Ca' d' Frara Trattoria Moderna

To put it bluntly, this was a disappointing meal. It has been many years since I've encountered food so heavily salted. The funghi fritti was inedible due to excessive seasoning - the salt completely overpowered the dish. Hoping for redemption, I moved on to the guancetta di vitello brasata, but unfortunately this too was overly salted and difficult to enjoy. I tried to finish the meal as I dislike waste, but to add insult to injury, I found a hair (not mine) in the sauce towards the end. I brought this to the waitress's attention and she apologised. The zuppa inglege and espresso were OK. Overall, a very disappointing experience.

As a couple touring Emelia Romagna guided by the recommendations in New Yorker Fred Plotkin’s fantastic gourmet food guide to Italy (latest edition now 12 years old), this was a disappointing experience after eating in Firenze, Siena, and Bologna. In terms of service, this restaurant lacks the warmth and personality we’ve come to expect. The ladies serving were cordial but stiff and were not helpful paring wines with the Ferrarese multi-course dishes we ordered. We chose a red wine, Vigna del Pruno 2021, from the Ravenna region that was quite good after airing in a carafe. The cured meat appetizers were the highlight of the meal including the mild, spreadable cheese and pickled onions. The onions were a wonderful palette cleanser between meats. The next dish came in two parts. First the Cappellacci di Zucca all’ Antico Ragù surprised us as the butternut squash grown in the Ferrara region is the Violina, a sweet variety. We are learning that dishes like this which contrasts the sweet with the savory is a local tradition going back to Renaissance times. For us it is a taste needing to be acquired as we think the savory pork based ragu and pasta competes with the sweet squash filling. Also on this plate was Pasticcio all’ uso di Ferrara in crosta di Pasta frolla. Again, this is a sweet/savory combination that we’ll need to learn to appreciate. It’s a slightly sweet pastry shell filled with a good mix of pasta, ragu, nutmeg, and cheese. To our taste it would have been better served sans sugar. We were prepared to enjoy the next dish of a special salami which is highly spiced, savory, and rich in aromas as part of the Salama da Sugo con Puré di patate. We could not finish it as the sausage was over-the-top salty. No other spicy flavor was discernible as a result and the mashed potatoes soaking in the broth of the sausage was sweetened. Once more, unnecessarily to our tastes. We would have enjoyed the desserts had the salt from the previous dish not wiped out our taste buds. We can’t penalize this restaurant too much as we think the Ferrara style of contrasting the sweet with savory is not to our liking. But the unpalatable, overly salty salami was unacceptable and the service uninspiring.

Came with the family for lunch. The place doesn’t look like much from the outside but it’s a wonderful restaurant with a beautiful decor, very friendly staff and most importantly delicious food! Everything we ordered was very tasty and allowed us to grasp the richness of the local cuisine. I recommend it fully!!

I need not have worried, it'swonderful. Yes, the combination of mod Italian furnishing and a truly awful bread basket had me more nervous than livestock in a lineup. But the food was sublime. All the surprises were for the great. The service was kind, helpful and professional. The standouts were everywhere. The egg, tortellini in brodo, mushrooms gremolata (though I didnt detect any orange zest?). The rabbit salad was star worthy. The ricotta cake elevated way above any I've had, and I've had many. This really is a place to relax and let Italy waive its wand over your taste buds. The white by the glass can be a source of tension, but it was first rate.

Simply outstanding!!!

It was a nice experience. Delicious food.Excellent and friendly service.