Vineria Favalli In Bologna

On a busy Friday night, I managed to nab the last table outside Vineria Favalli in a cobbled roadway behind Bologna’s Quadrilatero market – and I loved the atmosphere and energy. It was the perfect spot to people watch and enjoy Bolognese life. I returned a few days later with some friends and could only get a seat inside in the back room which is almost entirely devoid of atmosphere – so my advice is arrive early, especially on weekend evenings (and my score on atmosphere is for an outside table). Wines on offer by the glass were excellent – I enjoyed a skinsy vermentino from Liguria. Deep-fried zucchini flowers were OK and fellow guests were friendly. Some tables were given taralli as a free cicchetti with their drinks – I was not on either occasion and I think this may be a locals vs tourist thing! I’m sure if you ask they’ll give you some though.

Hard to pin down. The staff are like a social cooperative, but if you drink while you're at the bar, you inspire trust, because it means you believe in what you're selling. Only one type of beer, but it's a wine bar and the wines are good. The mini crescioni are good. Best in the summer, under the porch.

Good wine, good food, good atmosphere.

We had a glass of wine there, the staff wasn't friendly at all. We'd chosen a bottle of wine online, which cost €16! When we tried to order it, it was only €25 per bottle, which we thought was quite unusual. We'd ordered something similar elsewhere, and it was the same price as online.