Where to eat in Ferrara: best restaurants, trattorias and Este cuisine guide

Ferrara, the cuisine of the Este and the people

Ferrara is one of Italy's most underrated gastronomic capitals. Ferrarese cuisine bears the stamp of the Este, the family that ruled the city for three centuries and transformed the court into a laboratory of haute gastronomy. But alongside court cuisine, popular tradition created dishes of unique power.

It is a city where bread is an art (the coppia ferrarese is part of UNESCO intangible heritage), where stuffed pasta is queen and where salama da sugo is a cult. Cycling through the medieval streets, every corner smells of bakery and ragu.

Must-try specialities

Cappellacci di zucca are the signature dish: large ravioli stuffed with violina pumpkin, Parmigiano and nutmeg, dressed with meat ragu or butter and sage. Their generous size distinguishes them from tortelli elsewhere. Ferrarese cappelletti in brodo, smaller and meat-filled, are the Christmas dish.

Salama da sugo is the most extreme dish: a pork sausage aged for months, boiled for eight hours and served with mashed potatoes. The flavour is intense, almost aggressive, and leaves nobody indifferent. Pasticcio di maccheroni, a Renaissance legacy, is a timbale of short pasta with ragu and bechamel enclosed in a sweet shortcrust pastry.

The coppia ferrarese, bread with its characteristic crossed crusty tips, is crunchy outside and soft within. It is eaten alone or as an accompaniment to every dish. For desserts, pampepato (or pampapato), a dense sphere of chocolate, candied fruit, spices and almonds, is the Christmas cake found year-round.

Best neighbourhoods for eating

Historic centre and Castle area

The streets around the Este Castle and Piazza Trento Trieste are the city's gastronomic heart. Via delle Volte, Ferrara's most atmospheric medieval street, hides osterias with brick vaults and seasonally changing menus. Via Mazzini and Corso Ercole I d'Este offer more elegant restaurants in Renaissance palazzi.

Jewish quarter and Ghetto

The ancient Jewish ghetto around Via Mazzini preserves traces of Jewish-Ferrarese cuisine: rice cups, fritters and almond sweets. Some trattorias in the area still offer dishes from this forgotten tradition.

San Giorgio and outskirts

Outside the walls, trattorias in residential quarters serve home cooking at rock-bottom prices. This is where Ferraresi eat during the week, away from old town prices.

Trattorias and osterias to try

Trattoria Da Noemi on Via Ragno is a family institution where pumpkin cappellacci and salama da sugo are prepared with recipes unchanged for decades. Osteria Al Brindisi on Via degli Adelardi is Italy's oldest osteria (documented from 1435): Copernicus drank here and today it serves Ferrarese dishes with territorial wines.

Ristorante Il Don Giovanni on Corso Ercole I d'Este offers updated Este cuisine in a Renaissance palazzo. Trattoria Il Mandolino on Via Carlo Mayr is frequented almost exclusively by locals and the pasticcio di maccheroni here is legendary.

For the perfect coppia ferrarese, Panificio Perdonati on Via Garibaldi bakes all day: the street aroma is irresistible.

Street food and markets

Ferrarese street food revolves around bread and cured meats. The coppia ferrarese filled with cooked salama da sugo or Parma ham is the traditional sandwich. The ciupete, the crunchy tips of the coppia, are eaten alone as a snack.

The Mercato Coperto on Via Boccacanale di Santo Stefano is the reference: cured meats, cheeses, fresh pasta and legendary pampepato. The Friday market along the walls offers produce from Po delta and lower Ferrara farmers.

Budget tips

Ferrara is one of Emilia-Romagna's cheapest cities for eating. A plate of cappellacci with a glass of Lambrusco costs 10 to 12 euros at centre trattorias. Osterias outside the walls offer daily menus at 8 to 10 euros.

Rent a bicycle (Ferrara is the city of bikes) and reach the country trattorias just outside the walls: prices drop and portions grow. Buy coppia ferrarese at the bakery and cured meats at the market for a picnic along the walls: you will spend 5 euros for a memorable lunch.

Unique food experiences

Attend the salama da sugo festival at Madonna dei Boschi (January): a popular celebration where hundreds of salame are cooked simultaneously in enormous pots and served with mash. It is a visceral and unforgettable experience.

Visit the Palazzo dei Diamanti and then lunch at Osteria Al Brindisi, sitting where Copernicus and Ariosto drank: it is the perfect way to live the Ferrara Renaissance at the table too.

Discover more

• Where to stay in Ferrara
• What to see in Ferrara in 2 days
• How to get to Ferrara