Trattoria Meloncello — Restaurant in Bologna

Went here for a special occasion as I'm traveling on a budget and rarely visit restaurants. I wanted somewhere that served good traditional Emilia-Romagna cuisine for reasonable value, which it manages to do. I ordered, maiale al latte, a favourite of mine, it was alright but I've definitely had and made better. To accompany I had the tomatoes with parmesan and breadcrumbs although I didn't taste any parmesan, bread which judging by its dryness had been cut hours before and on recommendation some good local red wine. Finished the Neal with the semifreddo and chocolate sauce, the sauce was good but the semi freddo was more like, totalmente freddo and didn't taste like it was made in house, probably the supermarket. Service was good until after finishing the meal within half an hour, I had too try for at least twenty minutes after my table was cleared, to get the bill. When I was obviously finished. Overall a traditional no fuss Bolognese restaurant at a reasonable price, but not worth a visit if you're interested...

I've never left a one star review, but I've settled as a resolution for 2025 to become more vocal about what bothers me. I've stepped in this trattoria at 3 PM on Jan 1st, after looking long and hard for a coffee shop- there was none open in sight and I really wanted an espresso. I know you do not normallly offer just coffee in a trattoria, but I've tried my luck anyway, seeing in the menu out. I was promptly declined based on the reason above, although the trattoria had a lot of free tables and barely any customer in sight. I was suggested to try a coffee shop and when I've asked if there is any open nearby, I've received a smiling "no". For the record, I just wanted to drink that espresso that would have taken a minute to make in another minute , pay for it and be on my way, I had no plan of ocuppying a table. But I guess it was easier for the waitress to refuse me with a smile based on some arbitrary rule, than be curteous and customer oriented in a rather rare...

15 minutes away from the city centre, this place makes you feel like eating at Grandma's house. Service is very good and the food is amazing. As we came in the waitress didn't even bring the menu, she just told us what dishes they had made for the day, which really makes it feel like visiting a friend. The bottle of water was more expensive than half a bottle of wine. I am only giving 3 stars because when we went to the till to pay, they first said the price (€62 for 2 adults and 3 small kids) and only gave us the receipt after we had paid. Back at the hotel we realized that we had paid more than the total on the receipt. The gentleman said "62 euro per favore" whereas on the receipt was only €47. If you include service it shouldn't be more than €52. Definitely not going back to this restaurant. Lesson learned! It's always better to ask for the receipt...