Ristorante da Danilo — Restaurant in Modena

A solid 4 stars, could have been 5 stars but a few mistakes were made on my part.

I heard about Ristorante Da Danilo from a couple of food blogs and after reading about it I knew I had to try it.

I don’t speak Italian so I was unsure about calling for a reservation so I did what my plan was for most of my time in Italy, and that was to just show up at opening to try to get a table. It helped that it was the slow season so those two reasons worked for me during my trip.

I started with the Prosciutto e Parmigiano Reggiano as an antipasti. Being in the Emilia-Romagna region I had to try the regional specialities Of Parma ham and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. This was a plus because it also came with gnocco fritto and the Parmigiano Reggiano was topped with an aged balsamic vinegar. Gnocco fritto is a type of bread from the region that is fried and usually eaten with an assortment of salumi.

The prosciutto was excellent especially when eaten with the gnocco fritto. And the Parmigiano Reggian, aged 36 months, with balsamic was also outstanding.

Next was the Primi Piatti or first course. I ordered the Lasagne verdi al forno which was baked sheets of green pasta with meat filling and bechamel sauce. In the U.S. most lasagna is made with a tomato sauce or ragu, but the bechamel is next level and this was the best lasagna I’ve ever tasted.

For my Secondi Piatt, second course I decided to try the Bollito misto, which is a typical dish from the region which is mixed boiled meat (beef, stuffed pig trotter, head, tongue). Pig trotter is pigs foot, which I’ve had before. The boiled meats were served with 4 different sauces including mostarda (a mustard based sauce with candied fruit), salsa verde, and a chutney like sauce. I tried all the different sauces with all of the different meats but it just didn’t do anything for me, it was just boiled meat. I couldn’t even pick a favorite meat. I usually power through and finish everything but I just couldn’t do it. This turned out to be the most disappointing dish I ate in Italy. I don’t think it was made badly, it was just something I am not used to.

For the Contorn or side dish I ordered Spinaci al burro e formaggio (Spinach with butter and cheese). This was alright, just as you would expect.

For the Dolci della Casa (Home-made desserts) I had to try the Zuppa Inglese, which literally means “English soup.” Once again I had read about it and I knew it was a regional dessert not likely to be found in other regions. It is described as a trifle-like dessert but I neglected to note that it is made with a liqueur and I don’t really like any kind of alcohol, so while it was pretty, it just wasn’t for me.

All in all it was a good meal, because what I did like was excellent and what I didn’t like was due to my preferences or what I was used to and not the fault of the restaurant.

I did try to get in for lunch about 3 weeks later but the restaurant was...

Just got back from the restaurant, had a terrible experiance. It had nothing to do with the food, but due to a terrible service. Unfortunatelly sometimes, bad service takes away from the entire experience (regardless of the food quality). It all came down to 1 bad waiter. It started with him giving me the wrong dish (and not even apologizing for the confusion of bringing me meet when I specifically asked for vegeterian), following him serving my boyfriend the brot without a spoon (and had to wait for about 5 minutes until we got his attention to request for it). He didn't bring any dressing for the side salad (but maybe that's just the case in Italy, not sure). When we asked for deserts, he didn't provide any explenations (Although some deserts require it, such as "cake of the day" or daily gelato). We asked him for a reccomendation and he immediately answered "Tiramisu", without any other explenations. When we went with his choice, he came back with this white creme with some chocolate flakes. Not sure if in Italy Tiramisu means a different thing than the rest of the world, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't Tiramisu. So far so good, mistakes happen. The worst thing was that we had to wait for over 10 minutes to request for the bill since he stood there to flirt with 2 girls in the next table. We ended up calling a waiter from the outside area to request for the bill. The bill states we are required to pay 10% for service. If a business has that demand, the basic thing to do is to provide a level of service that deserves that- and that was far from the service we got. We had a terrible experiance, such a shame because we got great reccomendations and really expected...

We had the “Salumi – pecorino – marmellata – gnocco” for our entrée, the “Lasagne verdi al forno” and the “Filetto all’aceto balsamico” (a steak in balsamic reduction with potato purée) as mains, and mascarpone and tiramisu for dessert.

Food: The food was excellent overall. The steak in balsamic reduction was of outstanding quality, with an incredibly rich and flavorful sauce—though the purée was just okay. The lasagna was beautifully prepared, with tender meat and a great balance of flavors and textures.

The entrée was divine! The gnocco paired with prosciutto, cheese, and fig jam was the perfect way to start the meal—simple, yet absolutely delicious.

Desserts were also very good, though not as memorable as the earlier dishes.

Ambience & Service: The restaurant has a cozy, homemade vibe, and the food genuinely feels like it’s made with love and care. However, the service left something to be desired. When we arrived, despite plenty of empty tables, we were seated by the door, which was fine at first. But as more guests without reservations arrived, they were given more comfortable seating, which felt unfair and detracted from the experience.

Overall: Great food, especially the steak and entrée, but portions were on the smaller side. Service could use improvement, but we still enjoyed the meal and the quality of the dishes.

Would recommend for the food, with the caveat about...