Ristorante Diana, Bologna

Grilled vegetables and Baked Salmon @Diana

Hub had to have his stitches removed in Bologna today, leading us to try out another restaurant while we were there. The kids wanted Burger King, but we brought them to Diana, an Italian restaurant mentioned in the Michelin Guide.

It's a small restaurant in the main artery of the old city. The patrons were finely dressed, the service was better than usual and they even have a cloak service. They serve the usual Modenese/Bolognese fare though of good quality. Prices are high, of course, my heart stopped when I got the bill : 240 euros for 2 adults and 3 kids. For that amount, we could have eaten better in Singapore.

Tortellini and Risotto

The Babies both had their usual plate of Tortellini in Brodo while Hub had Fresh Pasta with Black Truffles. I had Risotto with Squids and Asparagus while the Teenager had a Grilled Entrecote.

Like I've mentioned, the quality of the food was higher than usual, but I didn't feel that it tasted any much better than most other similar restaurants I've been to. We enjoyed the food very much, but I somehow feel that for that price, I would like to be a little more surprised. The problem with this region is that food is almost always the same no matter where you go. It is very good, but it doesn't change. There may be passion, but there is no creativity.

For mains Hub had Calf Kidneys in Parsley, Garlic and Madère Sauce, the Babies shared a Beef Filet in Balsamic Vinegar and I had Grilled Scampi. Hub's dish was excellent (according to him since I don't eat kidneys), the beef fillet was tender with alot of sauce, but my scampi were too small. The ones I made for Christmas tasted way better. Somehow for 22 euros I thought they could offer me bigger ones.

Filetto in Aceto Balsamico

At some point, we saw the waiter pushing out a trolley for the next table. It had a suckling pig and a few rolls of various meats on it. I suppose it was meant to look really appetising, except that it actually put me off. If a piglet had to die, it would be more worth it to be roasted the Cantonese way. It had this sticky looking exterior and the rolls of meat were bathing in some brown sauce. I love gravy, but that didn't look like it.

For dessert, they all had this crema ice cream with chocolate sauce while I had crème caramel. Aldina's crème caramel tasted better and cost half as much. And that crema was yellow, but didn't contain real vanilla (probably not meant to, that's very French).

Hub was very pleased with his meal, but I was sulking through it. I would have been just as happy eating in a simple trattoria. After more than 2 years here, I have arrived at the conclusion that it's usually not worth paying so much for a meal. The difference between both types of restaurants just doesn't usually account for the great difference in the prices.

Ristorante Diana

via Indipendenzia, 24

Bologna.

Tel : 051 231302