Where to Eat from Ferrara to Comacchio towards the Po Delta: The Best Restaurants

Ferrara is best savoured slowly and explored on two wheels. In the metaphysical city, bicycles become the most democratic means to delve into daily life, to discover its beauties pedalling among tree-lined walls that protect it, or to seek out gastronomic delights (each city, rightly so, has its own flavour) by wandering among shops, bakeries, and hidden restaurants. A taste that in Ferrara recalls a glorious past when Cristoforo di Messisbugo, court chef during the Renaissance, prepared sumptuous banquets amid the fires of the Castle, dishes that spoke of the richness of an era and a territory, dishes that have persisted, still relevant today. Tradition and modernity coexist in the city, enriched in specialties and preparations that can be discovered while strolling through the streets of the "castrum," cycling along the paths along the "great river," the Po, or reaching the sea with its Delta, now a UNESCO heritage site, unique for landscapes and flavours.

The best restaurants in Ferrara

Manifattura Alimentare

If cycling builds up an appetite, Ferrara satisfies it with gusto. Just steps from Piazza Ariostea, park your bicycle at the rack and taste Pierluigi Di Diego's macaroni pie, a multi-starred chef who decided to embark on the path of the gastronomic bistro (alias bistronomy) by opening Manifattura Alimentare. His semi-sweet pasta dough - according to many, among the best in the city - contains macaroni seasoned with white ragù, mushrooms, béchamel, Parmigiano, and truffle. A riot of flavours that satisfy all senses.

Manifattura Alimentare - Ferrara - Via Palestro, 73 – tel. 0532 171 6071 – Instagram @manifatturaalimentare

Apelle

Cocktails cannot be missed, and Ferrara becomes a national reference with Apelle, open now for four years, where one can discover truly unique flavours between fermentations, extractions, new spirits, and shaken concoctions, paired with dishes from the kitchen of Chef Martina Mosco, who also oversees the new seafood trattoria Brododigo, one of the latest novelties in the city centre.

Apelle – Ferrara - Via Carlo Mayr, 75 - 0532 790827 – apellecocktailbar.it

Casa Rizzieri

Casa Rizzieri's cuisine is sophisticated, meticulously crafted, and reflects the philosophy guiding the meat supply chain of the namesake adjacent butcher: respect for seasonality, exaltation of humble meats, educating various customers in the correct consumption of meat. Fire and embers reign supreme in a rich and varied menu that also moves between innovation, technology, and low temperatures. The venue is elegant, with an open kitchen. Good selection of wines with various quality labels.

Casa Rizzieri – Ferrara – via della Crispa, 107 – tel. 3485497777 – casarizzieri.it

Cucina Bacilieri

A welcoming restaurant in the historic centre. Intimate atmosphere, about ten tables, open kitchen. At the helm is Chef Michele Bacilieri, who navigates the rich Emilian-Romagnol tradition with technique and moderate contemporary ideas. Interesting choices from the menu include eel cappelletti in onion broth or spaghetti with amberjack tartare, pistachio, and clams. To start, tasty prawns with yellow tomato gazpacho and crispy vegetables. Succulent pigeon, liver cherry, and sautéed herbs. Innovative pastry surprises: tender as a Sachertorte; celery soup, fruit, and vegetable medley.

Cucina Bacilieri – Ferrara – via Terranuova, 60 - 0532243206 - www.cucinabacilieri.it

Da Noemi

A frequented trattoria a stone's throw from the famous and charming Via delle Volte. All the pillars of tradition are here, starting with fresh pasta: pumpkin cappellacci, cappelletti, oven-baked lasagna, and tagliatelle, not forgetting the macaroni pie Ferrara-style. Do not underestimate the cold cuts, served with freshly fried pinzini. Among the main courses, grilled meat and salamina da sugo served with mashed potatoes. Even the dessert is linked to tradition: tagliatelle cake (shortcrust base, almond filling, and pasta strips soaked in Alchermes), chocolate tender cake, and English soup. Adequate wine list tailored to the culinary offering with attention to the region. Efficient and friendly service. Reservation recommended.

Da Noemi – Ferrara – via Ragno, 31 – tel. 0532769070 - www.trattoriadanoemi.it

La Provvidenza

Close to Palazzo dei Diamanti, home to the city's most important exhibitions, La Provvidenza is a historic restaurant that in the beautiful room overlooking an Italian garden offers cappelletti (not tortellini!) in broth, pumpkin cappellacci, and the iconic salamina, a spiced sausage with a bold flavour that pairs well with classic mashed potatoes and a glass of Fortana, the wine of the sands.

La Provvidenza – Ferrara - Corso Ercole I d'Este, 92 – tel. 0532 205187 - ristorantelaprovvidenza.com

Le Nuvole

The charming seafood menu of Trattoria Le Nuvole in the heart of the historic centre, a must-stop between one bike ride and another, where you can taste whipped cod on pumpkin cream and truffle in a truly relaxing atmosphere.

Trattoria Le Nuvole – Ferrara - Via Fondobanchetto, 5 – tel. 347 259 1995 – trattorialenuvole.it

Lemòkò

In a charming 17th-century lemon house in the heart of the city, in the courtyard of Palazzo Spisani, the venue owned by chef and patron Guido Mascellani offers an eccentric seafood cuisine with a minimalist style. "Plates" of a tasting menu with variable content (raw, cooked, or both) and size are prepared in full view. Quick, low-temperature, or steam cooking, fresh raw ingredients, a lot of raw dishes, and an interesting selection of (especially white) Italian and foreign labels. Some examples? Raw mantis shrimp with basil, lemon scallop carpaccio, pasta noodles with seafood ragù, sea lasagna with coconut and lime sauce, monkfish tripe stew with pecorino, squid and peas. Friendly service.

Lemòkò - Ferrara - via G. Byron, 10 - tel. 3357407628 - lemoko.it

Makorè

The sea inspired the creation of this elegant venue. The kitchen (on display) and the room (in blue and white tones) are entrusted to chefs Denny Lodi Rizzini and Gianluca Grego, alongside them, Nicola Mantovani, maitre, and Isacco Giuliani, sommelier and cellar manager. In the chefs' proposal, fish always takes a prominent place, especially the more humble or less known types, transformed thanks to creative combinations and cooking methods. Marinated mackerel, mustard, green sauce, kefir. Gò rice, furikake, nori seaweed pesto. Continue with fishermen's brodetto and catfish terrine, apple mou, teriyaki. Vegetables become the protagonists of the dishes. Tradition becomes a virtuous game to discover, like the Ferrara-style pie. Desserts are also excellent: bread and yeast caramel; splendid semi-frozen dessert with acacia and elderflower, chamomile baba, pollen, and wild herb sorbet.

Makorè – Ferrara – via Palestro, 10 - 0532092068 - www.makore.it

Quel Fantastico Giovedì

Still in the heart of the historic centre, there is the restaurant Quel Fantastico Giovedì to savour the house curry risotto with lobster and scallops.

Quel Fantastico Giovedì – Ferrara – tel. 0532 760570 - 328 1646231 – Instagram @quelfantasticogiovedi

Il Sorpasso

The sincere, solid, and passionate cuisine of Saro Mantarro, combined with the welcoming ability of his wife Beatrice Callegaro, are the soul and heart of this venue located in the historic centre. Local cuisine, between Emilia and Veneto, with virtuous Mediterranean incursions, are the guiding threads of a menu created with raw materials from small producers, following seasonal availability and product authenticity. Fresh pasta is rolled out every day for traditional pumpkin cappellacci or porcini mushroom tagliatelle. But first, indulge in tasty anchovy meatballs or marinated chicken breast. Soups are always good, from Voghiera garlic cream to friggitelli cream soup with burrata and tomato powder. Meat, fish, or vegetable main courses like Turlu Turlu. Let yourself be tempted by desserts: ricotta cream with Modica chocolate or mulberry compote, or the delightful meringue with yoghurt cream and Interdonato lemon. Wine list to discover. Attentive and courteous service. In the summer, Il Sorpasso moves a few steps from the Estense Castle to the courtyard of Palazzo Muzzarelli-Crema in via Cairoli n°13.

Il Sorpasso – Ferrara – via Saraceno, 118 – tel. 0532790289 - www.trattoriailsorpasso.it

Pasticceria Gualandi

For a truly indulgent getaway outside the city, follow the cycle path towards Argenta and as a reward, stop to taste all the pastries (both sweet and savoury) of Mauro Gualandi (a former member of the Trigabolo-Boys alongside Igles Corelli and Bruno Barbieri), famous for his creations of the highest quality.

Pasticceria Gualandi – Argenta - via Giacomo Matteotti, 58/A - 0532 852890 - Instagram @pasticcceriagualandi

The sea is always close: where to eat between Runco, Codigoro, and between Volano, Mesola, and Goro

La Chiocciola

The distance between land and sea becomes thinner when leaving the city to reach the Adriatic. This is also evident at the table along the road from Ferrara to Comacchio, stopping at Runco to taste the surprising cuisine of Adalberto "Athos" Migliari: "I believe a lot in the territory, roots, and belonging, and that's what I want to convey with my dishes." At La Chiocciola restaurant, you can savour hearty snails that, prepared à la Burgundy, end up in tagliatelle with aged guanciale and Parmesan or stewed paired with cardoncelli, cauliflower, and Jerusalem artichokes. With frogs, a relic of a humid territory near rice paddies, he prepares a tasty risotto, the pride of Athos' cuisine; and finally, eel, presented in a terrine or roasted, but always served with polenta.

La Chiocciola – Loc. Quartiere di Portomaggiore - Via Runco, 94/F – tel. 0532 329151

Le Occare

A little further away, still in the direction of the sea, discover the secret of Ferrarese caviar by tasting it in Cristina Maresi's kitchen, the only custodian of the ancient recipe that had disappeared for a long time and was then rediscovered, which she offers at Le Occare, a residence nestled in a woods among hazelnut trees and truffles.

Le Occare - Loc. Quartiere di Portomaggiore - Via Runco, 156 – Portomaggiore – tel. 348 563 3162 – leoccare.co

La Capanna di Eraclio

Everything changes here: the landscape, the scent, and the taste. Since 1922, this is narrated by the cuisine of La Capanna di Eraclio (Two Forks for Restaurants in Italy by Gambero Rosso) which, in Codigoro, just 12 kilometres from the Pomposa Abbey, through the kitchen of Maria Grazia Soncini, offers an authentic testimony of the territory. "We only make dishes we like," confirms Soncini, "after all, this is our home. The eel, for example, is roasted, stewed, and served on soft white polenta, it has always been so." The menu also includes fried soft-shell crabs, duck with onions and red wine, and the famous valley game risotto.

La Capanna di Eraclio – Codigoro - Loc. per le Venezie, 21 – tel. 0533 712154 - Facebook

La Zanzara

Surrounded by water, which in winter becomes fog, between Volano, Mesola, and Goro, lies the old fishing shack of the Bison brothers, now the restaurant La Zanzara (another Two Forks by Gambero), an authentic testament to a timeless place. Raw, steamed, or roasted, here fish finds its maximum expression in the hands of Sauro and Sara Bison who skillfully work with it. To better understand this unique place, however, it is necessary to reach Comacchio, perhaps following one of the cycle tourist routes, to visit the beautiful (and brand new) Museum of Ancient Delta, which becomes a fascinating journey through time when the territory (with the city of Spina founded in 530 BC) was an important crossroads of cultures, traditions, and flavours, a partner of Athens in the northern Adriatic.

La Zanzara – Codigoro – loc. Volano – strada per Volano, 52 - ristorantelazanzara.com