I've been back in Sydney for almost a week now and if there was one country I wish I had spent more time in, it would be Italy. Due to the train strike in France, I spent an extra three days in Nice and subsequently, three days less in Italy. So we threw out our plans to see the Amalfi Coast and Rome and flew to Greece a day early, leaving three days to eat our hearts out in Bologna!
On the first night, we accidentally over-ordered -forgetting the difference in serving sizes between France and Italy. Research showed that plenty of visitors and locals considered Pizzeria Nicola as one of the best. With decent prices, a menu which covered all bases and massive serves, I couldn't agree more. We had the bruschetta, prosciutto melone, riso ai frutti di mare, pappardelle ai funghi porcini and the quattro stagioni pizza; yes, all of this for two.
Bruschetta from Pizzeria Nicola
The prosciutto was so fragrant... sweet, slightly salty, delicate and paired brilliantly with fresh rockmelon.
Prosciutto melone from Pizzeria Nicola
The risotto was served generously with mussels, prawns, vongole and calamari; the rice was moist and al dente. My pasta was fresh and creamy, perfect with the rich and slightly nutty porcini mushrooms -delectable!
Riso ai frutti di mare from Pizzeria Nicola
Pappardelle ai funghi porcini from Pizzeria Nicola
As for the pizza... let's start with the crust. It was thin, its edges were crisp and brown and there were plenty of gorgeously textured air bubbles. The wood-fired base was topped with a tasty balanced combination of tomatoes, mozzarella, ham, mushroom, artichoke and pork sausage.
Quattro stagioni pizza from Pizzeria Nicola
The next day, we checked out Trattoria Tony for its Bologna specialty of ragu (bolognese sauce). Traditional bolognese is actually less tomatoey than its international adaptations of which I'm used to. The meat sauce was an aromatic mix of uniformly chopped carrot, onion, celery, garlic, porcini mushrooms, mince, tomatoes. We loved it ladled over the homemade tagiatelle and green lasagne.
Antipasto misto from Trattoria Tony
Lasagne verdi al forno from Trattoria Tony
Tagiatelle al ragu from Trattoria Tony
Fragole con gelato from Trattoria Tony
Creme caramel from Trattoria Tony
A quick trip to Venice
Pizzeria Nicola
Piazza San Martino, 9
Bologna 40126, Italy
Phone: +39 51 23 2502
Trattoria Tony
Via Augusto Righi, 1
Bologna 40126, Italy
Phone: +39 51 23 2852
More on food from Santorini and Dubai soon! :)
great seeing what you had in italy!
So envious! I've been to Bologna twice and neither of these places were open! My father-in-law goes to Tony all the time and I can never get to Bologna when it's open. So you can count yourself lucky!
Majorly jealous and hungry right now... It all looks sublime, especially the antipasti and pizza. Did you enjoy Bologna?
Yum! Ooh, I miss Italy so much. That pizza looks so good right now! Shame you missed Amalfi Coast though
That's such a shame! Rome and the Amalfi coast was my 2 favourite places in Italy! But sounds like you had a great time anyway!