I Carracci — Restaurant in Bologna

Fine dining expensive Italian restaurant with delicious courses and impeccable service.

I stumbled in having no idea of where I had ended up, and realised it wasn't one for a quick bite when I saw the menu with starters for €30 each, and the plush interior. I was going to have to put this on company expenses so obviously there was a limit which I'd hit before I even reached the main course. But I also saw €18 tagliatelle bolognese, and thought, well, maybe I can be cheeky and only order that? - and I bet they'll do it well. I was right.

Once seated I delicately asked the waiter whether it would be acceptable just to order the tagliatelle, which was strictly an 'initial course', and nothing else. He said it was completely fine. I then pushed my luck and requested tap water instead of mineral water. After a small fuss (but by no means an acrimonious one) they said they don't normally do that but they can do so for me. They brought a jug with lemon slices in it and poured it for me.

But this was a fine dining restaurant, and they intended to give me the full experience even though I was only ordering one dish. I first received a delicious bread selection with butter Then there was a 'welcome from the kitchen', a delicious aperitif. Then the tagliatelle, homemade, with a bolognese sauce done to perfection. Then finally a round of chocolates, complimentary. I was enjoying myself so much I ordered a coffee to go with it, even though this was now stretching my budget.

The waiter who served me was extraordinarily friendly and accommodating, not making me feel awkward at all for being such a (relative) cheapskate in a restaurant where the bill usually comes out, I imagine, over €100 per person. In the end my 4 courses (only one of which, strictly, I ordered), came to €25 (including the cover charge etc.). Incredible value!

In hindsight I think it was a quiet time for them, so adding one more guest, even if he was going to be low-value, was only a small effort. And just think of the...

Failing Michelin recommendation

Date visit: Wednesday 4/Sept 9:00 pm - 3 people

We entered the restaurant and were seated, after ordering I requested hot water as I was having a sore throat - the water was fishy and tasted like either cleaning products or some cooking buildup. This was the beginning of the collapse. The waiter was defensive when I mentioned it and was not nice - he said their water is perfect and filtered and had hostile expression on his face - he didn’t try to express his interest in making my experience pleasant. He didn’t even offer changing the water. At the time of payment i asked the waiter i want to speak to the chef, they made me around 30 - 45 minutes then they told me that the chef had left already and is done with his duty. I was shocked and baffled because there was no clarity from staff about any information. When i spoke to the waiters supervisor he asked why I wanted to speak to the chef and I said please taste the water. This made me question how this restaurant was so overrated in terms of customer experience. He refused to drink after me for hygiene reasons which I understand, and I asked politely to please taste their water. There was no intention to listen from customer about any complaint. When he actually tried the water he said that I was right and apologized as the water is dirty. I asked him why nobody cooperated and expressed my disappointment, his excuse was that the waiters don’t speak English. Supervisor started becoming rude and his facial expressions were in a mocking manner. The supervisor started interrupting me when I was expressing my complaint and was not a good listener. To conclude, customer experience is the most important part of being a guest at a fine dining restaurant such as yours - especially that IT was reviewed as one of the best restaurants 2024 in Bologna. I honestly did not have a good experience- the staff did not have a good sense of customer service or transparency in information given. I do not...

We ectually felt uncomfortable here. As we arrived, the receptionist took our coats. We really dressed ourselves for this dinner, as we were celebrating our anniversary. But the maître never even mentioned anything? Except for a younger servant, he did mentioned it. And he was the only one who talked to us. The room is very grand and the ceiling has a beautiful painting. The tables look very sharp, everything is in the right order. The Maître was very stiff and for us not a fun person to have at our table. The service was very fast. We choose the menu of €120. And had a bottle of red wine from Tuscani; Le Volte. This wine was suggested by the Maître, which was actually a very good choice. Along the dinner there were 2 other tables and another couple came during our dinner. For us it was unbelievable. Because the young man took his sweater of and was sitting there in a T-shirt!? What was going on? We were al dressed up for a high standart restaurant and here they accepteren someone to sit in his underwear? (What is the dresscode here?) If that wasnt enough, the young couple turned their Mobile Phone on. So we could hear some loud noises from their Phone. Nobody from the restaurant staff said anything!? It makes us mad to say this. But we decided to finish our meal and leave the restaurant as soon as possible. Sorry to say this, but something wasnt right and its a shame. Because everything looks so well managed but...