Oltre. In Bologna

Good food Inattentive service Too dark environment

It's a very quiet and elegant place, but it doesn't quite fit the concept of a tasting menu. The food, however good it might be, doesn't justify the price or the ambiance of the restaurant itself. The waiters aren't particularly friendly. I wouldn't recommend it because it wasn't what I expected, but the food is good and typical of the area.

It was almost ok. Ambiance, your visceral sense of space, lends a large part to a dining experience. Light, color, texture, sound, materials, spacing, windows, tableware, even use of fire and water are curated (if even by neglect) in each restaurant. Lighting is so very important. The harsh, bitter exposing glare of 3 star Piazza Duomo is almost as baffling as this new generation progressive Bolognese experiment, oltre, where the entire dining room has no lights on. Only when you are seated at a table do they turn on your one single tabletop LED. Not having still enough light to see the "punched paint chip selector" style menu and miniscule wine list, I turned on the light at the two top next to us, tables separated by about six inches. The hostest ran across the room, shaking her finger at me, and turned that light off. OK. Only one Barolo on this menu, and slightly pricier than the place, but we went for it... And the 2016 Meteri/Grasso Cascina del Monastero had very well developed and smoothly integrated Barolo notes: spice, leather, dry red fruit, black Sharpie, and that oaky hug. The food was certainly moving in a newer direction. Baccala cannolo with olive powder could have used a much thinner shell and more potato. Chicken liver mousse on brioche with persimmon was fine but with no outstanding notes. Passatelli (heavy pasta cylinders) with cheese, celeriac, and mussels actually worked quite well! Sangiovese peposo-braised capriolo (roe deer) on maccheroncini tasted like all the other wine braised country style meats that we've been having, but the fresh pasta was very good on this dish. Venison with black truffle and one single baby carrot was quite well cooked. Pre-dessert of almost frozen grapefruit snot was the first truly inedible thing we've run into this month! Strawberry-grape mousse and sorbet with grapes two ways on more brioche felt like an excuse looking for a dish... Unable to be seen in its little mustard bowl, that's ok, because it's a visually cool dish only. Oltre has been open a while, so you would think that they've hit their stride. I see potential here, but several misses of things not thought out, or perhaps too broad of a selection of food, and a dismal selection of wine.

Amazing restaurant! Absolutely top-quality food — Michelin-listed and well-deserved! The 7-course tasting menu at Oltre truly won us over. Each dish was exceptional, and the portions were so generous you could hardly finish everything. Highly recommended for anyone who loves fine dining and unforgettable flavors!

With speakeasy vibes, excellent food choices, amazing cocktails (there is also a plethora of a wine selection obviously) and most of all immaculate service. A+++++

The Oltre menu had some great dishes, especially the pasta dishes, which were very good. The venison fillet was okay, but the mushrooms were unfortunately lacking in flavor. The cannolo was a bit too salty. I thought the pan brioche was very good. The cocktails were great! Friendly service, but sometimes a bit impatient when clearing plates. They also didn't ask if we wanted any more drinks. We liked the decor, including the toolboxes. Overall, a good experience with room for improvement.

A carefully curated atmosphere, incredible food, and excellent service. It has its own personality and is a real discovery.

We had high expectations, which were only partially met. The appetizers (one antipasti and one pasta) were very tasty, but the main courses were a bit off in terms of food pairing. The timing could also be better; our aperitif wasn't finished yet, and the appetizer arrived before we had even had a chance to order wine. The decor is trendy, but too dark. The service was friendly, but not everyone was on the same level.

Not worth the price... There was an atmosphere of rushing, we were served by at least 4 different people, which made it feel not very personal. At least most of them were nice. The waiters were always rushing around us. The restaurant was full but it is not big, so no need to hurry that much. The room is dark with only small light on the table, with every guest that left a lamp went out, leaving the last ones basically in a dark room encouraged to leave as well. The food was good, but not better than in other places. Would not recommend.

Took Hubs for his birthday. Imaginative tasting menu. Was curious about 2 pastas back-to-back but both tasty. Fish lacked any flavour and the raw bok choi was difficult to chew. The tuna sauce on the horse carpaccio was also weirdly lacking in any flavour. Tasty cocktails. Delicious wine pairing. Dessert was good but lacked some fanfare/visual impact we've had with fine dining tasting menus.