed like an unimportant extra in the great drama of life, Grassili is the place for you. If, however, you prefer your restaurants to actually let you eat food, I’d suggest going literally anywhere else.

Zero stars. Would rather dine at a...

We had a terrible experience here, but let's start with the good part. The quality of the food and their wines were very good. We were also attended by a female waitress who was really friendly, so props to her for being a good host!

Now the bad part:

The waiter that was assigned to our table (Arrogant bald guy) absolutely ruined what could've been a memorable last meal of our amazing Bologna trip.

First off, we were asked if we wanted to be served in Italian or English. As we're practicing our Italian, and out of respect of the culture, we said Italian. Waiter immediately starts talking mach 5 Italian in his local dialect, like he was trying to prove a point. We did our best to understand and were able to order. But this already set the bitter tone for the evening.

Then the wine comes and the female of the table gets served last. For a waiter that looks and talks like he knows what he is doing, he should know that this is a massive blunder.

What really irked us the most was the way he aggressively took our plates away the moment the last bite made its way from the fork to our mouths. Even during mid conversation, the waiter just yanks our plates and wine glasses interrupting every possible moment we tried to enjoy our food and the ambiance.

Lastly, never take the bistecca here, as you will get a piece of meat that could've not been more than 150 g (bone included), and you will pay 20 euro's for it. The rest of the food was good.

We had a 3 course meal + digestivo and we were out of the restaurant in 50 minutes. I have stayed longer in a kebabbero than...

I do not usually post a review for somewhere I didn't actually dine in but just have to highlight the discriminatory practices that take place at this restaurant on who they let dine. Myself and my partner were told this restaurant was fully booked on Friday evening despite being totally empty on arrival, when we enquired if Saturday was available we were told it was also completely booked as well as Sunday but we might get in at lunchtime. Being unassuming and non-judgemental I took their word for it and asked for any recommendations in the local area as an alternative to which the waiter bluntly pointed to the beer bar down the street (we do love a beer but clearly this was mainly a watering hole not a high end dining restaurant). At this point we sussed out that they had simply perceived us as dumb tourists not worthy of their cuisine - and our suspicions were proven right when we passed the restaurant at 8pm the following day to see only two diners inside! 'Fully booked' - yeah right. Quite frankly I find this sort of attitude embarrassing - if this is how you want to make an impression to guests to your country who want to enjoy the local food, it doesn't exactly make you look good - and in the UK such practices could quite frankly cost you a lawsuit.

You make pasta for a living, you're not Berghain so stop...