Was in Florence for a day trip and found this wonderful restaurant. We were met by Nicolo at the…read moredoor and made our experience memorable. The entire staff made us feel like home. Food and wine was excellent.! Would like to thank Mauricio as well. Thank you.

In a town of Bistecca alla fiorentina, this restaurant was recommended to us and it delivered…read more The gnocchi was a fantastic way to start our meal. Creamy and spicy, only if you mix in the hot parts. They come to table and weigh the meat in front of you so you know what you're paying for. It is cooked rare or medium rare. This is NOT like steakhouses in NYC. In its own category. It was presented with melting bone marrow, sea salt and cut off the bone. Extremely flavorful and tender. My only issue is that the fat doesn't render and there was silverskin in some pieces making it inedible, plus you've paid for this by weight. Great attentive service by Nick

- [ ] a Tratorria Came here on our last night in Firenze…read more The restaurant was very large with multiple dining rooms and plenty of outdoor seating. We were seated by our server Chaima. She was friendly and attentive during our dinner. We began our meal with their house Chianti which was very good. We began with their ZaZa Cheese as appetizer. Next, we had Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Truffle and Pasta with Garlic and Olive Oil. We ended our meal with the ZaZa Tagliata with Italian Seasoning with Rosemary Potatoes. After eating in Italy for 17 days. ZaZa had the best pasta and steak. I would highly recommend ZaZa for its service, atmosphere and food.

Delicious food, amazing restaurant Take reservations ( very…read morerecommended to reserve) The staff are very friendly and nice. And the price very very reasonable.

Came to a packed place sans reservation. Didn't have to wait. The Italian hospitality was through…read morethe roof. They made space for our party of 5 right in the center of a loud and and lively main dining room... where the energy and spark was so contagious. Just a marvelous setting for a night in Florence. Prepared dishes were family style. Every single choice was tasty good. The bread and bottles of Brunelo Montalcinos kept the conversation going. Florentine steak was not dry and forgettable. It went well with other pasta dishes like the Tagliatelle Con Ragù Di Coniglio or the Osso bucco, Pappardelle Al Ragù Di Cinghiale . . . of course with the Brunello & Chiati Classico The dining that night felt intimate yet party-like with nary a wiggle room. You don't get that often in the U.S. We never ever felt rushed despite the wait crowd out the door. Manager there was especially accomodating to us tourists. My 5 star rating has a lot to do with their boundless can-do spirit. A country house vibe rustic food with an outsized Italian howdy y'all. We will be back

Had an amazing experience at the restaurant. Came as a walk in on a Saturday night and was promptly…read moresat. It was busy but they def fill seats. The ambiance is cute and quaint. It's almost like the restaurant is positioned in a cave but it feels homey. Ample light to make it feel intimate and comfortable. The services was good and the wine and food were outta this world. All recommendations were great but would suggest the wild boar ragu and t bone steak. Would def be back when visiting Florence and highly recommend to others visiting.

Great food and atmosphere. Other reviewers mentioned that the place seems to be family-run by four…read morebrothers and that looks like it is still the case. We were able to roll up without a reservation and only waited about 30 minutes total. Guy working the reservations/walk-ins gave us free prosecco while we waited. Food was fantastic, they clearly care very much about the quality of their ingredients and the presentation of the dish. Great hole-in-the-wall place and they have a clear passion for good music too as they would turn up the songs that they particularly liked. Place was a whole vibe. Highly recommend.

This place is absolutely amazing! The vibes are the first thing you'll notice. Great Wall art,…read moremusic, etc. Then there is the food which is incredible. We tried 4 out of the 5 pastas and all of them were excellent. The flower zucchini pasta is a must get. LOVED the caprese salad, so fresh and yummy. The parm on zucchini salad was perfection.

made a reservation through ig dm haha. no tables without reservations…read more the florentine steak is massive. 1 kg nice crust. cooked nicely rare. some really good bites, some okay bites florentine steak is not world class for me. BUT at the price of 45 for this is amazing value.

I've been to Florence before but didn't get a chance to try a Florentine steak. My husband and I…read moremade it a point to definitely get one for dinner on our first night in the city. I went to the internet for the best Florentine steak and Trattoria Mario consistently popped up as highly rated. I reached out to the restaurant via email to make a reservation for a Friday. I wanted to get the earliest reservation possible, so the restaurant reserved me for 7:30pm, which was when they open. I was advised to show up on time - even a 2 minute delay would make me miss my reservation. I can see why Trattoria Mario was strict on reservations. They open on the dot, and then a staff member calls out each reservation at 7:30pm like a roll call. Seemed to me that if you don't have a reservation then you're out of luck, because there was no waitlist and the restaurant small and space was limited. Service was great. Our waitress was highly attentive and got us in/out of the restaurant quickly, which was what we were going for. Food came out in a timely manner. We ordered the penne al ragu, salad misto, and a Florentine steak to share. The penne was perfectly al dente, and I liked the meat sauce. I did find the pasta sauce salty, but it could've came from the grated parmesan. The saltiness was not a fluke. The Florentine steak was just pure beef and a ton of salt... too much salt for my liking. I also decided that I'm not a fan of Florentine steak in general.

Second time in two years and yet again a wonderful experience. This time we took our daughter who…read morewas studying abroad in Florence and her friends out for dinner. House wine, starting with a few pastas to share and then a nice thick Bistecca Florentino cooked perfectly. This is the place to go for an authentic, unrushed, Tuscan night out.

I would say 3.5 stars. Food was good but nothing special. Florentine Steak was made to what it is…read moresupposed to be. Pasta was good, again nothing special. Service was good and Ambiance was rustic.

I have been dreaming of having bistecca alla fiorentina ever since I can remember. Back in the…read morestates, I always get strange reactions from the waiters when I order my steak "as rare as possible." That is what I was expecting in Italy. Am I the only one that thought steak florentine was supposed to be served this way? Maybe that's was my mistake but I thought that's how it was prepared in Florence. Anyways, I was immediately suspicious when our waitress asked how we would like our steak cooked and her suggestions were medium or medium well. Uhhhh what? That goes against everything I believe in! The steak came out on a hot stone slab on top of a wooden box. The slab obviously continued to cook the steak so I immediately took off a few pieces to prevent this. The steak was thick and tender with chunks of large salt grains. It looked nice all sliced up but that's where the compliments end. It lacked flavor and ended up cooking to be more medium rare when I grabbed my pieces and then even medium by the time my dad grabbed his second slice. Our waitress seemed annoyed when we asked for the truffle sauce to accompany our steak (my dad forgot to ask for it when we placed our original order) and walked away with a huff to go grab it. The fries came out cold and limp with flavorless truffle shavings on top. I'm not sure why this place has such great reviews. Maybe it got too big for its britches and the quality has declined? The one saving grace was the crema bruciata! And the very understanding hostess who gladly pushed our reservation from 7:30 to 8:00pm due to travel difficulties. Whatever the reason, this place definitely missed the mark. You can't walk three steps without seeing a steakhouse here in Florence. My recommendation? Try one of those.

I was a bit disappointed in the steak considering the price.. I ordered medium rare but most of it…read morecame out medium so it got super chewy! It was barely seasoned too so I got the peppercorn sauce on the side, which was actually perfecto. I was with a large party and it was fairly busy but whenever we tried to flag someone down they ignored us. It also took 15 minutes after clearing out all the plates to finally get our tiramisu!!! (But they get +1 star for having the best tiramisu everrrrr)

Fabulous food and the service was perfect. Loved this restaurants ambiance. Will return for sure.read more

What an amazing evening at La Giostra! The restaurant is beautiful, warm and full of character. It…read morefeels special from the moment you walk through the door. We started with a Cynar Spritz and Aperol Spritz, along with the complimentary bruschetta with chicken liver pâté, tomato and artichoke. We also tried several appetizers, including roasted eggplant, roasted peppers, artichokes and the spinach-and-ricotta dumplings. And the fried zucchini was out of this world -- absolutely one of the highlights of the meal! For dinner, I had the sliced steak with aglio e olio, accompanied by roasted potatoes, carrots and rosemary. The steak was delicious and perfectly prepared. Jim had the cacio e pepe, and Tom had the seafood pasta. All three entrées were excellent. The wine list is enormous, and the atmosphere is unlike anywhere else. Soldano Kunz d'Asburgo Lorena, from the Habsburg-Lorraine family behind La Giostra, is quite a personality. He moves around the restaurant greeting guests and has the presence of a rock star -- he really adds to the experience. We eat at a lot of restaurants in Florence, and La Giostra was a memorable one. Beautiful setting, excellent food, great cocktails and a wonderfully lively atmosphere. We will absolutely return. Highly recommended!

Trattoria Ruggero is such a cute neighborhood place and happens to be right near our apartment, so…read morewe decided to give it a try for dinner. We arrived at 7:00 and were seated right away. We both started with Aperol Spritzes. Jim ordered the pasta alla carrettiera, and I had the roasted pork chop. We shared the fagioli all'uccelletto on the side. Everything was delicious, portions were good, and the prices were very reasonable--especially for Florence. We really enjoyed the relaxed, traditional trattoria atmosphere. Great food, good value, and definitely a place we'll be returning to.

I can't even fathom a spaghetti with tomato sauce being that good. Made in house was absolutely…read moresublime. The pork chop was okay and the mushroom pasta was fantastic but man everything got outdone by that tomato sauce. 100% need reservations as it's a small place.

We had a lovely dinner at Trattoria Giovanni. We loved how cozy, spacious, and genuinely local it…read morefelt, like eating at your grandma's house. It's close enough to the lively, bustling part of Firenze to feel connected, yet just far enough to escape the city's never-ending wave of tourists. The service was incredible, and the owner (I'm pretty sure it was the owner?) brought so much energy that he single-handedly turned the whole place into an eclectic little spot during the "rush hour" of the evening. The menu was solid, if a bit "generic" at times. While everything we ordered was delicious, nothing at Trattoria Giovanni felt like a dish you couldn't find elsewhere... and honestly, that's perfectly fine! It was traditional, comforting, and exactly what we were craving. The plate of cured meats and cheese was phenomenal, a great start to the meal. The pastas were really good as well, though one of the meat dishes had a slightly off texture, with the chunks of meat a bit overcooked. All in all, we loved our meal and would definitely recommend this spot if you're in Florence.

Excellent food and authentic Italian experience. Don't be fooled by the English subtitles for the…read moremenu items the place is not a tourist trap.