2 places I recommend
These are the two restaurants and ice cream shops in Bologna I have eaten at myself and would recommend.
Where a section has more than one place, they are numbered from my favourite downwards. 
marks the ones not to be missed.
Don't forget you can take the map with you
A grand old dining room under the arcades of Via dell'Indipendenza, with the door round the corner on Via Volturno. Diana opened in 1909 as a café and became the place Bologna sends you for the classics – tortellini, tagliatelle al ragù, cotoletta alla bolognese – with Mario Fabbri running the kitchen since 1977. The waiters still wear the same white jackets they did a century ago, under a big mirror and an old clock at the end of the room. The food was absolutely mouthwateringly delicious.
Address: Via Volturno 5, 40121 Bologna BO
A gelateria on Via Castiglione, a little way out from the middle of town, going since 1994. Giacomo Schiavon and Marina Marchiori trained at the old Pino gelateria before they opened it, and they named their own flavours after their children and grandchildren – the Ludivico is caramelised hazelnut with chocolate and hazelnut cream, the Emma is ricotta with eggs and caramelised figs, the Edoardo is mascarpone with caramelised pine nuts and liqueur, and the Michelangelo is caramelised almond.
Address: Via Castiglione 44d, 40125 Bologna BO
