Got the referral from our hotel- carbonara was the winner for pasta but my fillet was so good we came back later in the week so everyone could get it. The steak was cooked perfectly, and an excellent deal. read more

After two weeks of eating amazing food in Florence, we have found our favorite! Il Paiolo offered a menu with many unusual choices, as well as Tuscan fare. Their Tomato bread soup was a bowl full of wonderful flavor! We also tried bruschetta and an artichoke, balsamic vinegar soufflé! Awesome! The service was impeccable and the meal will be remembered! Returned for Florentine Bistecca! Truly an awesome dinner! Every bite was delicious! Atmosphere and service matched the excellent food! read more

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Easily my favorite restaurant in Florence! My friends and I found it during our semester abroad and quickly became frequent customers. Jeremy, Marco, and the rest of the staff are so welcoming and make for a great experience. I love the charming atmosphere! Every dish I've tried there is amazing, with my personal favorite being the carbonara. I highly recommend a slice of cheesecake for dessert, and you can't forget the limoncello!! I'm going back to Florence over the summer, and this place will definitely be my first stop. read more

Il Paiolo - Carbonara - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

The best meal I've had in Florence! This was recommended to me by a former student studying here and I'm so glad. The beef was so tender and the gnocchi was divine! And the tiramisu! My god! The ambiance is classic and inviting and the wait staff couldn't be nicer! We also had a free sample drink on the house read more

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This was such a lovely place to have an intimate dinner with my significant other while traveling and trying to dine in restaurants that aren't too touristy. We both ordered pastas (of course!) and they were beyond our expectations and really delicious. I had their pesto pasta (I usually don't like pesto pastas) but this one was just so delicious and had the best ingredients in the dish. I would order it again! Their portions were not too small or too big, which was perfect. When we went, they gave us complimentary champagne and lit romantic candles at night. The seating is quite cozy and you might be really close to the couple next to you, but it's totally charming! The waiters were so so friendly too, and they had a small bar that served great cocktails. I definitely recommend as there is great gelato around the corner too! read more

Quick service and a tasty meal! Decided to visit this Italian spot when I wanted to avoid the restaurant tourist rush on a Friday night in Florence. Extremely friendly staff that my friend and I quickly. The kitchen located in the back of the restaurant where you can view the cooks hammering away at Florentine steak orders and sautéing pasta sauce. The smells from the kitchen soak the air of the restaurant and it's extremely fulfilling. My delicious Dinner choices- **Appetizer "Greca" salad: a twist on a classic Greek salad. including red leaf lettuce, tomatoes, fresh cut feta cheese, cucumbers and smoked olives. **Entrée Osso Buco "Tuscany style": A healthy heap of roasted veal, oven roasted with tomatoes and herbs. Comes with a side of grilled zucchini or salad. PERFECT! Gnocchi Pesto: potato filled pasta balls tossed in a rosemary herb pesto cream sauce. Very. flavorful! Pasta Bolognese: Thin spaghetti noodles dripping in minced beef and tomato-base sauce. Great option to share! * Caution: during the summer, the back room of the restaurant can be slightly warm. ** bottles of wine are a steal price wise. read more

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One of the best restaurants in Florence. Food was absolutely wonderful, from preparation to presentation, very pleasing. Menu is perfect, something for everyone. Service was awesome and Marco was very accommodating. Will be back definitely! Highly recommended! read more

Il Paiolo - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

We went for steak tonight. Four of us ordered the set menu and where shocked when the meat arrived. It was uneditable. You could not cut it with a steak knife. This was not some cheap special. Supposed to be Tuscan steak. Had better meat at a Sizzler in the US. They did comp our wine and appetizers. Sorry cannot recommend this restaurant for steaks. Lots of options out there read more

First of all, let me say that our waiter was amazing! He was full of smiles and funny with our teenagers, knowledgeable of the menu and wine and made some nice suggestions for wine. We had the Caprese, fresh tomato slices with a big ball of fresh soft mozzarella. Simple and fantastic. Wild boar on polenta was delicious. Tomato base stewed meat over a bowl of soft creamy polenta. Pesto gnocchi, simple and delicious, Steak with roasted vegetables, was lean yet super flavorful, cooked a perfect medium rare and sliced over a bed of spinach and a white sauce with walnuts. So good! A Nice candlelit atmosphere, strange 80's American music, Michael Jackson etc. but still nice. My only suggestion would be to play some nice Italian music. Great place! read more

Tourist area restaurant. All pastas homemade. I had pasta carbonara and wife had lasagna. Both were excellent. We had chocolate cake and apple pie for dessert. Both were only mediocre. I would recommend the place but avoid to two mentioned desserts. read more

Service was phenomenal. Atmosphere was so classy, and I had the Seafood Spaghetti and Asparagus Risotto. Both to die for. I came in hungry and left very satisfied. It was also recommended by locals in the area! read more

Il Paiolo - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

When we came in they made us stand for about 10 minutes until we got a little table at the far back. Ordered a bottle of water, cheese with honey as a starter and pasta. The service is good but rather slow; we had to wait for about 30 minutes just to get a plate with 3 choices of cheese and honey. Pasta arrived relatively quick afterwards though. Food was good for the price (we spent 50€ for everything) and staff is friendly. read more

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my husband and I went here while on vacation. We wandered around until we found this gem. It was small but looked inviting. The owners and the chef came over to chat with us and they were very nice. Everything we ordered was amazing. The bread, the appetizers, the main course and of course dessert. As we were leaving they even gave us a little bottle of limoncello that was homemade. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone that is looking for an amazing dinner and ambience. thanks for the hospitality! read more

The food was absolutely delicious and friendly waiter who helped us find the ponte vecchio. read more

Il Paiolo - Gnocchi con salsa di pomodoro (tomatoe sauce). The best I have ever tasted. - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

Fantastic food, excellent service and a lot of gluten Free Dishes. Great deserts and birthday surprises. A must try!

The worst meal we had in Florence, second worst in the whole trip (Rome, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Venice, Burano were the places we ate). The restaurant looks cute from the outside so we walked in. We ordered a mixed bruschetta platter and a glass of wine each. The traditional bruschetta (with tomatoes) was good, the rest were quite bland and in need of a decent sprinkle of salt. Note that this is coming from a person who never adds salt to a dish after it's cooked. Salt should be added before, but I digress. The glasses of wine came, and they were all a good 1.5oz less than the wine served to the tables around us. Definitely enough to be noticeable. And to clarify, wine is ordered by the glass or bottle - no 6 or 9oz option. All that is fine, but I don't appreciate being served less wine than neighboring tables. Putting the wine situation aside as maybe a 1.5oz fluke, I eagerly awaited my tagliatelle in saffron sauce. Tasted of nothing. A little salt while cooking what sounded like a very interesting sauce would have gone a long way. My dad and I had ordered the same dish, and we both didn't like it. My mom ordered a baked rigatoni dish which was ok. In the end, we paid 80€ for 3 smallish glasses of wine, one good slice of bruschetta, and a whole lot of bland food. Dessert was avoided only because of the lackluster appetizer and mains. I don't mind spending on a good meal, but this was not even close. Avoid. read more

Very nice small restaurant. The service was good, very friendly and they spoke english. Even though the place was almost full, we were served fast. The food was very good quality, although medium cooked, means medium-rare here. The home made lasagna, tiramisu and cheesecake, were delicious. Fresh watermelon and limoncello were on the house. Atmosphere was busy but cosy. Well worth the visit. read more

There were several nice touches to dinner tonight at Il Paiola. First, once you sit down and order you are offered a glass (each) of prosecco. It might have been a touch colder, but we Americans prefer it colder than Italians. At the end of the dinner we were given a complimentary shot of limoncello. Don't listen to the one reviewer who said her meal was too salty. I don't use salt in my cooking, so if a dish is over-salted I taste it. That was not the case in our dinner tonight, even when they used finishing salt on the steak. We decided to share the 69 euro dinner for 2. Let me emphasize that was the cost for 2. It included an appetizer, a T-bone for two, the choice of potatoes or salad (we had the salad), and "grandma's cake" for dessert. The appetizer included 3 types of ham, a small salad, and 2 bruschetta, 1 was chicken liver and the other was tomato, oil, and basil (there might have been some garlic, but I did not taste it). We ordered the T-bone to be medium-rare, and it was served between that and rare. It was very tender, but make sure you make your cooking preferences known. The salad was very fresh and refreshing. The cake was very good. As others have reported the wine is very reasonably priced. We wanted a Chiante Classico, and we asked our waiter for a recommendation. We had a very nice bottle for 36 euro. Make sure you visit the restroom. On the way down the steps there are records and record albums on the wall. Very fun. The place is small, but the staff is very welcoming, very informative, and they all speak excellent English. Will we be back? Absolutely!!!! The couple that ended up sitting next to us had eaten there the night before and had looked for other places to eat and simply said it was the best restaurant they'd eaten in in a long time, so they came back for more. That is a testament from them and us. Bellisimo! read more

we came here for a christmas eve lunch and it was honestly fantastic we were amazed. we shared the cheese and honey plate with the best cheese tuscany has to offer. next for entree I had the raviolo di pecorino e pere con creme di barbabietole , which was hone made ravioli wirh haed sheep cheese and pears, betroot cream sauce. it was unlike anything ive had before. the taste was distinct, not sweet yet not salty either. very delicious and creamy. it doesnt come with a big portion so eat it slowly. I felt satisfied afterwards. the house champange was also good, and on the house for us. so good service too. oh and the house balsamic is aged like 15 years. so that was AMAZING. I put it on everything. the cheese, the bread and my ravioli read more

Il Paiolo - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

Great authentic Italian food. We were so impressed with the food that we went back the next night. Staff was very friendly and extremely accommodating since we did not speak Italian. Restaurant was really busy the second night and they provided complimentary wine until we were seated and gave us an appetizer of bruschetta as well. If you are in the area don't miss out on this gem. read more

Il Paiolo - Tuscan Near Me - Florence, FI

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Stopped by on a whim after seeing how lovely it was- all candlelight, table cloths, etc. Really excellent dinner. Perfectly cooked pasta, pork and excellent service. read more

Well, I've never been so misled by Yelp reviews. We ate at an amazing place last night 4 Leoni and yelp recommend this as a similar place. Firstly we were squeezed into a microscopic table, even with a reservation. Ok let's start with the wine, I chose the house, why? Because we're in Tuscany and I've never had a bad house wine experience before - well, tonight I've drunk better wine in 1970's UK !! - there's no excuse for the rubbish they served. Now to the food. It was bland, not hot and poorly presented. Honestly I've had better gnocchi from a supermarket with sauce from a jar. The water was good but then it was San Pelegríno! So overall, I'd never darken the door of this place. read more

Fantastic! Steak, perfectly done, white truffle pasta, polenta and wild boar - everything was perfect, from the ambiance to the service. A perfect place to enjoy an authentic Tuscany meal. read more

First time in Florence, amazing food and service. Pino our server was friendly and informative and patiently explained the menu to us as well as some recommendations. Will definitely be returning in the future ! read more

Don't be fooled by the 4.5 rating. This place is way too overrated. You will pay $$$ for a below average steak. You'll get way better steaks at an average restaurant in the U.S. Also the service was absolutely horrible. If you're going to spend $150 on a meal, you'd expect a decent service, but not at this place...The waitress who served us had a major attitude. The "Florentine steak for two" is definitely a tourist trap. Stay away! read more

We stumbled upon this on our first trip to Florence and have come here a couple of times on our second trip. The food quality and service is exceptional and the prices are reasonable. We feel this is the best restaurant in Florence. read more

The food was very good but service was horrendous. Our waiter I think was moved to the front of the restaurant and we were left waiting for over an hour in between our first and second courses. The couple next to us, seated over half and hour after my family received their first second and third course in the time we got our first. The waiters seemed to have a complete disregard for me and my family and our waiter refused to even look the way of our table. Truly a sad experience as the restaurants menu looked very good but the service was unfortunately terrible. read more

Was recommended this place and it did not disappoint. If you want classic Florentine steak come here! ALL of the staff was super nice and wanted to make sure you had an enjoyable time. They bring out the steak before they cook it to make sure you are okay with the cut, then once it's cooked they make sure it is how you like it. I go to nice steak houses frequently and this is the best steak I've had In awhile! read more

My friend and I ate here in Oct. 2017. My food was barely OK. The service was the same. When I stood to leave, my pants were wet from the back of my knee to half way up my ass. The chair pad was sopping wet. I requested they comp my meal. They argued that I ate it all. I told them I only ate half at best and that was not the issue. They wanted to continue to argue and bring out my plate to show me. I refused to pay. They threatened to call the policia. I told them to go right ahead. My ass was wet and I was now cold and we had other things to do. After an hour they gave me the info for their insurance company. I haven't started with them yet. I had to pay to have my pants laundered and go without suitable slacks for the next day. I wouldn't take my enemy to this restaurant!!!! read more

Food and service were average for Florence. Pricing was ok, but they are a typical touristy place that charges the "cover" fee. It was on a busy street which is central, making it convenient, however I recommend looking a little farther to find something more unique. read more

Authentic Tuscan Italian food. Menu was in Italian. Homemade pasta, homemade bread. Quaint and off the beaten path. Perfect lunch stop.

Had one of my best meals in Florence here. The home made pasta section on the menu is where to order! Our waiter was very kind. It did take a little bit to get our check but the food was to die for. read more

Good service, cozy, attracted many locals, but a little pricey. Service was good, so was location. The cover charge is 5€! We got water, two glasses of house wine and entrees and spend the same as we did the previous night at another restaurant were we got a 1/2 liter jar of wine, Pasta and mains. read more

We stumbled across this place on our first night in Florence. We absolutely LOVED it! The food was amazing. I had the potato ravioli with truffles, my partner had the gnocchi and my dad the lasagna. We loved our food. They have a great selection of wine to accompany any dish they serve. As for dessert, we had an AH-MAZING cheesecake (best we've ever had) and a delicious tiramisu. Il Paiolo has a great atmosphere and the serve was great. I highly HIGHLY recommended this place! read more

Absolutely one of my favorite restaurants in Florence. My friends and I come here all the time and I get something different here every single time and the food has NEVER disappointed. Amazing food, absolutely amazing service, amazing ambience, super cute restaurant. I've been in Italy all year and eaten at amazing restaurants but this is honestly one of my favorite restaurants period. In one word? Amazing. read more

Excellent food made fresh. Typical Toscanian dishes prepared to perfection. It is definitely not a tourist trap. I would eat here frequently if I could. Too bad it's far from home in California. By the way, it can be pricey. read more

We found this gem our first night there and what a perfect find it was! The service was impeccable, the atmosphere was cozy and candle-lit, the food was absolutely fantastic and unfortunately, this restaurant is nearly 6,000 miles away from where I live! What I wouldn't do for another steak Fiorentina or the Carbonara...I will be back again one day :) read more

We stumbled onto this restaurant after passing several others. This one looked very charming and had empty seating at a very early dining hour (5:30 pm). It is convieniently located near the Duomo and shopping district. We stopped in and were immediately seated. The wait staff was exceptionally kind and helpful. The ambiance was very old school Italian and welcoming. The staff made you feel like you were the only patron in the restaurant. The place filled up within 30 minutes. Then they lit the candles at each table and dimmed the lights making it a memorable and romantic experience. The wine selection was impressive and the food was excellent. We both ordered from the home made pasta section of the menu and it did not disappoint. The staff topped off our evening with a free glass of lemoncello. If we come back to Florence, this will be a must stop. read more

We enjoyed our dinner here so much! The staff is friendly, warm and helpful. We had tenderloins, they were prepared perfectly and were oh-so tender. A bit of prosecco to start and limoncello to finish were included. As is the Italian way, we were never rushed even as the place began to fill up. A delightful evening. Would definitely go back! read more

Absolutely the best. It was our 10th Anniversary and we really enjoyed everything about our meal. The host was so much fun, the waiter so attentive and the food wonderful. Such a magical evening and so nice to not be hurried through the meal. We were seated at a table in the front and we watched the people so by. read more