The best restaurants Reggio Emilia

In this beautiful bakery you can buy the gnocco fritto, a fried bread dough that has the shape of a large ravioli and that the locals traditionally accompany with cold meats. There are also different kinds of breads, pizza slices, pies and pastries, as well as a wide variety of fresh pasta to be cooked later or eaten on the spot (tagliatelle, stuffed pasta, passatelli...). Bar open at all hours for a coffee or an aperitif; it's a pity that the service in the dining room is not always very friendly...

The room is tiny and neon lit, the walls and countertop are veneered with ugly green gyproc, the only decorative element is the sticky clock hanging above the wood oven. However, this pizzeria is dear to the hearts of Reggio's inhabitants who flock to it at lunchtime and in the evening. They buy small round pizzas, with or without anchovies. It's disconcertingly simple and it's just good, ideal for a quick lunch or an afternoon snack break while mingling with the locals.

Surrounded by pastel-coloured houses and planted with trees, Piazza Fontanesi is still the most pleasant and lively square in Reggio Emilia. One of its specialities is the cold meats, which have a few tables inside or in the square in good weather, where you can taste cheese, prosciutto, salame and other local delicacies accompanied by a dash of balsamic, grilled vegetables, olives and bruschetta. All this washed down with a small regional wine or a beer. In summer, in the shade of the foliage, it's pure happiness!

Probably the best pizzeria in Reggio Emilia. Here, the Neapolitan pizza is in the spotlight (Piedigrotta is a district of Naples), topped with fresh, high quality ingredients from the whole bunch of Italy: mozzarella di bufala, San Marzano tomatoes, cold cuts from Emilia Romagna, purple Roman artichokes, etc. The restaurant also specializes in southern Italian cuisine. Small modern room entirely glazed, with a few places along the counter in front of the busy pizzaiolo. Also makes pizza to go.

This gastronomic restaurant is located at the back of a central palace, preceded by a charming green patio. Chef Gianni D'Amato is not a newcomer: in the past he has run a double star restaurant in Reggiolo. Since 2013, the city of Reggio Emilia has been enjoying his mastery. A fine balance between tradition and innovation, a love of local products, these are all the promises of a meal at Gianni's, under the good auspices of his wife Fulvia, who takes great care of the guests in the dining room.

Merry little pink pigs are scattered all over this place in the historic centre where pork is celebrated. While the specialty remains the panino au roti, we will also appreciate other sausage fillings, porchetta, head-press, and sandwiches with names evocative of "coronary flu" and "chronic aerophagia". There are also slices of pizza, rice balls and doughnuts, in short, fat, fried, but good, to be enjoyed without complex ... not too often anyway! Friendly and talkative boss.

A historic address not to be missed if you want to discover the real Reggio Emilia cuisine. The story begins in 1968 when four brothers founded the restaurant. Since then, the family-run establishment has remained faithful to its culinary traditions and sense of hospitality, with room service as in the past, elegant, courteous and available. The specialities: the cappelletti al brodo (in broth), patiently shaped by hand, and the trolley of boiled or roasted meats, to be accompanied by a good local lambrusco.