We came here after going to the Accademia Galleria Museum. I came here because I really wanted to…read moretry a cannoli in Italy. We got the cannoli and arancino norma. The cannoli was so good. They put the cream cheese on the spot when you order so it's cold and fresh. It was so tasty. The other things we ordered were also very good. The owner that helped us was so sweet and very kind. They have the most tastiest desserts and savory snacks!!

Very rude servers. Tried to enter to buy a snack and coffee. There was a line and so went to…read morequickly wash my hands in their bathroom. At which point the lady behind the counter decided to stop serving and run to the bathroom to ask in a very accusatory tone "can I help you" at which point I said "not yet I'm going g to wash my hands and by right with you". Get response was "no not until you buy something". Atmosphere became a little hostile and certainly lowered my impression of the place. Not something I have felt elsewhere in Florence. This alone was enough for me to leave. There are better attitudes and nicer places to go all around. Stay away is my advice.

We had a fantastic experience, and it was very much an experience, not a meal…read more When we sat down they provided two glasses of white wine. The waitress responded that it came with the meal which on the one hand I didn't want to pay for these as I didn't order them, but on the other hand it was part of the experience and it was good. We started with the octopus which had fantastic flavour but having had octopus two of the preceding four days, it wasn't as good a texture. It was a bit chewy but I kept going back for more given the simple but tasty lemon and olive oil flavour. I then got the risotto which came with "seafood." I didn't know exactly what to expect (and I had the waitress confirm there would be no shellfish). Turns out it's a fried risotto ball stuffed with bits of salmon, octopus, and cod. There was a surprisingly good portion of seafood as well, very much worth whatever the price was. Despite being fried and coming in a sauce, I was amazed at how light it was. This was a superb entree

We came here for a fancy dinner on one of our last nights in town. There was no reservation…read morenecessary as we were there right when they opened. Our party was seated at a large table in the middle of the restaurant. Our server was with us quickly and we just got still water to drink, although they had a large wine selection. We started with the arichini balls and they were excellent. Not too oily and the breading was on point. The bread and oil was great as well, not too dry like some other restaurants in the area. My entree was the pasta with ragu sauce. There was a decent amount of meat and the pasta was so good! Fresh and perfectly al dente, this was one of the best meals and best ambiances at a fair price.

Hello, I am hereby including a review of Il Pizzaiuolo as I see there are few to no recent reviews…read moreof the venue. Is it possible that Yelp has gone extinct in the Italian Republic? This is certainly something for us to ponder. I have visited Il Pizzaiuolo several times and have always been seated promptly, although it does get busy. As one may deduce from the restaurant's name, they have pizza. The pizza is very good. I am not Italian, so I have not proceeded in the procession of: pasta, main, pizza, salad, dessert. This is too much for me generally, unless I fast beforehand. I have, on separate occasions, tried pizzas here, as well as several appetizers and main courses. I would recommend the fried burrata, which is simply a breaded and deep-fried burrata. It will appeal to anyone with a palette who likes cheese. The pizzas are also very tasty, although the one I ate most recently had many pieces of a lesser breed of sausage that resembled what the Americans call "hot dogs" or the Russians call "doctor's sausage." Simply a deeply and thoroughly processed meat conglomerate. I was not particularly fond of this on pizza, particularly when many superior processed meats are available. The venue here is simple without frills, as one would expect of an osteria. The prices are reasonable for the location.

Wonderful! We had a wonderful first dinner in Firenze at…read morethis terrific restaurant, and we liked it so much that we came back here again with our friends when they arrived a couple of days later. The food is excellent - we loved the burrata, pizza, salad and pasta. The prices are very reasonable and the service is friendly and efficient. We weren't too excited by the wine though - the EUR25 wine tasted like average house wine.

Typically everything goes well at Da Pasquale. Greeted at entry, shown to a table, cocktails or…read morewine (great selection of wines); always good service from the staff and Pasquale, but the food is the constant star here. Try any special or pick a favorite from the menu. The icing on the cake is the new people you meet while dining and enjoying the meal. Go, relax, enjoy

This wasn't a dinner. It was an EXPERIENCE…read more In the most serendipitous way, we managed to snag a table at Osteria da Pasquale during one of their wine-pairing events, and it turned into one of the most memorable nights of our trip. When I called to make a reservation, I spoke directly with Pasquale, the owner, who kindly explained that they weren't taking regular reservations that evening because they were hosting a wine pairing with a fixed menu. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind or expected, but we decided to go for it... and holy moly, am I glad we did. We've done plenty of fixed-menu wine pairings before, and honestly, the success rate is about 50%, so we went in a bit skeptical. This, however, was truly one of a kind. Incredible food, even better wine, and, best of all, an unforgettable ambiance fueled by Pasquale himself and the incredible group of guests who happened to be there that night. Pasquale is wildly passionate about good food and great wine, and watching him in his element was a joy in itself. We tasted local wines ranging from wonderfully affordable bottles to others costing hundreds of euros, and every pour came with a story, a laugh, or a spark of excitement. And when I say wine pairing, I don't mean the kind where you get two polite drops and that's it The wine flowed freely, just as fast as the laughter from everyone lucky enough to attend. The energy was chaotic in the best possible way. As two tourists, it felt like we had stumbled into a friend's dinner party. At one point, it genuinely seemed like everyone already knew each other and somehow, by the end of the night, so did we. We loved every second of it. All of this to say: if you ever see an event or wine pairing at this restaurant in the beautiful city of Lucca, don't hesitate to book it. Thank you, Pasquale, for an unforgettable experience.

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.

To begin with our waiter, Dario, was amazing. He was so passionate about our order. I went to…read morechange my order from the pasta with boar sauce to lasagna and he told me it was a traditional Florence meal and we should try it. He was not wrong at all. Previous reviews stated it was gamey... as a girl from Chicago it was not gamey at all. To begin with we had the crostinis and I personally loved the sausage the most and I do not like sausage in the US. We ended the meal with the fried balls of some sort. It was the potatoes for me. Find a way to order just the potatoes. Also the wine for a liter was very reasonably priced (13 euros) amazing. We've now went to Venice and Florence and compared to our touristy ultra expensive places this one is hands down the best.

It was kind of hot downstairs in the summer which is my one complaint being an American used to ac…read more The staff was very friendly here and it felt less of a tourist place which was great. I ate the traditional vegetable and bread soup here which was actually really good. I enjoyed the meal and the people!

This restaurant was recommended by our VRBO Host. We are…read moreso glad she did. It was within walking distance of the home. The view was stunning. We were lucky enough to catch sunset on the terrace. The food was phenomenal. Our waitress did speak English and was able to make some recommendations for our group. Highly recommend Grandma's meatballs, the swordfish, the T-bone steak, and pesto gnocchi.

Amazing spot tucked away across the river in Florence. I highly recommend taking a walk up the hill…read moreto sit on the beautiful terrace looking at Florence. Food was perfect. Pasta with tartufo was light and flavorful. Tortellini had lots of flavors. Pistachio chicken was nice. Steak and arugula was on point. Chocolate dessert wasn't the high light of the meal but the limoncello was perfect. We were last table of the night. We never felt rushed. Chef Nico greeted us on the way out. The service helped us Chicago people guide through the menu very easily. Great experience. Thank you staff!!!

My sister reserved us a spot in this restaurant that I didn't know about, apparently being famous…read morefor its seafood dishes. The owners are from Sicily and have been working here for 20 years!!! You can consider this place a hidden gem, since if you don't know where to find it, you're going to pass it so many times before noticing the small green plaque on the wall. Inside it's all "sea look" furnished, sticking to simple things, nothing too fancy; it actually looks like a regular trattoria. On the menu you first encounter a very detailed list of wines and liquors. Then the appetizers, mainly sea related, all preciously described with the origin of the ingredients, mainly borrowed from southern Italy cuisine. Unfortunately I've found quite complicated the understanding of such a menu, so wide and precise, all list-looking, same font. It was difficult to picture the plate itself just reading it, probably too many infos! But then again, scrolling attentively down the vegetarian main course and the seafood ones, to the second course choices, I observed there wasn't even one thing I wouldn't have tried. So I just went for the ones that caught my eye and I wasn't disappointed, the pasta was a huge portion but I had to finish, it was too good! It's useless to list the things we tried, since the menu changes continuously during the different seasons, but I want to make your mouth water so here it is: - Breaded in nuts powder and fried prawns on grilled artichokes and balsamic sauce - Warm salad with octopus, prawns, cuttlefish, cherry tomatoes on a fried slice of eggplant - Seafood puttanesca spaghetti with black olives, tomato sauce, tuna, swordfish, anchovies in oil, capers, parsley - Fish soup with mussels, calamari, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, spices, penne pasta in a fried pan And so on... Gosh such a satisfying dinner!

I am excited to be the first U.S. reviewer of this place, which I think is a testament to the fact…read morethat it's not a tourist-trap restaurant. My friend could not speak more highly of Lo Skipper, so we checked it out for lunch while I was in town. If you didn't know where this was, chances are high you would have a hard time finding it. This explains why she said I should meet her at work and we'd walk together. Once we got to this hidden gem it was lovely. Very dark inside, as there are no windows, but it lends itself to the feel of being inside an old ship. Kind of cool. I ended up having the penne alla maniera di erice, which wasn't my cup of tea. In fact, it wasn't what I wanted, but I'm not sure if my friend (who speaks Italian) said the wrong thing or if they just brought out the wrong dish. I can't deduct stars because of that though, because I'm sure someone who loves eggplant would think it's amazing. What made the meal the best for me was the canollo we split. It was the best I've ever had. Hands down.

Found this little gem by just walking around Florence! What a delightful place--felt like I…read morestepped back in time. The Florentine steak was grilled to perfection and the lasagna was very good.

"Siamo andati a pranzare fuori"…read more Great local eatery. We got a recommendation from a friendly hotel clerk who told us that's where he eats, we know why! Things of note; menu is in Italian, no english version and the wait staff wasn't fluent in English or messing with us. Either way, knowing a little Italian wouldn't hurt you anyway... ;-) Came with all the fixin's. Primo, Secondi etc... Was a really relaxed enjoyable lunch.