Il Veliero — Restaurant in Bologna

A Disheartening Evening at Il Veliero

In the picturesque city of Bologna, where the culinary arts are celebrated, one would expect nothing less than excellence from its eateries. 'Il Veliero' however, served us an experience that was far from the Italian idyll we had envisioned.

Our journey into dismay began the night before, when we secured a reservation for three at 8:30 pm. Yet, upon our arrival, it was as if our booking had been tossed into the ether, never to be found again. We were left to linger by the door, invisible to the bustling staff, for a grueling half-hour.

The first attempt to inquire about our table was met with a dismissive shrug from a waiter, who seemed more phantom than flesh, vanishing before any semblance of an answer could be grasped. Ten minutes later, a second attempt resulted in an irate waiter brandishing a bill in my face, his words “after this bill” echoing like a broken record.

As we stood, local patrons breezed past us to their tables, the disparity in treatment as stark as black and white. When patience wore thin and I pressed for clarity, the promise of “5 minutes” was as empty as the plates before us.

An hour ticked by before we were finally granted a table, devoid of the basic accouterments of dining – no knives, no forks, no napkins. Pointing out their absence summoned a tempest in the form of a waiter, whose temper flared and stormed off to retrieve what should have already been present.

The one aspect of the evening that did not dawdle was the arrival of the pizza. Yet, even this was a letdown, the mediocrity of the dish a stark contrast to the rich tapestry of Italian culinary tradition. It was a pizza that would have made any nonna shake her head in disapproval.

In conclusion, ‘Il Veliero' is a place where reservations are as ephemeral as the steam from its ovens, where preferential treatment is given to locals, and where the head waiter’s demeanor leaves much to be desired. The food, which should be the redeeming feature, fails to rise to the occasion.

This establishment is a far cry from the quaint Italian pizzeria one might hope to find in Bologna. It is, instead, reminiscent of a ‘Karen’s Diner’, where the service is part of a performance – unfortunately, one that is neither entertaining nor endearing.

For those seeking the warmth of Italian hospitality and the delight of authentic cuisine, I implore you to look elsewhere. 'Il Veliero’ is a lesson in disappointment, a reminder that not all that glitters in Bologna’s culinary...

This pizza was DIVINE. I am not exaggerating when I say that it is genuinely one of the tastiest and filling pizzas that I've ever had the pleasure of ordering.

When it comes to authentic Italian pizza, the flavor of the sauce is crucial. I can confidently say that the sauce used in my pizza was so delicious that I would willingly shovel it down by the spoonful - yeah, it really was that good! It blended so well with the oils from the spicy salami, the flavor was strong and not sweet, perfect amount of saltiness. The crust was perfectly cooked, cheese perfectly melted.

The one thing to critique is that the menu is just unnecessarily long - there's like 4 pages of pizzas, and it's tough to narrow down what you want. I didn't want to be a bother to the server so I picked the "Salami Picante," clearly worked out well for me but I think they should consider condensing the menu more. Service was fine aside from this aspect, so a 4* for that.

We could immediately tell that this is a popular place with local youth, there were large tables of young adults all speaking Italian - says a lot about this place. If you're looking for incredible pizza and scared of wasting your time at a tourist trap then look no further - this is the pizzeria to...

Visited with 2 persons. We were in a bad mood because we were at another restaurant just before it while being very thirsty from walking around all day. but it took so long before we got anyone to take our order, we just left and then passed Il Veliero. When we entered the restaurant was pretty crowded which made chatting a bit annoying but were able to get a seat pretty quick. The menu boasts an enormous amount of options which made me skeptical at first (some places do quantity over quality). But we both ordered a (giant) drink and a pizza. The waiters were very friendly and not afraid to joke a little. The pizzas arrived really quick....and were amazing! Both quality and quantity. We didnt finish them but got a container for the left overs. We chatted a bit with the people sitting next to us about the great food and us being dumb tourists. They left shortly after. We were stuffed and asked for the bill, receiving 2 shots of very tasteful Limoncello from the gentleman we talked to that just left (you made our evening, thanks). And when it was time to pay....not even 50 euro's! Thank you Il Veliero and your waiters and chefs for a...