The savoury side of Ferrara.
No ordinary cured meats: salame ferrarese, zia ferrarese, salame rosa and pancetta by Negrini. With mostarda, filled piadina and focaccia, three cheeses and stuffed peppers.
Breakfast & Bar · Included in your stay
La Dispensa.
Our breakfast made with local Ferrara produce.
We no longer want to impress you with abundance. We want to do it with identity. That is why our breakfast has changed its name: La Dispensa is the pantry at home, where you find a few things, but the right ones.
Salame rosa and zia ferrarese by Negrini. Honey from the Po Delta. Ferrara ring cake and the lemon or orange marmalade made by Simona, Zeno’s mother. Small portions, constantly restocked: fresher food, less waste. And the Castello Estense across the square.
The story
A few things, but the right ones.
Homemade sweets.
Ferrara ring cake, homemade cake, the lemon or orange marmalade made by Simona, artisan jams from Romagna and honey from the Po Delta, on the honeycomb too.
Coffee, just the way you like it.
The self-service machine makes coffee, cappuccino and hot chocolate, and there is American coffee too: make whatever you like, whenever you like. And every now and then, when you least expect it, a hot moka pot arrives in the room, announced by a bell. It doesn’t happen every day: it is a little surprise, and it comes down to luck.
The buffet
What you’ll find on the buffet.
These are the products we order from our suppliers. Some are seasonal, like certain fruit, the jams and the cakes, and now and then something may be missing because of a delivery problem.
Savoury
Local cured meats by Negrini: salame ferrarese, zia ferrarese, salame rosa, pancetta, mortadella, turkey. Three cheeses, mini mozzarella, mostarda (fruit in mustard syrup). Hard-boiled, scrambled and devilled eggs, frittata, bacon, frankfurters. Savoury pie, filled focaccia, piadina and savoury brioche, bruschetta, stuffed peppers. Cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, cucumbers, olives.
Sweet
Ferrara ring cake, homemade cake, biscuits, artisan ones too, in 4 kinds, filled shortcrust tartlets, pancakes with maple syrup. Honeycomb and artisan honey from the Po Delta, artisan jams from Romagna, lemon or orange marmalade made by Simona. Spreads, Gruppioni peanut butter or peanut cream, single-serve Nutella, butter, salted too.
Bread & bakery
Assorted bread and sandwich bread in 3 kinds, breadsticks, crackers, rusks, wholemeal too, rice and corn cakes, loose cereals in 4 kinds, plain and multigrain croissants, muffins. Gluten-free display with 8–10 kinds.
Fruit & seeds
Fresh fruit, prunes and peaches in syrup, dried fruit, mixed nuts, walnuts, cranberries, raisins, seeds in 7 kinds, pollen.
Yogurt
Plain, fruit, low-fat plain and fruit, Greek, lactose-free, vegan.
Drinks
Self-service machine for coffee, cappuccino and hot chocolate, American coffee, teas and herbal teas in 10 kinds. Semi-skimmed, lactose-free, soy, rice and oat milk. Orange, apple, multivitamin and tomato juice, detox water.
Special diets
Gluten-free, for real.
A dedicated display with 8–10 kinds of certified single-serve products: bread, crackers, rice cakes, rusks, muesli, corn flakes, biscuits and sweet snacks. They are not always all there. Gluten is the only intolerance we can manage and guarantee, and we prefer to tell you clearly: for the others we only report what the label says.
If you don’t eat dairy you will find vegan and lactose-free yogurt, and soy, rice, oat and lactose-free milk. And then fresh fruit and nuts, seeds and cereals.
So you know what to expect
What you’ll love, what to know.
What you’ll love
- The flavours of Ferrara and the Delta, chosen one by one
- A buffet that is always fresh, restocked all the time
- If you are lucky, the moka pot arriving at the sound of the bell
What to know
- It is not a buffet built on quantity: small portions, restocked often
- On weekdays it closes at 9.30
- For intolerances other than gluten we give no guarantees: we only report what the label says
- Some products are seasonal and may sometimes be missing
Who makes it
Our producers.
You’ll find their leaflets in the breakfast room; here you can download them.
- Negrini cured meats
- Renazzo di Cento, in the province of Ferrara. Italian pork, natural spices and casings, tied by hand: salame ferrarese, zia ferrarese, salame rosa, pancetta, mortadella.
Fact sheet · PDF 1.1 MB - Marangon honey
- Porto Tolle, in the Po Delta. The hives move with the blossoms; their honeys have won Great Taste awards.
Fact sheet · PDF 940 kB - La Madre Terra jams
- Romagna, since 1987. Organic extra jams, fruit selected by hand by a social cooperative, with no preservatives or thickeners.
Fact sheet · PDF 330 kB
From La Dispensa to your home
Enjoyed it? Take it home.
The jams, honey and cured meats you find at breakfast are on sale at reception. And to bake the buffet cakes at home there are Simona’s Recipes: you’ll find them in the breakfast room, with a QR code, or you can download them here.
Simona’s Recipes · PDF 360 kB
Live in Ferrara or just passing through?
La Dispensa is open to people who are not staying with us too.
With the €20 breakfast voucher you take a seat in the breakfast room and have the whole buffet, at the same times as guests. A different way to start the day in the city centre.
€20 per person, full buffet
How to get the voucherYou buy it at reception, at Piazza Repubblica 5, open 24 hours a day.
Frequently asked questions.
Is breakfast included in the room price?
Yes, in all rooms. Only for the Annex rooms is there also a room-only rate, without breakfast.
What time is breakfast?
Monday to Friday from 7.00 to 9.30; Saturday and Sunday from 7.30 to 10.00.
Has breakfast changed since a few years ago?
Yes: it is now called La Dispensa. Less quantity, more of the local area. Same room, same hours.
Can I have breakfast without staying at the hotel?
Yes, with the €20 breakfast voucher per person, which you buy at reception: full buffet, at the same times as guests.
I have coeliac disease: can I have breakfast without worrying?
Yes: there is a dedicated display with 8–10 kinds of certified gluten-free single-serve products. It is the only intolerance we can guarantee.
Are there vegan or lactose-free products?
Yes: vegan and lactose-free yogurt, soy, rice, oat and lactose-free milk, plus fresh fruit and nuts, seeds and cereals. For these intolerances we only report what the label says.
Can I bring my dog to breakfast?
Yes, in an area of the breakfast room set aside for guests with dogs.
Can I buy the breakfast products?
Yes: jams, honey and cured meats are on sale at reception.
Afterwards · Every day 12.00–22.00
Bitter Spritz Bar.
Over 30 bitters for a different spritz every time, and the craft beers of Ferrara.
