Ravenna Food Guide: What to Eat and Where to Eat It

Ravenna sits in Romagna — the eastern half of Emilia-Romagna — and the food here is quite different from Bologna despite the short train journey between them. Bologna’s tradition is built around egg pasta, slow-cooked meat ragù, and pork fat. Romagna’s is built around flatbread, fresh cheese, Adriatic fish, and a lighter hand with the meat. The divide follows the Apennines: on the western (Emilian) side, tagliatelle and mortadella; on the eastern (Romagnola) side, piadina and sardoncini. Understanding this distinction makes a meal in Ravenna considerably more interesting.

Piadina and Crescione

Piadina is the food that Romagna is most identified with — an unleavened flatbread made from flour, lard, and salt, cooked on a flat iron griddle until lightly charred. It is eaten folded around a filling: squacquerone cheese and rocket is the classic combination; prosciutto crudo and stracchino is the richer alternative. In Ravenna the piadina tends to be slightly thicker and softer than the versions found further south toward Rimini, where it is thinner and crispier. Both are correct for their area. For the regional context and differences between versions, see our piadina guide.

Crescione (also called cassone in parts of Romagna) is piadina folded and sealed at the edges around a filling before cooking — the Romagnola equivalent of a calzone. The most traditional fillings are erbe di campo (wild herbs and greens), spinach and ricotta, or pumpkin and potato. It arrives hot from the griddle, the sealed edge pressed flat. Eaten with your hands, standing at the counter.

The Pasta

Romagna has its own fresh pasta tradition that runs parallel to Bologna’s but uses different shapes and, in several cases, different doughs.

Cappelletti romagnoli are the local answer to tortellini — small, hat-shaped pasta parcels filled with a mixture of fresh cheese (usually ricotta or squacquerone), sometimes with chicken or pork. They are typically served in broth (in brodo) rather than with sauce, and the broth here is more often capon than beef. The shape is slightly more open and rustic than the tightly folded Bolognese tortellino. In Ravenna they appear on almost every trattoria menu from October through March.

Passatelli in brodo are thick dumplings pressed through a special sieve directly into simmering broth. The dough is made from breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano, eggs, and a grating of nutmeg — no flour. The result is dense and savoury, the broth taking on the cheese flavour as the passatelli cook. A profoundly simple dish and one of the great cold-weather primi of the region. Less commonly, passatelli are served asciutti (dry, with sauce), usually with a seafood preparation in coastal areas.

Strozzapreti — twisted hand-rolled pasta without egg — appear frequently in Ravenna with seafood sauces: clams, mussels, or the mixed Adriatic catch. The name (“priest strangler”) is Romagnola; the shape is found across central Italy but the Romagnola version tends to be shorter and tighter.

From the Adriatic

Ravenna is 9 km from the Adriatic coast and the fish market at Marina di Ravenna runs on the morning catch. The seafood in Ravenna’s trattorie is genuinely local — the distance from the port is short enough that the fish on the plate could have been in the water the same morning.

Sardoncini are small Adriatic bluefish — related to anchovies but slightly larger and meatier. They are grilled simply over charcoal, dressed with olive oil, salt, and a squeeze of lemon, and eaten whole. One of the simplest and best things to eat in the area. The season runs from late spring through autumn; in winter the sardoncini are smaller and sometimes replaced with sarde (larger sardines).

Brodetto di pesce ravennate is the Ravenna version of the Adriatic fish stew. Every port along the Adriatic has its own brodetto with its own rules — the Ravenna version uses a wide mix of the day’s catch (typically 8–13 different fish and shellfish), tomato, white wine vinegar, and onion, and arrives at the table as a thick, deeply flavoured broth with the whole fish intact. It is served with grilled bread to mop the liquid. A different dish from the milder Porto Recanati version or the sharper Fano version; the vinegar gives it a particular edge.

Spaghetti alle vongole — pasta with clams — is common across the coast and is made here with the small Adriatic vongola verace rather than the larger Atlantic clams used in tourist restaurants elsewhere. The sauce is bianco (white, no tomato) at the better places.

The Cheese

Squacquerone di Romagna DOP is a fresh, spreadable cheese with a very short ageing period — typically two to four days. The texture is loose and creamy, the flavour milky and slightly acidic. It is the standard filling for piadina throughout Romagna. Look for it at the Mercato Coperto (Via Mentana) where it is sold fresh by the tub.

Formaggio di Fossa di Sogliano is made in the hills south of Ravenna, aged in tufa stone pits (fosse) sealed with sand for 90 days. The process removes moisture and concentrates the flavour into something nutty, slightly bitter, and quite strong — a sharp contrast to the fresh squacquerone. It is typically served at the end of a meal with honey and walnuts, or crumbled over pasta. A DOP product since 2009; not widely available outside the region.

The Sweets

Pesche dolci are pastry shells shaped to resemble peaches, filled with pastry cream, dipped in Alchermes liqueur (which turns them pink), and rolled in sugar. A celebration cake specific to Romagna, found at pasticcerie throughout the region. The name comes from the resemblance — two halves pressed together, the red-pink colouring from the liqueur, a small piece of angelica for the stalk.

Ciambella romagnola is a simple ring-shaped cake made with lard (occasionally butter), eggs, and sugar, scented with lemon zest or anise. It is a household cake — the kind made for breakfast, eaten plain or dipped in wine. Every pasticceria in Ravenna sells it; every family has its own version.

The Wine

Albana di Romagna was Italy’s first white wine to receive DOCG status, in 1987 — a designation that caused some controversy at the time since the wine was not considered one of Italy’s finest. It has improved considerably since and the dry (secco) version makes a clean, golden-hued accompaniment to piadina and seafood. The passito (sweet) version, made from dried grapes, is worth trying with the pesche dolci.

Sangiovese di Romagna is the local red — lighter and earthier than the Tuscan Sangiovese used for Chianti and Brunello, with a characteristic slightly bitter finish. It suits the region’s food well: grilled fish, grilled meat, brodetto. The better producers (Fattoria Zerbina, Tre Monti, Fattoria Paradiso) are in the hills south and west of Ravenna.

Where to Eat in Ravenna

Cucina del Condominio — a small, informal restaurant focused on handmade fresh pasta. Cappelletti and passatelli feature on the menu; the sauces change with the season. One of the more consistent addresses for traditional Romagnola pasta in the city centre.

Osteria dei Battibecchi — home-style cooking with an emphasis on the less fashionable cuts: rabbit, tripe, slow-braised meat. The kind of place that serves food the way it was cooked in Romagnola households rather than for the tourist market. Simple room, short menu, good value.

L’Acciuga — anchovy-focused seafood restaurant with a rotating menu that changes fortnightly based on what is available at the market. Raw fish, cured fish, and Adriatic preparations done with care. The name (“the anchovy”) is the programme.

Osteria della Zabariona — near the Basilica di San Vitale, making it the most conveniently located restaurant for visitors arriving for the mosaics. Handmade pasta with Adriatic fish sauces; good for a sit-down lunch between monuments.

Osteria del Tempo Perso — seafood focused, slightly more creative in approach, with a slow-dining ethos. Good for an evening meal after the monuments have closed.

Mercato Coperto (Via Mentana) — the covered market is the best single stop for local produce: squacquerone sold by weight, piadina counters, a wine bar inside. Open mornings from Monday to Saturday.

Ravenna rewards a full day precisely because the mosaics and the food belong to the same visit. The morning in San Vitale and Galla Placidia; lunch with passatelli in brodo and piadina at the market; an afternoon for the remaining monuments. For how to plan the day from Bologna, see our Ravenna overview guide, the full day trip guide including the coast, and our Ravenna beaches guide for the nine Adriatic beach towns. For the walking route through the monuments, see the Ravenna half-day walk.