Dining Out in Bologna, Italy: A Post-Lockdown Experience

As Italy begins the process of easing one of Europe’s toughest lockdowns amid the coronavirus pandemic, iBestTravel writer and Bologna, Italy, resident Kevin Raub set out to grab a bite at one of the city’s best restaurants. Here’s what he experienced.

The first thing I see when I step into a restaurant in Italy for the first time in over two months is a sign that says, “#AndràBeneUnCazzo!” It’s a sarcastic jab at what became Italy’s unofficial mantra since the country entered into one of the world’s first and toughest COVID-19 lockdowns on March 8, “#AndràTuttoBene,” meaning “Everything will be alright.”

Everything Will Be Alright

However, Fabio Berti and Alessandro Gozzi, whose big personalities and jovial humor are as loved as the traditional Bolognese cuisine at Trattoria Bertozzi, would never stand for such wishy-washy optimism. Their sign roughly translates as “Everything will be alright my ass!” and that just feels perfect for a city (Bologna) and region (Emilia-Romagna) that arguably harbors Italy’s most important culinary traditions in its kitchens.

Tourists have long flocked to this region of central Italy for its rich automotive history, medieval architecture, and unique tastes in local wines and spirits. However, it’s the food of Emilia-Romagna – tagliatelle with ragù, lasagna, prosciutto di Parma, Parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar, tortellini, mortadella, etc. – that ensures Bologna and its surrounding areas see a steady flow of arrivals and departures. Therefore, pondering what dining out in a post-pandemic world will be like here is palpably concerning for the 5th-most-visited country in the world.

Fortunately, I reside above Trattoria Bertozzi (the scent of slow-cooked ragù fills our apartment daily, and the soundtrack of Berti yelling at staff, local providers, and delivery couriers is our main entertainment). Bertozzi is considered among the Bolognese as one of the city’s unmissable traditional restaurants, and it was the first place I wanted to eat when this new gastronomic world opened for business on Monday, May 18 (the first day, post-lockdown, that restaurants in Italy could begin welcoming back dine-in patrons). The new rules, which vary slightly by region, are numerous: masked servers, 1m distance between tables, no buffets, and extensive sanitation procedures. Would it even be worth going out to eat again?

Small Differences

Sì, signore! Jacopo, our masked server and the owner’s son, greets my Italian partner and me at the door for our 7:30pm reservation and escorts us to our table. We are the first to arrive. The dining room doesn’t immediately appear noticeably different because it’s not – Bertozzi has only lost one table inside and three from its outdoor patio; there’s no plastic screens between tables or any futuristic dining pods. Nothing beyond the masks seems amiss at all.

Condiments have been removed from the tables, but I wouldn’t have even noticed that if Jacopo hadn’t informed us; and the bread, normally served in a communal basket, has been individually wrapped in paper bags (a sensible precaution even without the pandemic). Hand sanitizer is conveniently available next to our table.

Jacopo explains we must wear our masks when entering and leaving the restaurant and if we go to the bathroom (which he will escort us to if needed). Additional rules are scribbled on a giant mirror: “Please stay seated as much as possible,” “Ask for the bill from the table,” “Avoid lining up for the toilet,” etc.

Jacopo arrives and pours us a welcome glass of spumante (as is customary at Bertozzi) and begins saying the magical words we’ve longed to hear for 10 weeks: “We have our usual special tonight, potato souffle with Parmesan cream and mortadella mousse,” he says, reciting the menu. “For primi, we have traditional tagliatelle with ragù, our signature gramigna with salsiccia, and a special passitelli with asparagus and crunchy ham.” I want to sample all of it – every piece of pasta in the house – but we settle on the mousse and three primi: the passatelli, stuffed tortelloni with potatoes and mortadella, and tagliatelle with morel mushrooms (in season just in time for the reopening of restaurants!).

By this point, the restaurant is full and as lively as ever. A local taxi driver, a bit of a Twitter star, sits at one table; friends of the owners hold court at another; a New Age couple dines nearby – all seated 1m apart. A change, incidentally, I fully support – I got kicked out of a restaurant in Tuscany last year for complaining that the tables were too close together. I guess that won’t be an issue anymore.

Fabio, the dining room face of Bertozzi, ambles about delivering pasta cooked to perfection to each table, hanging out and chatting with everyone just as he always does, while sanitizing his hands along with the rest of the staff after touching pretty much anything (again, a good practice to begin with).

Dining Out in La Grassa

Our food arrives, and it goes without saying that everything is marvelous (Bologna isn’t nicknamed La Grassa, The Fat One, for nothing). The wine flows throughout (local Sangiovese Superiore, thank you very much), and we finish as one does in Bologna: zuppa inglese, the hometown dessert, which is neither soup nor English but rather a layered custard and sponge cake soaked in bloody red Alchermes liqueur. How sweet it is to dine out again.

So does this mean Italy is ready to accept visitors from abroad? At the time of writing, the country is said to be opening its borders to travelers from fellow Schengen countries on June 3 (with no official government decree quite yet), although several Schengen nations seem to be leaning more towards a mid-June opening. Therefore, domestic and intra-EU travel will likely be the trend for this summer travel season. If you hold a Schengen passport, rest assured eating will still be a highlight of your trip to Italy.

Another spumante is generously opened, and Fabio fills everyone’s glasses while proposing a restaurant-wide toast. We all raise our glasses to the new normal, which isn’t all that different from the old normal. Almost everything about the experience was thankfully ordinary (but more sanitary!).

Italians were right – everything is going to be alright.