Over 30 years ago, my husband and I discovered Acqua Al 2 on our honeymoon. We shared a communal table, enjoyed an unforgettable meal, and somehow never forgot the name. Fast forward three decades, and despite reading reviews praising the food but criticizing owner Stefano Innocenti's personality, I decided to bring our family group of 13. I'm so glad I did. Stefano is clearly passionate about food and running his restaurant. He may not be overly chatty, but he was welcoming, personable, and even shared a few jokes with our group. Since ordering for 13 can be complicated, we let him take the lead. He created a family-style menu that included our one request: the famous blueberry steak. The meal was outstanding from start to finish. The house Chianti was excellent, the bread was the best we had during our time in Italy, and the salad sampler was a great start. We were then served four pastas to share--butternut squash bow ties, penne vodka, shell pasta with ragù, and pesto risotto--all perfectly portioned and delicious. For the main course, we sampled the blueberry steak, balsamic steak, and rosemary-marinated steak. While the unique blueberry steak is a must-try, our group's favorite was the balsamic steak. The dessert sampler was the perfect ending to a wonderful family evening. Even better, the total came to about €50 per person--one of the best values we found in Italy. Whether you're dining with a large group or just a few people, I highly recommend Acqua Al 2 for a memorable and authentic Florentine meal. My advice: trust Stefano and let him do the ordering. After 40+ years, he knows exactly what he's doing. read more

Acqua al 2 - The three steaks ( in order of left to right) Balsamic, rosemary, and blueberry. - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

This review was to rave about our server!! Food was fantastic but this girl handled the entire restaurant all on her own!!! No other servers the night we went and every table was full. Not only did she handle it like a pro, she came over multiple times to check on us!! read more

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The great... the food! The food was all superb, trying a very diverse selection from the menu and enjoying every bite. The bad... sitting in the basement... as there was some confusion with regards to my birthday reservation... we had no table and were only able to be seated downstairs. Normally I wouldn't care, however it was reminiscent of eating in a damp wine cellar. The AC was pushing too cold and the dampness was a bit much. The menu being only in Italian posed an issue which I easily resolve with my translator app, however no wifi in the cellar left me having to go upstairs to screenshot the whole menu with translation to return downstairs with family... not exactly a good experience. Mind you... we waited almost an hour for this table. Making the best of our one night in Florence and my birthday... we toughed it out and enjoyed as best we could. The pasta was delectable and the blueberry steak was definitely a different yet delicious Flavor experience. Food alone 5, but there's more to the dining experience than food. I recommend reservations and confirmation of them, preferably in Italian read more

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The interior was so cool! There were plates with drawings on them lining the walls that were cool to look at. Our server was helpful to answer our questions in English and was pleasant. Every other table was full of Americans, so it was not a local place. I'd recommend the pasta platter (they give you a bunch of different pastas to try) because it was nice to try all of the classics. My boyfriend and I split it which was honestly still a lot of pasta for both of us because they served us 5 smaller portions of pasta. We also split the famous blueberry steak and it was delicious. Who would have thought those flavors would pair nicely? It was very good! 10/10 read more

Acqua al 2 - Blueberry steak - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

Kind of disappointed in our dinner here. We ordered the blueberry steak that the restaurant is known for and should have known that was a mistake. I really wanted to like it but the blueberry sauce would have been better with pork or chicken. Did not go with steak. The filet was very chewy and not a good cut of meat at all. The service was decent but definitely don't recommend this place. read more

Group of 4 coming here after all the hype about this restaurant. Unfortunately it didn't really live up to our expectations. It was ok but nothing quite impressive. It was busy but the food and service was just alright. The risotto was average. The filet mignon was interesting. The appetizers and contorni were all ok. Probably wouldn't return. read more

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SO GOOD! the inside of this place is so cute. There are decorated plates hanging all over the walls. I got the spinach and pine nut pasta which tbh wasn't my fav but i tried my friends gnocchi and it was AMAZING. Also their blueberry steak is a must try. This place was recommended by many different people and I can see why! It's pretty small so definitely make a reservation. read more

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I honestly cannot get over how amazing this place was. My wife and I made a last minute reservation for dinner because we'd heard about their steaks and wanted to try them. Got there right as they opened for dinner and sat down. The service was incredible with our waiter taking great care of us, being incredibly friendly, and making great food and wine recommendations. My wife got the blueberry steak and I got the brandy steak. They were cooked to perfect and were some of the most flavorful steaks we've ever had. The blueberry steak was incredible and unlike anything I'd ever had before. The brandy steak was also amazing and I couldn't get enough. This place was so good we're considering coming here every night for dinner until we leave. If you're in Florence, you HAVE to try this restaurant. Ignore the negative reviews. They all seem like they come from tourists who aren't used to dining outside of America. This place is AMAZING read more

our best eat in florence and the bestttttttt espresso martini's i have ever had even though i couldn't sleep later that night lmao. the entire menu is in italian so we had zero clue what to order but our server recommended the 5 pasta sampler & 3 steak sampler. i can't believe how affordable & what great value this all was. i've been hating on squash but this squash pasta was actually my fav of all the pastas and sooo flavorful. they are known for their blueberry steak here - definitely my fav of the steak samples for how unique it was but the balsamic glaze steak was all delicious. everything was SO GOOD HIGHLY RECOMMEND read more

Acqua al 2 - pasta sampler (gnocchi with mushroom) - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

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Our daughter took us here for dinner. We had two Hugo spritzers that were the best ones we had in Florence. For dinner we ordered the pasta sampler, which is 5 different pasta courses to share based on the chef sends out. We had cheese ravioli with balsamic, pasta in vodka sauce, gnocchi in Gorgonzola sauce, rigatoni with eggplant, then finished with shells with a vegan ragu. Pasta was all cooked perfectly and super tasty. I am not a fan of gnocchi but my wife and daughter loved it. My favorite was the rigatoni with the eggplant. Was also surprised with how good the vegan ragu was. Staff were great and asked without prompting about food allergies to make sure it was not an issue. read more

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I really wanted to like this place and give it a 5 star review. Besides their numerous 5 star reviews, several of my coworkers raved about this place, and emphasized that I need to come here and make a reservation. I booked a table for my last night in Florence and intended to try the pasta sampler and blueberry steak. I arrived on time with my family, and upon checking in with the host she angrily told us to "move" out of her way. The area by the host desk is not roomy but we did our best to steer clear of servers, but she snapped once again for us to move. I repeated the name on the reservation and overheard her mutter something in Italian to the server not to sit us in front. She then told us to walk down towards the back until we see the waitress, and resumed her post at the host stand. As we walked down the hall past the bathrooms it smelled extremely vile. We met the waitress who greeted us with a friendly smile and sat us at our table. We ordered waters and drinks for the table, but it still smelled like s***. Since we were told nothing but great things about this restaurant we placed our dinner orders. Not long after placing our order we could not bear the smell any longer. Coupled with the way the host had spoken to us, and purposely sat us at the table by the awful smelling bathrooms, we had given up and told the waitress we are leaving. We offered to pay for what we had gotten, but after speaking to the host they told us it was not necessary. As we walked out, they were finally cleaning the restrooms. Although I cannot comment on the food, I can say that the host was the only person to treat us with such disrespect. Also, the odor coming out of the bathroom for the length of time that passed without it being cleaned makes me question their sanitary standards. read more

5 stars hands down! This place is fantastic! Was visiting from out of town and came here based off of tik tok. I'm usually very skeptical of tik tok reviews but they got it right. The staff were great and our waitress was very friendly and helpful. Our menu was in Italian so it was difficult to read but she translated everything for us and gave great suggestions. We started with their cocktails and we got their ugo and limoncello spritz. Both were strong but light and tasty. They then brought their bruschetta bread with their special spread and tomatoes. It was not too filling which is perfect for an appetizer and the spread was delicious. We also got their steak samplers where we got to try their blueberry steak, their steak covered in balsamic reduction and their steak on focaccia bread. They are known for their blueberry steak and trust me, it did not disappoint! The steak was so fresh and juicy and the blueberry sauce was amazing. It was slightly sweet and balanced out the savoriness of the steak. The steak covered in the balsamic reduction was great as well! It wasn't too acidic and wasn't overpowering the steak. I've had balsamic reduction sauce before where it completely over powered the flavor of the steak but they were able to perfectly complement it. The steak on their focaccia bread was great as well! The steak was cooked perfectly however there was a lot of rosemary on top of it which I wasn't a huge fan of. We ended with their tiramisu which was the best tiramisu I've had in a while. I'm not usually a big tiramisu guy because I don't like coffee but this one was great! It wasn't super heavy or sweet, rather it was airy, fluffy, and hit the spot. Overall would highly recommend this spot! read more

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Food was decent but service was terrible. Owner was our server and was just rude in every way possible. We were trying to be as accommodating as we could but it seemed he simply did not want our business. Locals treated very well at the expense of tourists. Blueberry steak was ok, probably would be better sauce on duck as opposed to filet of beef. Pear ravioli was liked by those who had it. read more

I loved the ambiance of this restaurant. It was very intimate and warm. Different sections of the restaurant had a different vibe. The service was okay. In many restaurants in Europe you will be waiting for awhile at times, but here they will come up and get your order soon after sitting, which is not necessarily good here since the menu is a little harder than others to understand. Make sure you connect to wifi to translate and call ahead to make a reservation because you will not get in for dinner if you didn't. The food was great, especially the blueberry steak, mushroom ravioli, and the macaroni. We also loved their espresso martinis. read more

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food was merely okay. the service was good. they do have gluten free options and are very knowledgeable about it! read more

Acqua al 2 - chicken with mushrooms - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

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Outstanding dinner! First off, one of the few places in Florence that has A/C. Very cozy interior, not the most comfortable seating. But the food is fantastic. My daughter is vegan and they had many delicious options, unlike most of the restaurants in Florence. The waiter was very honest and offered a better wine than I chose that was less expensive. Unheard of! Highly recommend this place but make a reservation or you may not get in. read more

Had reservations. Arrives 15 minutes early. Seated at our reserved time. waitress, put our bottle of water a forceful on the table.. We had to pour it ourself. After the water arrived we sat 30 minutes. Waitress never acknowledged us after she delivered the water. One waitress had zero backup help. We waited Patiently as she proceeded to re set a table instead of offering us bread or taking our order. We talked to the tables around us who said they too waited a while on service. But the food came out quickly. Makes you wonder if the food is just heated up before it is served. We walked out of the restaurant we were so excited to eat at. Poor service and the lady who appeared to be the owner/ hostess was very rude. Think twice before you eat here. read more

What a sweet experience this was! I've had this Italy trip planned for nearly six months, and a friend told me I absolutely had to try Acqua al 2, that it was her favorite steak she's had in her life (and she lived all over Europe for 20+ years!). We started off with the chef's "appetizer" sampler, which was five little plates of whatever the chef wanted to give us in the way of pasta dishes. Every single one of them was delightful, but I especially loved the pesto one at the beginning. After we had all of those, we split a main entree of the steak with the blueberry sauce (what they're known for) and potatoes. Our server was incredibly kind, and we even chatted with the chef/owner? for a bit. He helped us scope out a jewelry place in town and even gave his friend, the owner, a call. Both he and our server were over the top in their hospitality. Loved our time there! read more

Acqua al 2 - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

Multiple recommendations to come to this restaurant while in Florence and it did not disappoint! I would recommend to anyone visiting this city. Started with the prosciutto and burrata and pasta sampler. Some of the best pasta I've had here in Italy. The blueberry steak also came highly recommended and that was absolutely delicious as well. Must end the meal with the dessert sampler. Such a great meal and Sara, our server, was knowledgeable and super helpful when ordering! read more

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Acqua al 2 was seriously the best restaurant experience I've had in Florence so far. Coming as a study abroad student who many people treat like an American this place makes you really feel like family. Every dish we've had had been amazing and we love the staff aswell. Cannot go wrong here at all. 10000/10 recommend read more

Very disappointing . Where is the homemade pasta.? Rotini out of a box? I sincerely hope the owners take note. I am sure this would not fly in Florence. read more

Amazing food i recommend the steak sampler! The blueberry steak is a show stopper! Service was okay the waitress was a bit impatient but all was excellent read more

Acqua al 2 - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

I was recommended this restaurant by my friend who studied abroad here. I noticed every single table was American (which I don't know if that's a good thing). We were a party of two but we were sat in the back at a table for 5. Another party of two was then seated at our table even though there were other tables available, which made seating awkward. Aside from that, food was very good. Very vegetarian friendly. We ordered the pasta sampler which is all vegetarian, the ribollita, a yummy vegetarian soup, and the dessert sampler, which was amazing. Special shoutout to our server, Andrea, he was great. read more

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The service and food was top notch. The proprietor was very cool and talked about how he surfed when he lived in San Diego. Had the filet mignon with blueberry sauce, crazy good. My better half had Porcini Risotto. Tiramisu for desert. Top off with the house Chianti. Definitely coming back again when in Florence read more

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Overall bad experience and wouldn't go back. The food was very good. The last part of our order got lost. Other than blaming the waitress, there wasn't an apology or acknowledgement. Dinner was over 2.5 hours in very uncomfortable chairs. The staff made us feel like we were an imposition and were very inhospitable. Sadly this was our last dinner of our trip. read more

This was recommended by my dad who was in Florence about two decades ago and it is still worth the hype. Definitely make a reservation and make sure you get a confirmation as they are very busy. A must get is the pasta sampler and blueberry steak. Wine was great and atmosphere is fun and moody. read more

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Beautifully quaint Florentine dining room with fresh Italian cuisine. No one in our party could speak Italian with any proficiency.l, but our waiter was fluent and gladly shared her recommendations from the menu. She did not fail us. Try the Burata and prosciutto appetizer. We also had Greek salad. I'm sorry I didn't take her recommendation for the pasta sampler nevertheless our entrees were perfect. I had a sort of bucatini with cherry tomatoes, while my wife had chicken and mushrooms. The bottle of Chianti wine on the table was perfect for us. A wonderful dinner. read more

We heard great things about this place, and had to try it when we were visiting the area. This is definitely a very cute and quaint spot, and the food was great! We got the blueberry filet and it was delicious! The only thing that wasn't great that evening was the service. Our server kept forgetting our table. We ordered wine at the very beginning after sitting down, and he kept forgetting to bring it to us-- he didn't give us water either. By the time the food arrived, he still didn't bring it. We had to track him down to remind him. He apologized and said he'll bring it right away, and still forgot. We could see him going around to other tables, and continued to forget to serve us water and our wine. We then had to ask other servers to get us our drinks, and was finally able to get it half way through our dinner by another server. Another thing is that a different server came out with our food. He made a mistake and had given my blueberry steak to someone at a table next to mine. That guy had already cut through the steak by the time this server realized, and thus had to take that guy's dish back, bring him his correct dish, and bring me a new blueberry filet dish. And we all came when it just opened at 7:30pm, so it wasn't like the restaurant was that busy yet. Not sure what happened, but service wasn't too good that night. The food was good though, and that's why it's getting 3 stars. I'm not one to complain about service since I understand things can happen. It might have just been a night for some of the servers. I would still come back to this restaurant because I enjoyed the food immensely. read more

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service is iffy but the food makes up for it! definitely recommend getting the pasta sampler and even the steak sampler to share among the table. the blueberry steak is to die for read more

Acqua al 2 - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

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This was our final dinner in Italy. After being disappointed by a few restaurants, we didn't want to take chances. We were told that Tuscan steak is famous and a must try, so we wanted a place with good reviews. This was exactly what we were looking for We liked the salad sampler (Assaggi Insalato). It comes with a fresh and well dressed Greek salad, a pretty good tomato, mozzarella, pesto salad, and an interesting melon salad. A great starter to split between 2 people. Although, I would have been just as content with getting a full order of the Greek salad We heard some people mention that they're known for their blueberry steak (Filetto Mirtillo), so that's what I went with and WOW. It sounded like a weird combination but I went for it and after the first bite, it all made sense. The sweet blueberry is met with a bitter balsamic to make a new mouth watering flavor that I hadn't experienced before. The waiter didn't even need to ask how well I wanted it cooked. They know just how to get the melt in your mouth perfection and that's how they're going to cook it read more

Acqua al 2 - Blueberry steak - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

Fire the matre d. Rudest person we've ever met. Our name and count was in his reservation book but claimed since we didn't have a confirmation (which we did, but couldn't find) we were turned away. After many cuss words back and forth and us finding the reservation in his own book and he was caught lying he seated us. The famous blueberry steak wasn't worth all the problems. I had better steak in my hometown. read more

Pretty restaurant and not so easy to get a reservation. Service was good. Food was good. Steak dishes are the must order here. Our steak with rosemary was delicious. read more

My favorite meal on the last night in Florence! They started with serving a yummy Tuscan bean dip and bruschetta with bread. Then we ordered the eggplant parmigiana app to start, which was a meal in itself! My mom had the pasta sampler (5 and all vegetarian) and I had the steak sampler (Firenze style, filet with blueberry sauce and filet with balsamic vinaigrette), along with a side of potatoes. Phenomenal!!! I highly recommend. read more

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Acqua Al 2 holds a special place in my heart because my husband has been about talking it ever since we first met. It's his family's favorite restaurant in Florence, so when we visited Italy for our honeymoon, our first dinner in town was a no-brainer. The first night (yes, there were multiple) we are here, we got the pasta sampler at my husband's insistence. Smart move since we'd know what to get again later. Also the whole menu was in Italian so I was really down to try anything. Turns out, my favorite dish is the pumpkin farfalline. Now I understand why my husband dreams about this place. The balance of flavors and textures was perfect. While I thought I loved every Italian dish, broccoli pesto isn't really my thing. I just washed it down with wine. Service is ok, though I've learned about how different European restaurants are compared to ones in the US. Either way it wasn't one of my favorite restaurants in Florence, but I'm honored to have shared the experience with my husband on our honeymoon. read more

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This restaurant is great! We got the pasta sampler, blueberry steak, and curry chicken. I asked the waitress for recommendations of chicken dishes (thinking I would get a recommendation of an Italian dish at an Italian restaurant), and she recommended the chicken curry. Felt like a fever dream. Honestly, the curry was great and the chicken was cooked so well. Seating isn't super comfortable, but it looked nice. read more

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Amazing! From the fresh made mozzarella to the steak sampler, we were blown away! The steaks were like butter, and the flavors of the blueberry and chocolate sauces expanded my palette in one meal! There's a stateside location in Annapolis, so we're going to have to try it! read more

Acqua al 2 - Steak Sampler - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

Service was rushed and lacked any personality; food was average at best. I think the place got caught up in the social media hype and has lost its original momentum. read more

Went here specifically for the blueberry steak because everyone raves about it. The cut of the meat was amazing but the overall taste with the sauce was...interesting. Would I order it again? No. Mushroom risotto and house wine were good af tho read more

Acqua al 2 - Blueberry steak - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

My husband and I had dinner here on the recommendation of a friend. It was just ok... I think it has become well known among the tourists and is not as authentic feeling as other places we ate. We shared the gemelli ragu with porcini mushrooms and the mascarpone cannelloni with porcini mushrooms. Both were good but nothing I was dying to eat again. They suggested a house wine that was imported and overpriced. They also forgot our salad and were a little short with us overall. You will also need a reservation if eating before 9:30pm. I just think there are so many better options that are not so touristy while in Florence. read more

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Friendly servers, caprese and Greek salads were great and so were our pasta dishes. Interior is fun and it's in a quiet area that is great to walk to. read more