Ristorante IL FUNGO — Restaurant in Unione dell'Appennino Bolognese

A gloomy lunch experience at a weirdly located restaurant on a very average week day. When arriving, the impression is not all that great as the place is located in a very secondary road next to a series of horribly looking industrial buildings. This is only partially counterbalanced by the view on the other side of the restaurant, which is, is true overlooking a nice valley, alas that same valley is tainted by highways, viaducts and omnipresent trellises which dot the same valley with power cables left and right. The smell that welcomed us once inside was less than inviting. But it was lunch and we were there already with two kids. No other customer in sight, we were the only other living beings besides the owner/server and the cook. The tables and the restaurant space were properly arranged though and that reassured me a bit that this place is somewhat frequented throughout the year. Reading about porcino mushrooms at every corner I elect to get a portion of fried ones as appetizer, along with a mix of charcuterie, crostini and a warm tortino di ricotta. The tortino was the highlight of the starters, though it was weirdly decorated with a strawberry and stripes of balsamico (why?!?). The charcuterie was not good and actually a bit off (never good when meat is served), the crostini dull and the ones with mushrooms close to inedible, but the absolute worst was the so much praised ‘triumph of mushrooms’ (the fried porcini): stale, old, definitely not fresh and at the limit of serviceability. A huge no. Why serve things that are not fresh? Just take them off the menu until you actually have the good stuff! The rest of the family ordered pasta which came out good (my wife’s ‘pappardelle al cinghiale’ were not that tasty but the pasta was good and rightly cooked). I did order a ‘fiorentina’ for the whole table though noticing at the beginning that no one else was around and the room was quite cold and gloomy, I did ask whether they were still ok to make it (I didn’t get the impression that they had so many fresh ingredients - primarily meat seen the scarcity of customers - but the owner, a kind though somewhat fretted lady, reassured me so I did get it). The meat was neither great nor awful, though it definitely wasn’t all too fresh. A disappointment. Then fried potatoes and greens as sides (good) and two espressos (also good). The glasses of wine that we ordered never came and I am not sure whether we ended up paying for them nonetheless since I was in a fret to leave after my experiences and I didn’t check. Altogether, a roughly 200€ with the fiorentina alone 68€. Even considering the cost of meat (which, I must repeat, was not great…) the rest was too expensive for my taste. Especially considering that this was not a special meal on a special occasion, but quite a rushed lunch in the middle of nowhere, not in a great location and in a quite cold atmosphere (literally, we had to wear jackets inside). I definitely don’t consider it worth the money we spent. If you go, take pasta. For the rest, based on my own and individual...

Fantastic! Absolutely delicious with fabulous tastes and presentations. Very reasonable price, especially for the incredibly high quality of the food and vibe of the interior of the place. Wonderful service at lunch on a quiet Sunday. Even the bread is amazing : the sesame is light and soft, and the turmeric bread is as tasty as it is beautifully yellow. Don’t let the exterior fool you, it’s a lovely surprise inside. We weren’t too hungry so we ordered only one antipasto and one primo. The Tortino di ricotta ai funghi con crema di parmigiano was out of this world delicious and the balsamic they used as a decoration was a perfect counterpoint. The Pappardelle con ragú di cerco was cleverly served in a delicate and delicious basket of shredded and baked parmigiano and the gently spiced meat sauce was wonderful with the delicious pasta fresca. Seriously, for maybe a 5% higher cost than another trattoria, you jump to a much higher class of dining. I can’t wait to go back again to try everything on the menu. If only we didn’t live...

Ristorante ubicato accanto all’uscita autostradale più strana che un ingegnere abbia potuto concepire: quella di Roncobilaccio; sì perché si esce dopo essere transitati attraverso l’area di servizio. Una volta pagato il pedaggio dovete voltare a destra percorrendo la strada che sembra riportarvi al punto di partenza oppure, venendo da sud, potete pure lasciare il mezzo alla stazione di servizio e raggiungerlo a piedi attraversando un piccolo cancello girevole. Il parcheggio del ristorante è ampio poiché usufruisce pure di quello dell’hotel che al momento risulta essere chiuso. Il locale è accogliente, altrettanto il personale di sala, nella fattispecie la signora Angela la quale ci fa accomodare senza consegnarci il menù che nel frattempo ci è stato recapitato a mezzo WhatsApp così come previsto in tempi di Covid19. Partiamo con un antipasto da dividere in due: culatello su letto di misticanza con cialda di parmigiana e spicchi di carciofo. Molto buono. Per il primo la scelta è congiunta e riguarda i tagliolini al tartufo nero con aggiunta di lamella. Particolare l’impiattamento all’interno di una cialda di Parmigiano. Porzione generosa che però non è sinonimo di dozzinalità poiché il piatto è davvero di ottimo livello. Chiusura con due tagliate di manzo, una con radicchio, pecorino di Pienza e gocce di aceto balsamico, l’altra con funghi porcini trifolati e contorno di funghi porcini stavolta fritti. Carne tenerissima, gustosissima così come i relativi accompagnamenti e contorno. Malgrado siamo due ottime forchette, non c’è alcun spazio per il dolce ma solo per il caffè ed i liquori gentilmente offerti: un nocino ed un distillato, se non erro, di ciliegie marasche. Innaffiando le pietanze con una bottiglia di buon Morellino di Scansano ed una di acqua frizzante, il conto recita 120 euro che, per l’ottima qualità e la notevole quantità di ciò che abbiamo mangiato, è un prezzo che ci sta tutto. Concludiamo la serata intrattenendoci a fare due chiacchiere con il proprietario e chef Antonello che si dimostra cordiale ed amichevole nonché profondo amante del proprio lavoro ed in esso estremamente competente. Perciò quale ottima occasione se non quella di ritornare per provare qualcosa di diverso? Pesce? Ebbene sì. Alla prossima Antonello & Angela. E’...