7 Archi

What a wonderful experience!
We made reservations ahead of time to dine in the restaurant. The owner/​manager was pretty busy setting up for a special event that evening. But, he took time to converse with my husband and I. Then asked his staff to set up a private dining for us instead. The food was delicious! We had a 5 course meal which is very common in Italy. He also invited us to stay for the evening celebration. The service was impressive! they were attentive and the timing of the courses and beverage were perfect. We also enjoyed the romantic dining room set up with the vaulted ceiling. When the evening has come to an end for us, he came to say farewell and sent his best wishes!

Went here on a whim as we wandered through the streets of bologna. Great ambience with the outdoor seating. Want to have the best caprese salad you’ll ever have? Try it here. The octopus appetizer is also outstanding. Service was good and they don’t rush you. I recommend this place especially if you like seafood.

Valentine’s Day was more farce than romance this year, even though I was in Bologna. For most of the day, I actually forgot it was St. Valentine’s Day, but thought it was odd street vendors kept trying to sell my friend and I roses. I guess girls do that in Italy too.
This dinner was on the last evening of a whirlwind trip and we had a surprisingly difficult time finding dining options in the historic downtown area. This area seemed to be dominated by bars, rather than restaurants, although I am sure locals could more easily find some of the local gems down scenic alleys.
We were happy to find Ristorante 7 Archi (7 Arches Restaurant), just a few blocks from Piazza Maggiore, the main square in town. I wish we had our meal outside in the lounge area to enjoy the vaulted brick ceilings and arches, so that is exactly where I would head on a warm summer evening. It is away from the main streets, so you could dine or drink outside without being distracted by street noise.
Our group was one of the first to arrive in the restaurant for dinner on Valentine’s Day. We realized that most restaurants do not open until 7:30p and Italians tend to dine quite late in the evening. We were surrounded by couples as the evening progressed, and our trio was a bit of an odd group having a business dinner with hearts on the table and balloons festooning the walls.
After a world class seafood dinner at another restaurant the previous night, we all focused on meat dishes at 7 Archi. The menu is offered in two parts: La Fantasia and La Tradizioni. While both have a mixture of fish and meat dishes, we all ordered from the more traditional menu, which is available in English. We skipped the antipasti course and ordered primi, secundi and dessert dishes along with a fine red wine.
Primi — Tagliatelle alla Bolognese o alla Romagnola (Bolognese noodles and meat sauce)
Secundi — Tagliata di Chianina con contorno di stagione (steak with balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese sauce). This has a side of potatoes, carrots and green beans.
Dessert — semi-​freddo di cioccolata
The presentation of all the dishes was nice, but didn’t have a wow factor. Service was very pleasant and they steered us well when we were choosing from the wine menu, which is highly focused on Italian wines.
There were a few items that were unimpressive, but they also suffered in comparison to our dinner the previous night. When two of us left our semi-​freddo mostly untouched, one of the items was removed from our bill.
For visitors to Bologna, this was a very nice option, especially the outdoor seating which was lovely. However, if you are looking for a quaint, local dining experience, you should start prowling the side streets.