Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Gardela
TRATTORIA
€
( 0544 21 71 47; Via Ponte Marino 3; mains €8-16, fixed-price menu €15/25; noon-2.30pm &
7-10pm Fri-Wed)
Economical prices and formidable home cooking mean La Gardela can be
crowded, but in a pleasant, gregarious way. Professional waiters glide by with plates full
of Italian classics: think thin-crust pizza,
ragù
, fried fish. Lap it up.
Babaleus
PIZZERIA
€
(
www.ristorantebabaleus.com
;
V Gabbiani 7; pizzas from €4, meals €20-25; noon-2.30pm & 7pm-mid-
night Thu-Tue)
Remember the days before TV chefs went viral, when hard-working cooks in
white hats used to sit down with their diners and sip glasses of wine between courses?
True to the tradition, cheap and cheerful Babaleus still ensures its fresh-from-the-oven
pizza is brought to your table by congenial kitchen helpers in well-used pinnies armed
with plenty of banter.
La Piadina del Melarancio
( 0544 21 20 71; Via IV Novembre 31; piadinas €3-5; 11.30am-8.30pm)
You'll notice marked
differences between Emilian and Romagnan food, with the latter best known for its local
spin on the grilled
panini
, the
piadina
(a stuffed flatbread). To taste one of Ravenna's
pi-
adinas
(which are thicker than those in Rimini), duck into this simple city-centre spot
where you place your order at the front counter and wait in a back room until they call out
your number.
They're hot and fresh and best served stuffed with tomato sauce and sausage.
FAST FOOD
€
Osteria La Mariola
( 0544 20 14 45; Via P Costa 1; meals €35-40; noon-2.30pm & 8-11.30pm)
Trying to fancy up
Italian food is a precarious profession in a country where tradition and simplicity rule. All
the more reason to offer kudos to La Mariola, where food is more artistic than the usual
homespun fare, and wine can be ordered by the
quartino
(quarter-litre measure). Housed
in the 16th-century Palazzo Grossi, its three trendy, purple-accented rooms divide into a
wine bar, restaurant and
enoteca
(wine bar).
MODERN ITALIAN
€€
