Excellent seafood/sicilian in Bologna. So you're in bologna,…read morewhich means there's an infinite number of places where you can get brilliant bolognese cuisine. However, there _are_ plenty of places for other Italian alternatives - this for example, is one of them. Sicilian food done well, and with a heavy focus on seafood (of course). And yeah, they're welcoming, friendly, and all around nice people...

When you're tired of heavy Emilian dishes, come to this charming seafood-focused Sicilian spot for…read morea leisurely lunch in their gorgeous back garden. It's a favorite of the local Unibo and Johns Hopkins professors who work nearby.

Delicious food and friendly service. They have a variety of options and they also have good prices.read more

Final review for Florence. This is a hidden gem. Great coffee, the best arancini I've ever had,…read morewonderful gelato (in a brioche bun) and surprisingly awesome dinner for a tiny shop. Staff were very friendly and the product across the board was amazing. Great outdoor seating area. Highly recommend for a relaxing casual stop from breakfast coffee to dinner.

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.

Sicilian seafood restaurant , and a very good one at that…read more Mind you, it's also in Bologna, which means you Dan get all your classic Bolognese thingies, but why would you do that? It's seafood you're here for, and Sicilian versions thereof. And boy how're, is it good! Add in a kind and pleasant waitstaff , an owner that's more than happy to chat with you, and an excellent wine list, and the result is happiness! (Oh yeah. Also cannoli, and excellentbknew at that!)

This was a great place to have an Italian lunch. We have de menu de mate and menu de terra. The…read moremenu de mare was tuna balls and rice with octupus and potato's. The menu de terra was pork with penne. Great value.

Needed a reservation to get a table outside for dinner. Lovely alleyway and courtyard that is…read moreprivate and quiet. Saw many turned away without reservations. Food was 4*. Seafood salad was fresh and abundant. Pasta vongole was solid, with many clams. Grilled beef dish was moist and full of flavor. Service could use some improvement. Moderately friendly and better to locals than tourists. Our dishes were lost in the kitchen for some time as others who sat well after us were receiving food and we were not. Took them awhile to notice. No apology or oops, which would have gone a long way. Overall experience mixed. Would look for another rather than return.

Service was awful. Rude waiter who didn't have time to answer questions. Food was okay, but…read morenothing great. There are a ton of great places in Bologna. Skip this one.

The wait staff were cordial and amazing, seating us at a street-side table before our reservation…read moretime. We had an appetizer and bottle of wine to share. My wife had the lasagne for her entree, I had seafood. My wife said her lasagne was different from the last place she had it a couple days earlier in Bologna, but no less spectacular. I agreed, and my seafood was nothing less. The ambiance on a quiet side street (maybe in the Jewish quarter) was a great way to enjoy a Bolognese night.

Loved this little gem--food was great, service was nice and watching pasta being made was the bonus.read more

There are many excellent restaurants in Florence, but of all the places I've eaten over the years,…read moreZa Za stood out by far! Our party ordered four dishes: seafood pasta, shrimp pasta, fish, and steak. We loved everything! Each dish was perfectly seasoned and cooked to perfection. The service was great, and they offer both indoor and outdoor seating. Be sure to make a reservation, as the wait can be long without one.

No water, salty food, and a server (CHAIME) who literally yelled at us…read more In all my time dining out, I have never had a server literally scream at me, but that was unfortunately the highlight of our night here. From the moment we sat down, our server (Chaime) treated us with disdain. While the food itself was overly salty, the service was far worse: * Ignored for simple requests: We asked for water immediately upon being seated and followed up three times throughout the night. Despite ordering heavily--a steak, pasta, omelet, and salad (while surrounding tables shared a single dish)--we never received water during our dinner. We had to eat our entire meal with nothing to drink. * Clear bias: Tables seated long after us were given water immediately upon seating and had their orders taken well before us. * Neglect until the check: Water was only brought alongside the check, and even then, we had to ask separately for cups. When I calmly asked Chaime why our water took so long, especially given that a nearby table seated as we finished was served water right away, she told me to speak with the manager. However, when I attempted to explain the situation to her, Chaime immediately cut me off and began yelling at me. I never raised my voice once. Yet, as she was yelling, she taunted me, asking, "What tone? You gonna cry? Huh?" To be treated with such hostility and malice simply for asking about basic service is completely unacceptable. Management needs to address this server's hostile behavior immediately. Save your money and go somewhere where guests are treated with basic respect.

Absolutely a must stop in Florence. I'll make this semi short. The staff were absolutely amazing…read more Our place was reasonably close so we finished a few nights here....even after eating all day. Pizza, pasta, desserts were all amazing. Was with 7 other family members and they sat us at the same table each night. I recommend everything, but the sausage/red pepper pasta was unique and I make this at home all the time now. The dough used for everything was light and perfect. In the end, we were in Florence for 4 nights and we finished her 3 of them.

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.

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.