Ristorante San Pietro — Restaurant in Bologna

The food was fantastic!! The Tagliatelle in Ragu was awesome and I even had a second round of main course in lasagna (which was really good!!) MY other half have some eggplant with vegetable terrine appetizer which he said was very delicious and he ordered the seared crusted tuna as main and the tuna cuts like butter. We love the food.

Three stars due to the attitude of the head server/waiter - a guy in black shirt with blue apron. He is animated and fast however I think that he does not like us for a reason. When we told the junior waitress (who is very sweet but don't speak much English) she went in and get someone to help and out came this waiter - and he asked if we have reservation and before we even answered he decided to just run to other table and deal with the patron and totally ignored us. We had to wait for a few minutes to be seated by another person. Which is okay! After we were seated, the waiter send us the menu but something about his behavior that are dismissive - even in the ordering process - where I would like to have two main dish instead of an appetizer and a main. His attitude was a bit brash and hurried - and my other half ordered his appetizer and I said that I would like to have two main and he was clearly annoyed that I did not give him the right answer. My other half proceed to explain that he will have an appetizer and main but I will have two main - and the waiter said that I could have said that one of the main as appetizer. Okay cool bean - no worries. But throughout the meal we were ignored, while he was interacting with others (he does speak English) - and I felt like we were sort of rushed through the entire meal. Even my other half who is the most relaxed person said that the head waiter were kind of snotty however we are there to celebrate his birthday - the food was good, the atmosphere is nice and we can just enjoy it as it is. Which we did! 😄 We did not stay for dessert mainly because we don't want to hold the table and we are full anyway. We don't know why the waiter treats us the way he did - between us we just laugh it off and focus on what matter.

The food was excellent - definitely a place where you would go and eat if you stay at Bologna a few days. But we will probably not go back due to the interaction with the waiter. People are just people and if there are some incompatibility - all we need is just move on and try out other wonderful restaurant in heart of Bologna City Center!

Make sure that you reserve in advance as there are people waiting in line after 8pm. We sat outside which is cooler and it was a very pleasant evening aside from the interaction with the head waiter.

Oooh and I love the mini standalone table lamp!!! Will definitely get a few to take back home. So that...

Tonight we had an amazing experience at Pizzeria Trattoria San Pietro. We passed the restaurant several nights before and noticed the serene ambiance of the trattoria... candle light on every table and a bottle of limoncello at every table that had finished eating. We planned to check it out, and felt hesitant because it looked fancy and we were afraid it would cost too much. To our surprise, when we sat down, the price was truly of a trattoria. Don’t get me wrong, if you want to spend more, San Pietro has some secondi that will help you accomplish that but for normal people wanting a pleasant experience where you’re not rushed through dinner, with a calm ambiance and delicious food at a reasonable price, this is your spot.

Located on a side street off the main piazzas, I genuinely mean it when I say this is the exact type of restaurant that everyone who comes to Italy wants to go to. It is authentic, friendly, good food, and not touristy. The owner, Roberto, personally came to our table, talked to us about our daughter, and our food, and genuinely cared that we had a good experience. My husband is very sensitive to people speaking English back when he speaks Italian to them. Whether it was a good night for him or good manners from the owner, Roberto spoke Italian with us the entire night.... even through our (doubtless) many mistakes. I dare you to name a spot in the US where the owner is rushing around busing tables, bringing bread to new groups, chatting with diners, and greeting guests. I think this is a difference between the US and Italy.

We mentioned to him but I’ll mention here - we ordered two things. A pasta dish alle vongole (clams) and a pizza. With each bite both my husband and I changed our mind on which we liked more. We had previously been to San Benedetto del Tronto (on the beach), and had eaten a great seafood dish, and the vongole in this pasta dish handily surpassed even the seafood at the beach. That’s pretty impressive. The bread at the beginning of the meal was fresh and tasty. By comparison, most breads around Bologna are pretty stale by dinner. Finally, after our dinner, we received limencello. Maybe it was their mistake and our lucky night, but it wasn’t on the bill. My husband pointed it out and they said it was included. And it was amazing stuff.

If we have any hesitancy to post about our experience at San Pietro, it’s only because I am afraid next time we come to Bologna we won’t be able to get a spot for dinner service. So if you read this and you’re convince to try this spot, please save us a spot for...

The restaurant is located just 2 minutes from the center of Bologna on a quiet street, and the place is quite nice and clean.

Regarding the service, I was really disappointed today. In contrast to my previous visits, there has been a significant decline in the quality of service. Given the prices charged, I expected better service. Firstly, the waiter simply placed water on the table without refilling our glasses. Then, he brought a spoon for one of the meals we had ordered, but instead of politely asking who ordered it, he used an arrogant tone and simply stated the name of the dish. We couldn’t understand what he was asking for because we hadn’t noticed the spoon, so he repeated himself with an even worse tone. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of our ‘great’ experience.

They brought bread with Parmesan but forgot to bring the plates, so we had to use the plates that were already on the table. No waiter came to check if we had everything we needed. When it was time for the main course, the waiter finally showed up and in front of other customers, gave us a sarcastic ‘lesson’ on how to ask for extra plates. From my perspective, the waiter needs education on proper service. How can you bring bread with Parmesan and oil to the table but forget the plates? Do they expect us to teleport the food into our mouths or should I stand up and start looking for my waiter? Or perhaps it’s better for me to go to the restaurant kitchen and fetch the plates myself because apparently, it’s too difficult for their staff to think logically? From this point on, the entire restaurant experience was ruined.

Regarding the quality, the price does not match the quality of the food. The food was not well-balanced in taste, the starter was undercooked, and the pizza was poorly cut.

On a positive note, the waiter at the entrance welcomed us warmly, and another staff member brought us a holder for our bags.

In summary, we used to love this place and would highly recommend it to our friends who were visiting the city. However, after this experience, we will not be returning to this restaurant. I also cannot recommend this place anymore due to the disgusting, rude, and disrespectful behavior exhibited by some of the waitstaff. While customers are not always right, most situations can be handled much better and with a...