In 2022, Bologna, Italy was given the title of “Food Capital of the World” by readers of Conde Nast Traveler. Bologna has a rich culinary heritage, which isn’t surprising when you remember the city has loaned its name to the most famous pasta sauce and deli meat on the planet. However, if you want to get to know Bolognese cuisine beyond the stereotypes and the tourist stops, then you’ll want to sign up for one of the best food tours in Bologna.
There are many different companies running food tours of Bologna, and I spent a lot of time researching which Bologna food tour would be the best fit for me. I was looking for something where I would learn a lot about the local food, sample dishes that I hadn’t tried before, and not miss out on too many experiences because I’m a vegetarian.
In the end I decided to book with Secret Food Tours Bologna because their our overview sounded like exactly what I was looking for. In this article I’m going to explain the process of booking the tour, what foods and drinks we sampled in Bologna and whether or not I think it was a good value. If you’re thinking about doing a food tour in Bologna… keep reading!
Disclosure: I paid in full for my Bologna Secret Food Tour and didn’t disclose that I was blogger at the time of booking or at any time during my tour. However, when I contacted the tour company to let them know that I was a vegetarian I accidentally used my blog email, not my personal email. So, there is a small chance the reservations team noticed that and informed the guide that I was a blogger, but I didn’t see any evidence of special treatment during the tour.
Secret Food Tours in Bologna
There are quite a few different food tours in Bologna, including some that stay in the city and others that travel outside the city to the farms and factories where typical Bolognese foods are produced. In this review I am specifically talking about the branded Secret Food Tours Bologna, which are part of a network of UK-founded food tours offered on five different continents.
Booking a Secret Food Tour in Bologna
Secret Food Tours offer several daily tours in Bologna, Italy. I reserved my ticket online 25 days in advance. At that time, one of the daily foods tours had already sold out, one had limited availability, and two still had a good number of spaces. I booked one adult ticket including the optional upgraded drinks package, because why not? 😉
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At the time of my tour (in July) the company was offering three morning tours (starting at 10:00, 10:30 and 11:00, and one afternoon tour at 3:00 pm). I’ve taken quite a few different food tours and often ended the tour feeling so full that I had to go back to my hotel and rest, which is why I opted to spend the full morning and early afternoon sightseeing before doing the afternoon tour, knowing that the early evening would likely be a write-off and I would probably only be up for a late, light supper.
I definitely got the sense that the tour would vary depending on if you took it in the morning or afternoon, and on weekdays versus weekends. In particular, I think the number of stops will be different and the places where you sample the food might change, but I think the overall total number and variety of dishes you try will be quite similar.
After I reserved my Secret Food Tour I emailed the company with my booking information so that they could make a note on the file that I was a vegetarian. This would later be passed on to the guide so that alternate dishes could be made available when the rest of the group was eating charcuterie or meat-filled pastas.
Are the Secret Food Tours in Bologna Worth It?
Yes, a Secret Food Tour in Bologna is definitely worth it! Even if you only have one day in Bologna, this is a great way to get to know the city. After all, Bologna is often referred to as “La Grassa”, or “The Fat”, due to the importance of the rich, indulgent cuisine to the local culture!
I’m including this overall positive review at the start of this article in case you would prefer to be surprised by what you will experience on the tour. I did think the tour was worthwhile, the foods we tried were delicious and I learned lots of new things about the city. If that’s enough for you to feel confident booking, you can reserve your tour here.
Otherwise, if you want to know exactly what to expect on the tour, keep reading and I will give you a rundown of the places we stopped and the foods we sampled during our Secret Bologna Food Tour. However, in the spirit of doing a secret food tour, I won’t tell you the secret stop or the secret dish… you’ll have to take the tour yourself to find out what it was!
Secret Food Tour Bologna – Meeting Spot
I booked the afternoon Secret Food Tour in Bologna, which started at 3:00 pm in front of Palazzo della Mercanzia, in the historic city center. Secret Food Tours have a maximum group size of twelve, and my tour was fully booked (although one person didn’t show up?!). Here, we introduced ourselves, met our guide (Caterina) and learned a bit about the city’s history. Caterina also confirmed everyone’s dietary restrictions (in addition to me being a vegetarian there was also a traveler with diabetes who had to monitor her sugar intake and several children who couldn’t drink alcohol – everyone was accommodated).
While we waited for the last person (who never showed up!) our guide reached into her bag and pulled out a raviola for each guest. Similar in shape to the pasta you know as ravioli, these sweet treats are more like cookies and can be stuffed with many different fillings. Ours were filled with mostarda, which is a type of jam typical to Bologna. Here, it was made with fig and apple, and it was delicious!
First Stop: A Typical Osteria
The first real stop on our Bologna food tour was a typical local osteria. Osterias are bars that focus on wines and may also serve food (as opposed to a trattoria or restaurant, where the food is the main draw). Here at the osteria, two big plates of food came out:
Each plate had a variety of different sliced meats, including prosciutto (from nearby Parma), mortadella and salami. It was served with aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
However, because I am a vegetarian, a separate plate had been prepared for me (and packed separately from the meat, which I appreciated). It had more mostarda, squacquerone cheese, Parmesan, olives and sun-dried tomatoes. I had never tried squacquerone before and I became an immediate fan – I ordered a sandwich with it the following day!
The meats and cheeses in the osteria were served with streghe bread, which I forgot to take a photo of (so I grabbed this shot at a bakery a few blocks away). The name of this flatbread translates to “witch”, a throwback to the origins of the bread where they were occasionally accidentally burned in a too-hot oven.
And, of course, since osterias are known for their wine, we were also served a local dry white wine and a glass of Lambrusco, a sparkling red that is typical to the region. Those of us with the upgraded drink package also received a glass of sparkling white wine called Pignoletto Frizzante.
Second Stop: Balsamic Vinegar Tasting
The second stop on the Bologna Secret Food tour was a local gourmet wine and food shop, where we descended to the basement to learn about how balsamic vinegar is made and aged. Then, we sampled three different versions of balsamic vinegar – I believe they had been aged eight, twelve and twenty-five years.
After the balsamic vinegar tasting most of the group went upstairs to browse all the different gourmet foods for sale, but those of us with the upgraded drinks package were called over to a small bar where we had the chance to sample nocino, a walnut liqueur made from unripe walnuts. Legend has it that the walnuts for the drink should be harvested exactly on June 24th, which the summer solstice on the Roman calendar, but climate change means that the nuts are getting harvested earlier and earlier each year.
Secret Stop: I’m Not Telling!
After the balsamic vinegar tasting, but before the pasta restaurant, we went to the secret stop to try the secret dish that gives the Secret Food Tour its secret name! 😉 I won’t spoil the surprise, but I will say that I really liked the dish and will be trying to re-create it when I’m back home in Canada!
Third Stop: Pasta Restaurant
I think this is probably where you’d see the most variation on tours that take place in the afternoons versus the morning, as well as that weekday versus weekend split. Since our tour started at 3:00 on a Saturday, many of the traditional food markets were already closed for the day. Thus, our group headed to a nearby restaurant to sample two pasta dishes that are typical of the Emilia-Romagna region.
For most of the group, the first pasta served was a tagliatelle con ragu, which is the dish that inspired the international spin-off of spaghetti bolognese. Tagliatelle is a long, thin, flat pasta, and here it’s served with ragu, a sauce made from slow-cooking ground beef in tomato sauce.
As the only vegetarian in the group I was served an alternate pasta dish: orecchiette alla norma. This dish is typical to Sicily, and it contains small, ear-shaped pasta in a tomato and eggplant sauce.
I managed to get both of the second pasta courses in one shot in the picture shown above! In the front there is my vegetarian option, which is tortelloni stuffed with ricotta cheese. In the background, there is the standard option: tortellini stuffed with meat, in butter sauce. All of the pasta shown above was served with lots of still water, sparkling water and red wine.
Those of us with the upgraded drink package were then invited to try another local drink. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was a nutty apertif (similar to grappa but smoother!) that was served on ice.
Last Stop: The Gelateria
The last stop of our Secret Food Tour in Bologna was the La Vecchia Stalla gelato shop, on Piazza San Stefano. Here, each person go to go straight to the counter to order a small cup of gelato (which could be one or two flavors). I had half salted pistachio and half almond with pistachio, and it was definitely the best gelato I’d had in the city.
After we ate our gelato the guide took a group photo, checked to see if anyone had any questions or needed any recommendations, and then the tour was over. By then it was almost four hours after we’d started, and we were leaving with both full stomachs and new friends.
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Bologna Food Tour Accessibility & Limitations
Like most food tours in Bologna, Secret Food Tours Bologna is a walking food tour. There are also several stops where you’ll have to go up stairs. To enjoy the tour, you should be able to stand for three and a half hours, and walk on cobblestones for at least an hour. Don’t wear heels! ðŸ‘
While the Secret Food Tour in Bologna is vegetarian-friendly, there aren’t enough vegan options to make it worth the money if you’re a 100% plant-based traveler. Unfortunately they also can’t accommodate gluten-free visitors. There was a lot of wine on our tour, so if you abstain from alcohol that’s also something to consider.
Ready to Book?
If this sounds like the kind of food tour that you’d enjoy, make sure to reserve your Secret Food Tour in Bologna as soon as you know your Bologna travel dates. As I mentioned, when I booked 25 days out one of the daily tours was already sold out, and another was nearing capacity.
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Other Great Food Tours in Bologna
I obviously can’t speak to any of these tours as I didn’t have time (or room in my stomach!) for more than one food tour while I was in Bologna, but here are a few other options that have great reviews:
- Bologna Walking Food Tour with a Local – This food tour visits cafes, bakeries, osterias and restaurants to showcase typical Bolognese cuisine.
- Tastes and Traditions of Bologna with a Market Visit – This Bologna food tour is currently rated 4.9/5. It includes eight tasting stops with at least nine foods and three drinks to sample.
- Parma Cheese & Ham Factory Tour with Tastings – This tour starts with a self-guided train ride to Parma (ticket included in the cost of the tour). Upon arrival, you’ll be greeted by your guide who will first take you to a dairy where Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is produced, and then to a factory that produces Parma ham.
- Parmigiano Production and Parma Ham Tour & Tasting – If you’re comfortable taking the train to and from Parma on your own (it’s easy, I promise!) then this is the tour for you! You’ll see the cheesemakers at work, visit a hillside producer of Prosciutto di Parma ham, and try the local sparkling white wine.
If you want to do more than just eat while you’re in Bologna, I also have a new guide to the best things to do with one day in Bologna.
As well, I have a guide to Bologna Centrale train station, one of Italy’s biggest, busiest and most confusing stations. Read it before you visit (or even just change trains)!
Planning a trip to Bologna? Pin this post for later!
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