The booking
Read any Osteria Francescana review and I guarantee they won’t begin with the truth. Your journey here starts months before. The reality of booking and the pangs of malcontent as you go through this process. We’re not food critics and we don’t get ushered to a table at a moment’s notice. So we think it’s important to share this part of the journey with you as well.
It’s 5pm on a cold winter’s Friday afternoon in Sydney. I’m at the local pub with a couple of colleagues, beer in one hand, mobile phone screen beaming in the other. I’m eagerly awaiting the opening of bookings for Massimo Bottura’s famous restaurant, Osteria Francescana. Winner of the 2016 and 2018 world’s best restaurant, it’s not my typical Friday evening meal booking.
June 2019 update: Our Osteria Francescana review hasn’t led to it dropping off the list of best restaurants in 2019. But you won’t find it on that list. With a fair amount of controversy (read more here), Osteria Francescana and the other 6 restaurants that have previously held the title are now ineligible to win again. These restaurants have been elevated to a Hall of Fame style ‘best of the best’ category. It might not be the current best restaurant in the world, but it has, and will always be a winner twice!
Why I thought it would be a good idea to lock away this meal over mobile in a pub on a Friday is beyond me. Alas, it is the reality I’m presented with. And no good Osteria Francescana review starts without a booking story.
The roulette of securing a booking is itself an experience. Bookings open 3 months in advance of the month you wish to book. Adding to that, Osteria Francescana has just 12 tables. There is one sitting for lunch and dinner and is only open 5 days per week. A final course of challenge, the restaurant has been on a 6 week summer holiday hiatus. There is no doubt pent up demand who will want a table in September.
Visit Osteria Francescana’s website to book || Bookings open 3 months in advance of the month you wish to book
Number 300
My heart sinks when the booking system tells me I’m #300 in the queue. My earlier maths tells me there are only 480 tables available in September. I’m in with a chance but no guarantees. We have flexibility with our dates, but if we can’t lock in September, it throws our plans way out. The next hour (read: feels like a year) passes. I’m number 100 in the queue. Then 50. Then we’re into single digits. In just over an hour, I’m in! I’m presented with the calendar and it’s a rush to book. You don’t know if the date you’ve chosen is full. You need to try each date and each sitting. You’re bumped out if it’s not available.
I realise my best strategy is to aim for the most unpopular time available. Tuesday at lunch. Fanfare and eating in the evening is less important than getting a booking at all. And so I shoot for the last Tuesday in the month and there it is – a clean date with availability.
Booking secured
Some may say I’m overdoing it, but it was a relief for me on par with Cathy Freeman’s 400 metre win at the Sydney Olympics. An inevitability that should happen with the right preparation. But there are no guarantees until I get that confirmation email.
It has taken a few days planning just to book, and nearly an hour and a half to book. I’ve never been so happy to receive a confirmation email. The next round is on me, and we’re booked for a date nearly four months away.
Modena, September
We’re back in Modena, shortly a year after our first visit here. We secured a booking at Massimo’s second Modena restaurant, Francescetta 58 last time around. It’s more budget friendly, and much easier to grab a table (we booked the week before). We spent a fair bit of our last trip daydreaming. Maybe, just maybe, we’d be able to eat at Osteria Francescana. Fate would have us back realising that daydream sooner than we’d have ever hoped.
We’re all set for lunch at 12.30, and arrive at 12.20. Osteria Francescana is located amongst a residential neighbourhood. You wouldn’t stumble across it. And if you did happen to walk past, you’d be forgiven for not knowing behind those doors lay the world’s #1 restaurant.
We’re one of the last groups to arrive, with everyone mingling outside, giddy with excitement. There’s a knowing look amongst other diners. They all have their own booking stories to be here today for a phenomenal bucket list experience. Diners today come from everywhere. Chatting to a few others, they’ve come from the US, Korea, Japan and of course us from Australia. There doesn’t appear to be anyone from Italy. Perhaps they just don’t get the fuss.
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Doors open
Like a Swiss clock, the doors open at 12.30. No one moves. It’s like people are awaiting instruction. I need no invitation to an open door and press through first. Either side of the narrow hallway line the servers. They’re suited smartly with cries of “Buongiorno” ringing out as we enter. At the end of this welcome, the final server takes us to our table. We’re seated in a room with four two-seat tables. The carpet and décor is unassuming. The food and wine is to tell the story here, not the surroundings.
We’re greeted warmly by our two servers who explain the menu options and introduced to the sommelier. You can dine a la carte here, although with a rare booking, I’m not sure who would! We settle on the “Tutto” menu which is an 11 dish tasting menu. It’s actually 14 dishes with a few “secret” dishes thrown in along the way.
Wine pairing is available. With 11 wines to accompany those dishes, we felt we might not be in a complete state to enjoy the world’s finest cuisine. Certainly towards the end of the tasting anyhow!
The sommelier hands me the wine list. Without exaggeration, it is the size of a mini telephone directory. The only fair thing to do is to hand the decision making over to the sommelier. After all, if you’re not going to use the sommelier at the world’s number one restaurant, did you even do it right?!
With the formalities out of the way, it’s time to talk through the dishes as they unfolded.
Savoury petit fours
Not included on the menu, this is a palate cleanser. These petits were the perfect warm up. Parmigiano reggiano sticks are much needed. Modena is the home of parmigiano (real parmigiano!) so it makes sense to start with these. The savoury parcels are soft and the layers of pastry unfurl a warm hint of flavours that is hard to pin down. The macaroons are cut from the same cloth, but with the sweetness of the macaroon itself. And lastly, a deconstructed fish and chips. The fish carries the texture of a yoghurt against a wispiness of the ‘chips’. It’s the uniqueness of Massimo in a small platter.
Insalata di mare
Our first official dish highlights the mix of cuisine meeting art. A perfect lettuce cup sprinkled with caviar, pieces of seafood and crisp biscuits. The flavours here are so subtle, but it is the texture that makes this dish.
Burnt
The least photogenic of the courses, but likely the most unique. A cracker served alongside a squid ink broth. There are tastes of charcoal, blunted by the broth. I’ll call it out early, this was my least favourite dish of this Osteria Francescana review, but hey, you don’t have to like every painting in a museum do you?!
Mediterranean sole
Keeping the seafood connection alive, this sole was perfectly cooked. Served in a paper with hints of salt giving you the flavour of the sea in addition to the fish. The texture and flavours were on point.
Autumn in New York, Summer in Modena
Massimo spent a lot of time between Modena and New York. Anyone who has watched Chef’s Table will know all about that. This was a memorable dish, and I can still taste the burst of flavour as I type this. A rich but not overpowering flavour of tomato, accompanied with soft meringues in a broth. Simply delicious and one of my favourites.
Five ages of Parmigiano Reggiano in different textures and temperatures
This dish probably doesn’t need a review. For anyone that has considered eating here, this dish needs no introduction. The servers have a delightful story introducing you to the dish. You will enjoy this dish with only two ingredients “parmigiano and time”. And indeed it is, with 12, 24 and 36 month parmigiano in 5 different textures. Kristen is not a fan of cheese (let us not let that distract us from this blog post) and thought the dish was amazing.
In the countryside: snails, hare and aromatic herbs
Most people have asked me how the pasta is at the world’s best restaurant. Massimo is an experimentalist and you won’t find a Bolognese here. This is the closest you’ll come to traditional pasta. A ravioli filled with hare, accompanied by snails, a green sauce and shaved greens.
Fallow deer
A dish as colourful as it is tasty. The piece of deer is an oversized bite covered in a blueberry compote. A serving of Swiss chard alongside with an unnamed green sauce and mango dollop. There are a lot of flavours on this plate, but they all work so well together. An unexpected favourite.
Summer tart
Served alongside the fallow deer, this is another palate cleanser. Served with mint and a selection of summer fruits, this is the perfect finish to the deer. Almost dessert like, but there’s still more to come.
Wagyu, no wagyu
A pork belly dish which is made to look like wagyu. Accompanied by another broth, the pork was tender and soft. Perhaps a little repetitive with another broth, but still flavoursome. This might be the dish that gets replaced next year. Not bad by any stretch, but a little less creative than many of the others.
Eggplant between Noto and Istanbul
Another dish that cleansed the palate. Covered in a Lambrusco wine rose, accompanied by pistachio and almond sorbet (amazing). And of course eggplant. This was a delicious dish and has changed my entire outlook on eggplant. This is what experimentation can do – it really brought the eggplant to life with flavour. Amazing.
Oops! I dropped the lemon tart
After the Parmigiano, this is perhaps the next best known dish. All dishes are served on their own unique plate. The creativity of a smashed plate replastered together was a spectacular visual touch. The servers play out the joke that the other server dropped the tart. The precision though for a smashed lemon tart between my wife and I’s though shows the real attention to detail.
I am a massive fan of lemon desserts and this was so memorable. Alongside the tart, you have a myriad of flavours. These serve to remind you of different points of the meal you’ve consumed. Every taste bud is satisfied after this meal.
Baba
Another surprise dish. This baba is served in a pool of strawberry sauce, containing ricotta and covered with a pickled pepper. The servers love to play up the grating of the burnt orange which finishes the dish off. A great range of flavours.
There’s more
Looking like a tiny person’s Gaytime ice cream, the croccantino foie gras is covered in almonds and hazelnuts. I’m not much of a liver fan, but it was an interesting taste and texture all the same. Served alongside the croccantino was a cherry bomb, coated in chocolate. A little impractical needing to be picked up by hand, but delicious as a chocolate finisher.
Also accompanying was Massimo’s camouflage which was hard to pin for exactly what it was. It was enjoyable, but at this point I was too deep into relishing the experience to care for details.
Lastly, a lemon based muffin for want of a better word gave you a real taste of Nonna’s cooking. A lovely little treat to end the meal.
The service
No Osteria Francescana review is complete without detailing the service. The service here was incredible and was a perfect meal pairing. The team take the time to walk you through each dish and ask if you have questions about them. My questions came after the dish was consumed as some of the flavours and textures were so very different.
The servers attention was impeccable. Plates were removed only at the point the meal was finished by the slowest eating member of the table. There’s also no clanging of plates here. A server always carries plates separately. This ensures no disruption to the ambience of the experience.
The plates used also formed part of the art. Varying for each dish, they added another unexpected element to the meal.
Whilst there was no introduction to Massimo (he was in Brazil at the time), we did get the opportunity to head into the kitchen. The kitchen staff take great pride in their work, and we watched as some of the chefs finished up the final dishes. It was like watching an artist finish a painting. Such precision and concentration.
The team here are very much like a family. In fact, many of the staff live upstairs in shared accommodation, so in many ways they are! They’re your typical positive Italian waiters. There is none of the stuffiness you might expect at such a high calibre restaurant.
Questions
How much is it to dine at Osteria Francescana?
The “Tutto” menu is €270 per person. Wine pairing will set you back 180 euros per person. We opted for 4 glasses of wine each which were €30 per glass. Tips are at your discretion. We felt given the service (and online research) that €50 was appropriate. A note if you intend on visiting- whilst the bill can be paid on card, tips are given in cash.
How do you get to Osteria Francescana?
Modena is located a 20 minute train ride from Bologna. It’s also about 1-1.5 hours from Florence. If you’re dining here and you have enough time, I’d recommend staying in Modena. Everything is walking distance in town. It’s easy to get around and enjoy some of the other sights Modena has to offer.
You could also base yourself in nearby Bologna and catch the train. You can grab a cab from Modena station to Osteria which will take no more than 10 minutes.
Same process goes for Florence, but the up to 3 hour round trip makes for a long day. Modena has much more to see, and isn’t a town best visited when rushed.
What to wear?
Whilst the serving staff are presented in suits and ties, Massimo is known for his laid back approach. If you do get a chance to meet him, he’ll be wearing joggers! We ate at lunchtime, and Kristen wore a summer dress and I wore a long sleeve shirt and chinos. I’d add a jacket if we were eating at dinner, but there’s no need (unless you want to of course!) to go overboard on attire.
Is Osteria Francescana the best restaurant you’ve ever eaten at?
As far as we are concerned, yes! But it’s not an average style of restaurant. It is a mix of art and cuisine. If you’re the type that likes to enjoy a hearty Italian pasta, then this isn’t that place. If you’re prepared to taste some different flavours and hand yourself over to the menu, you’ll find this experience a rewarding one.
Would you go back?
This was a real bucket list experience for us. We have no doubt we’ll be back in Modena. The Emilia-Romagna region is our most favourite in Italy. Modena itself has many other great places to eat. It is also home to our favourite sausage sandwich at Bar Schiavoni. So we’ll be back to Modena, but it will likely be another special occasion at some distant point in the future.
We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to eat at this amazing restaurant. Have you eaten there? How was your experience? We’d love to read your Osteria Francescana review too!
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