Osteria Del Podestà — Restaurant in Bologna

Disappointing Experience with Possible Racial Discrimination I visited this restaurant while in Bologna and unfortunately, my experience was extremely disappointing. I want to highlight the service, which I believe bordered on racial discrimination.

From the moment I arrived, the attitude of the staff made me feel unwelcome. A brunette waitress escorted us to our table with a cold, uninviting demeanor, speaking only in Italian despite my attempts to communicate in English. After seating us, she gave us menus and completely ignored us for 20 minutes. During this time, neither she nor any other staff member came to take our order. A blonde waitress also attended to other nearby tables multiple times, but deliberately avoided ours, even making eye contact without acknowledging us.

It was clear that the staff was intentionally ignoring us, as they were prompt and attentive to other guests around us. When I eventually stood up to leave out of frustration, they immediately cleared our table, which suggests they were fully aware of our presence but chose not to serve us.

This treatment made me feel deeply disrespected, and I cannot help but wonder if it was due to my East Asian background. I believe that every guest deserves to be treated with basic courtesy and respect, regardless of their race or nationality. Sadly, that was not the case at this restaurant.

I hope the management takes this feedback seriously and reflects on the behavior of their staff. Discrimination, in any form, should not be tolerated, and I urge other potential customers to consider this before choosing...

Avoid this place at all cost, the staff is incredibly rude and disrespectful. The waitress reacted negatively towards me when I said I don’t eat pork and would prefer dish with no pork. She aggressively grabbed the menu from my hands and started tapping the menu with her fingers to suggest vegetarian dishes in a very rude manner. I then asked her if the restaurant served fish or chicken and she rolled her eyes and shouted at me to make a choice asap. I quickly ordered roast of the day with chicken as I was very uncomfortable with her tone of voice and aggression for rushing me. Moreover after we finished eating the first course, we had the empty plate in front of us for approx. 45mins and although other people walked in the restaurant after us their plates were collected orderly and were served their second courses. After 45 mins, we decided to inform the waitress who kept walking past our table to kindly pick up the plate and serve us the second course. Although requesting the waitress to pick up the plate she decided not to do so and as a result we chose to leave and not even eat our second course because the service was terrible. After paying for the first course, we realised the restaurant charged us for the first and second course although we informed the cashier that we will not be staying at the restaurant to have the second course. This was the worst service we have ever received in Bologna! Please avoid this place if you are looking for a great food...

I recently dined at this restaurant, and the food was undeniably delicious. The meat, in particular, stood out as it was incredibly tender, juicy, and cooked to perfection. Even though the potatoes seemed preprepared, it didn't detract from the overall dining experience.

However, I must mention that the initial service we received when we arrived left something to be desired. The waitstaff appeared somewhat uninterested and displayed passive-aggressive reactions towards customers. It took us over 10 minutes to place our orders, which was a bit frustrating. Thankfully, there was a shift change, and the new waiter provided better service, which improved the overall experience.

One notable downside was the persistent presence of beggars and street sellers who approached restaurant tables and interrupted diners. This was quite annoying and detracted from the ambiance. Overall, the restaurant offers delicious food, but the service and the street-side interruptions need improvement for a more enjoyable...