My husband and I visited Florence for a full week and came to eat here 3 times because everything was just so incredibly fresh and delicious! The oysters are ENORMOUS and the portions are very generous and extremely great value for money. The atmosphere is very cool and modern with incredible service as well. We basically tried through the menu while we were there and honestly loved every single thing we tasted. I highly recommend this to anyone in town to add to your list of you are a seafood fan! read more

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4.5 stars The Fishing Lab presents an innovative concept--seafood served in a variety of forms including raw, grilled, bar bites, and composed dishes, all on the same menu! The most creative dish we had was the Codfish Cappuccino, a codfish mousse topped with potato foam, served in a cappuccino cup with a croissant on the side. It was made to look like breakfast but was a savory seafood appetizer! One nice feature about the menu here was that many dishes could be ordered in a "Tapas" (half) portion, so it was easy to try and share lots of different items. The Catalan-style Calamari and Shrimp Salad was a refreshing mixture of chopped squid mixed with zucchini, carrots, fennel, tomatoes, and oranges; the Fusili with Galician-style Octopus Sauce came with al dente corkscrew pasta in a tomato-based octopus ragout made with spicy salami and topped with potato foam; and the Cacciucco was a tomato-based stew (from the Tuscan coastal city of Livorno) made with octopus, cuttlefish, mussels, and gurnard, along with dry chunks of bread that were moistened in the stew. Finally, we had the Isolana-Style Sea Bream Fillet, which was simply grilled and served over roasted vegetables including zucchini, potatoes, peppers, onions, and olives. Overall, the seafood here was fresh and tasty, fusing elements of Spanish and Italian cuisines. read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Isolana-style Sea Bream Fillet - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

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Delightful seafood restaurant. They offer half and full sizes of many menu items making it possible to taste multiple items. The cod was amazing. The staff was great and gave helpful menu suggestions. read more

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I enjoyed every bite of the meal here on my vacation. I got sea bass and it was incredible. The fish and pasta were fresh and the raw fish with cooked pasta was an interesting contrast. The wait staff was polite and attentive. The location is fascinating and I loved hearing about the history. If you like fish, I highly recommend this place! read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Sea bass with pesto - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

Goodness gracious!!! Florence, you did it again! Wow! I am lost for words with the food this restaurants has served. My wife and I had the tuna nachos and the Duo platter for apps which were fresh and delicious. My wife is not a fish person, however, she loves everything we had. She got herself the sirloin which was cooked to perfection and I got the cod fish which was delicious. read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

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Nice seafood restaurant just located in the city center. Lovely environment and also friendly staffs. Tried anchovies in oils with bread and butter, then tuna in slices. Overall super nice! Def recommend to seafood lovers. read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

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Went based on reviews. We had a pleasant meal, nothing spectacular. The fish with roasted vegetables was good.

Seafood is Decent nothing spectacular had the oysters, prawns and Crudo of Tuna salmon and white fish. Not the freshest but not the worst... Average in freshness for raw and a bit pricey for what you get... Stick to typical Florence food not the raw except the oysters... 2.50 euro each is top price for average quality. If you really want raw seafood then there is not much choices and would be better thenost in the area. read more

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I broke veganism for one day to try some seafood since the Tuscan area is known for their seafood. For dinner, we decided to visit the Fishing Lab due to the great reviews. The scene was young and hip so I expected the plates to be modernistic due to the suggestive name of the place. We started with the calamari pops. They were fresh and breaded lightly though tasted underseasoned. My husband ordered the swordfish per the recommendations of the server which he found good, but too small a portion (he had to go elsewhere after dinner to find food to fill his bottomless stomach). I asked for the seafood risotto but was served the seafood soup which I did not bother to change as I was starving. The portion was huge because of the two crabs in the bowl. I was definitely inadequately equipped to handle all the de-shelling and shell cracking. I ended up with my napkin around my neck, and my husband's napkin on my lap. After what seems to be an eternity of being sprayed a lot by the slow and meticulous cracking of seafood, I determined that this dish was not worth the labor. read more

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Wow! I HATE FISH and the cod was AMAZING!!! I'm glad my friend FORCED me here (mostly here for the 14th century's art on the ceiling). I will actually come back here! Can't wait to tell my friends in USA to come here. HIGHLY RECOMMEND read more

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I just left this place for dinner. We passed by it plenty of times since our hotel is nearby. Thought we'd give pasta a break. I was going to write a better review as I thought the food was good, until we were trying to pay and then service went bad. No thank you or welcoming presence like I didn't just eat their food. To me , I think choosing a location to eat sometimes especially in a tourist area is lucky and people need to be a bit more friendly. Don't get me wrong, the vibe of this place was nice and very hippy at first. However with that type of environment comes with not so polite folks. Not even the hostess as we were leaving acknowledged and we made eye contact, I said thank you bye, and just a look. I'm like wow. No matter how good you think your food are, great service is always key. I ordered the sea bass grilled and they fillet it for me. Then my gf ordered the octopus slider then we ordered the share platter with mixed fried seafood -- all good but mediocre. Have tasted better .. but since we're not in America right now this is the closest we can get to fried foods around here. Anyways you can try it for yourself, just thought I'd share what's not on the menu. read more

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Oh my God, where to begin! This has been one of the top 3 meals we've ever had in Italy and possibly in the top ten ever! We tried the calamari pops, simply lightly fried calamari- it was spectacular! We then had the octopus bruschetta- incredible. For main course, we had a whole sea bass (branzino) with roasted vegetables- Devine, no other words can describe this delectable plate! Service was on point and the whole experience was nothing less than perfect! read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

Bad Food,Bad service overpriced. They had a set menu for the New Years eve dinner. We waited for 1/2 hour for someone to bring us drinks , the risotto was raw . Bad service. read more

An interesting hipster type place with amazing food! This place was recommended by Elisa of an all day Tuscany tour we had just taken - thanks Elisa!! We started with a couple of glasses of wine and a 'cone' of calamari and it was absolutely delicious! I wanted more. I want some NOW! My husband followed up with the swordfish rolled in wood which made me jealous as hell! it was soooo good! Weird to be jealous especially being I had some pretty amazing sea bass! The vibe of the whole place, although a little loud, was fab and upbeat. We were seated at an 8 top table that had 4 people seated there already. They were super nice and helpful with our menu choices! Always fun to try to communicate, we are Americans and they are Italians, but food has a way of smoothing the translation! The only drawback in our particular situation was our server was WAY LESS than attentive. I could see our glasses of wine sitting on the service bar each time we ordered waiting to be picked up while he was checking his phone. I was tempted to go get them myself. We even got the 'samurai hipster' manager to smile before the end of our visit :) read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

The seafood was so fresh, they've definitely earned their name. This restaurant was recommended to me and I couldn't be happier it was. I ordered the octopus that was made bruschetta style and the meat was so tender ! I also had the sliced tuna and the tuna tartare which were each excellent. Don't be afraid to try the whole sea bass ! They're not heavy on the spices since they rely on the freshness of their seafood. The wines are very reasonably priced so feel free to have a glass or two ! read more

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Not horrible but really not great. We had the Arancini- the aioli was the best part and it was only ok. The fried fish ball things/ umm... no. The shrimp and potatoes were the best thing on the menu, but again- not great. The pasta dish, no. And the clam risotto was average. Cool name, pretty setting but average or below. Wish we would have chosen another spot in Firenze for our last night... read more

Pleasant surprise in touristy part of Firenze! We had a late lunch around 3 pm and were absolutely pleased. The place has a cool modern vibe and it was half full at such an odd hour! We sat at the bar, the service was friendly and casual. We ordered a seafood salad with orange, calamari and prawn and each had a whole grilled branzino. I ordered the julienned vegetable side that was served street style in Chinese to go bag. The seafood was fresh and it was prepared to perfection. The price is undoubtedly reasonable and considering the quality of the food and convenient hours I would give this place a solid 5. read more

Very cool atmosphere and unlike other places in Florence. The salmon tartare was excellent but extremely small portion of the actual fish. The cod in chickpea cream was so small I thought it was a joke at first. There was such a lack of flavor on the sauce. You'd think it would have some interesting spice to it but it really did have very very little flavor. That dish was a total miss. Good presentation though. Would I come back? Maybe but I would just order some fried fish read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Cod in chickpea cream. Flavorless - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

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This is not your average Florence tourist trap. It's a remarkably modern spot with a great menu full of different fish and a fantastic and well priced wine menu. Strongly recommend the fried anchovies - just like grandma used to make. The rockfish fritters are also delightful. Strongly recommend you give it a try. read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Salt crusted Seabass - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

Been eating pasta and pizza in Italy... was a pleasant surprise when we found this restaurant! amazing shrimp/prawn, fresh salad, delicious cook on seafood. Highly recommend!! read more

Fun place for a San Francisco style meal. We had two of the large starters which were good but alll fried foods which I would suggest having options for fried or grilled or baked. I had salmon with veggies for my meal which was great!!! So delicious. Ambience- 5/5 since the decor is really great and matches the San Fran feel Service 4/5 overall good but could be more attentive Food- 4:5 the starters could be improved with more healthy alternatives but the dishes were great!! read more

We had a fantastic dinner here two years ago, and were eager to return. This year, we tried it out for lunch one afternoon and the lively vibe from two years ago was nowhere to be found; this time it felt flat and desperately overpriced, the menu too limited. Quite the disappointment this time around. Much better places nearby. read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Lunch menu - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

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This was one of the best meals we had in Florence, if you need a break from the heavy pasta and pizza this is a must try! We sat downstairs in the "cave" and it was really cool - very unique setting. We tried a few dishes and they were all great. For my main meal I got grilled fish with the most delicious vegetables and were a generous portion size and at a very fair price. read more

We went there without reservations in the afternoon and that was the 1st question they will ask you. They accepted and we sat on the bar. Which is the way like it. Really great food, plating and service! I which I had bigger appetite to the order more of the menu. read more

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Recommended by a friend. A great concept riddled with poor execution of otherwise great menu items. The Baccala with whipped potato and parsley pesto came luke warm. There was barely a hint of the Baccala. Oysters from Britannia were fantastic. The tuna tartare was a disaster; tired looking tuna with almost zero flavor. Clam risotto was so undercooked the kernels of Arborio rice were almost crunching between my teeth. Salt was the star as I needed a gallon of water to get through the 4 bites of this sodium-laden train wreck. The restaurant offers only one red wine as if to say, "you are not allowed to drink red wine in a seafood-centric restaurant. I was suspicious when I notice that each dish appeared at out table only moments after ordering it. Hmmmm. Service is efficiently impersonal. I think I now know why they call this restaurant "Fish Lab." It's an experiment still trying to make food that is commensurate with it popularity. Well-heeled Florentines might just be looking for something new and different, who knows? It's a bumpin' scene in either case. If you want to experiment with food in Florence, I recommend staying away from this laboratory and try something tried and true. If you do find yourself at "Fish Lab," I would stick with the small plates/antipasti. Deep fried crispy cod fish balls and various seafood sliders. They look like the best choices on the menu, at least from a distance. Almost everyone seems to be ordering them. read more

From the first step this place has us hooked... pun intended. We first noticed the Fishing Lab as we exited our hotel, and were intrigued by the modern style built into an ancient shell of a building, but were sold when we heard the name again from a local Firenzian who raves about it. We were greated 4 times as we made our way to the bar stools, and not in the typical eager way we've seen from restauranteurs, this was genuine. They had us, hook, line, and sinker. FL's menu caught our eye as well... for this atmosphere and fresh seafood, we expected to be in for a painful conto. That was not the case at all. We started with the tomato and burrata, and for our meals I chose to go with the waiter's choice of whole grilled fish and two giant prawns, and my wife built a tuna poke bowl, both paired with plenty of wine. I ended up with a skeleton, and her a full stomach. Multiple members of waitstaff and bartenders tended to us even though the place was completely packed to the gills... one of the best 10/10 would recommend! One of our best experiences we've had in Italy, and our best so far in Florence. -the powells read more

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This hipster spot was a great find just walking distance of my residence in Florence. This unique seafood/ Italian combo has a great busy and lively atmosphere bustling with Jamaican beats over head and the roar of great conversation with people all over there world. This a local favorite you can wear your best jeans too and throw on something chick to dress it up. Hell I came in sweats and was just fine. Upon arrival I was greeted with a free glass of prosecco and seated promptly at the bar with no wait but they were packed. They specialize in raw seafood dishes like tuna, white fish and shrimp but kinda have a tapas style selection in raw appetizers and traditional bites like fried calamari and raw seafood stacks enough for the table. I Personally loved my mushroom ravioli seafood crab and shrimp combo that had a slightly fishy tastes to it like the broth was made with the shell fish in it but Personally I loved it. This is a great find if you are a true foodie and love the buzz of a busy atmosphere. Be sure to walk up stairs and catch a few gear selfies as well with the artistic ceiling art. At the end of dinner I also got a complimentary Limon' ..(This lemon drink is wonderful as a palate cleanser or as an after-dinner drink. It is always served well chilled ) to settle the stomach after a great meal. An Italian tradition ! By the way the price points are really decent for this level of food and the wine by the glass under $6.00! You know since I'll be here a month I'm sure To be back. With wine, main meal appetizer, desert and espresso $25! read more

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I love this place. The food was cooked very well and it was such a treat to be here. The staff was very attentive to the needs of the table and incredibly efficient. read more

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I have to say the foods, the wine, the atmosphere and the service inside are perfect and we really do loving this place, so we spent two nights here although we only stayed 4days in Florence . But one thing makes us mad is that the waitress standing by the door who serves welcome drink to every customer walked in, she did do that except to us, why?? Just because of our Asian faces?? I observed for almost 20mins as while we were waiting for the seat arrangement, she gave the champagne to the customers in front of us and after us, just passed us! I don't know whether it's kind of racist or sth else, we do feel unhappy! Half and hour later, her supervisor told us to wait 5min more and maybe noticed that we don't have any drinks and ask her to give us one. The waiters inside are very nice and we spent a wonderful night there. read more

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Honestly, who gives a crap about the food when you get to eat in a live archaeological site ... and they serve free Prosecco. The atmosphere downstairs absorbs you. It's intimate, it's interesting, and it's engaging. If you're boring or bad at first dates, this is the spot to make yourself seem more interesting. Not only that, but you can eat your face off sharing small plates. What's more fun than trying a variety of dishes? Literally nothing. That's why Vegas is full of buffets. Plus, there are plenty of conversation pieces, and as previously mentioned, there is free Prosecco. FREE Prosecco. Free stuff is the 2nd best thing after food. Stop lying to yourself. You know you love free shit and delicious meals just as much as I do. Why else would you be on Yelp reading this lame review right now? read more

Super cool restaurant! The calamari and salmon wrapped in thin salmon were our favorites. The restaurant itself is charming and highlights its past by showcasing the onsite excavation. Beautiful frescos on the ceilings. read more

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Beautiful ambiance as others have stated. Service was lacking and although I've heard that is the norm outside of the US this was the worst we experienced. Food was mediocre. Ordered the mixed seafood fritti -no sardines as well as the risotto (smaller portion). The fish had a fishy taste rather than a fresh seafood taste. We heard the seafood would be better closer to the water. The prices were reasonable, but we would not return. My recommendation is to stop by here for the ambiance/photo opportunity but eat elsewhere. read more

Fresh & delicious seafood in Florence. Moderately priced, very small portions. Don't bother getting a few small bites, get a whole lot. Great hang out for drinks & dinner -- always full of locals every time I go or walk by. We were told we'd wait 20 mins for a table, we waited maybe 5 mins. Location is great, inside is unique & ancient Italian. Would love to come back, but will come with a small appetite. Loved Fishing Lab -- would recommend to friends & family. read more

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Tasty fresh raw bar, generous service, friendly staff had a great experience. Well recommended!

Great location, less than 1000 feet from Il Duomo. Seafood, pasta, extensive wine list.

Grea see bass and they will cut it for you! Modern desgin blend with Italian culture. read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

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This was one of the better non-Italian meals we had while in Italy. It's hard to compare it to anything else because it is unique in that it serves fresh fish at a great price with no fuss and its a break from all italian all the time. read more

We were lucky to get a table & started with the oysters, tuna tartare, caprese salad, anchovies, & rockfish cakes. All delicious! The oysters were delicate & subtle. The squeeze of orange was just right to add a little acid. read more

Fishing Lab Firenze - Tuna Buns! - Seafood Near Me - Florence, FI

During my time in Florence, the gf and I walked by Fishing Lab a few times going between the Duomo and Uffizi. Every time we walked by, we talked about how it looked intriguing and how we should try it, but for the first few days, we always managed to eat before crossing through. Our last day in Florence, we made a point to try out the place that we kept saying looked good. It's located pretty much right between the Duomo and Uffizi, and somehow manages to be a little distance from the nearest gelato stand. From the outside, it shows a hint of a modern eatery, with a few tables and the bar visible from the front door. Going inside, the décor is well lit, modern, and a respectable and tasteful utilization of the narrow space they have. We were seated at one of the two-tops nearest the bar quickly and without a wait. The menu is a variety of obvious seafood options, ranging from raw to fried. Wanting to sample both ends of the spectrum, we ordered both some raw bites, as well as some fried goodies from the street food section. What I appreciated the most about Fishing Lab is that the service is extremely efficient and attentive. I'd grown accustomed to a more relaxed (slow) pace when it comes to food service in Europe, but Fishing Lab's vast staff team of people were quick to seat, take orders, follow up, and clear plates in an attentive and efficient manner. Needless to say, the food we ordered came quickly and looking delicious. Although the raw fish was good, I have to say that the street food was the star of this snack. A tuna bun along with some fried fish balls were things new and unique to me, as street food in America doesn't always go the route of fish. I was also introduced to zafferano cream sauce, which was like the greatest condiment I'd ever tasted in my life. Great with fries and better on fried fish, I found myself enamored with it, and grew green with envy at its availability in Italy. Overall, Fishing Lab was a pleasant surprise of a great dining experience in Florence. As much as I spent eating as much pasta and pizza as I could, it turns out that the fish from Fishing Lab stands out just as strongly as all the Italian traditional classics that I indulged in. The space is aesthetically pleasing, the staff friendly and efficient, and the ability to purchase small or meal-sized portions on things made it easy to be economical with my euros. This is a business that could probably succeed in any metropolitan city in the world, but Florence gets the privilege of having one of them. I would undoubtedly come back to Fishing Lab if I'm ever in Florence again, and I'd recommend it to any friend who plans on going and wants something other than traditional Italian dishes. read more

Incredible!!! The best meal we had in Florence. The mussels, salmon, tuna, sauces, wine recommendations, and everything else were so on point. Service was friendlier than other touristy places in the neighborhood. Absolutely do not pass up this delicious food!!!!! read more