We had an absolutely outstanding dinner at Borgo San Jacopo for my husband's birthday back in…read moreOctober. The restaurant itself is both cozy and beautiful and the service was attentive without feeling like someone was hovering over you all evening. We were given the option of ordering a la carte or a choice of 3 tasting menus with the caveat that if you choose a tasting menu the whole table must choose the same one. We went with a tasting menu and really loved the number of courses that it allowed us to sample. Favorite dishes were the ricotta snack, risotto with meatballs, the lamb loin and the salted caramel peanut bonbon at the end. The mushroom ice cream that was served with the crudités was very interesting and we also loved the house made olive oil. They really made my husband's birthday feel special and it was one of our best meals in Italy.

Absolutely phenomenal. The presentation was amazing. The staff were amazing. Ambiance was perfect…read more Every attention to detail was noticed and appreciated. The staff truly enjoys their job and the chef is doing wonders. Did not have a single bad bite.

Al fresco along the Arno is unmatched, so the ambiance was perfect for dinner. The streets weren't…read moretoo crowded, so I sat in peace and people-watched. My servers were helpful by answering my questions. My pasta dish was just okay and that's where the one star was lost. I cannot recall what the name of my appetizer was, but it was lamb and very flavorful! I would eat there again.

It's a perfect little spot to catch lunch outside or have a bottle of wine to people watch. There…read morewere only two tings that I didn't like; one of which I don't think the restaurant has much control over. That being said, the first thing was the service. It's rather slow. I don't know if it's slow to me because crazy Americans think everything should be faster than not. So I wish I could give half stars. They are super nice ..,it just took a while to get my order in. The second thing that I don't think they can control is the people who walk around trying to sell you something. They're a bit aggressive. With me looking like them, they beelined for me the two times we sat there near the entrance. So I suggest sitting inside away from that because they can't come in. There is this little cute table that we sat at that is on the edge of the inside but the window is a roll up window giving you access to the outside patio. That is where the can still get to you but can't come all the way in....except this one lady. She stepped all the way in....i was shocked. And got aggressive with me when I told her no thank you. The trick?...they told me "I'm beautiful" "like your natural hair..." and since they liked me, they said "I give to you..." and handed me two bracelets and a fan. I said no thank you and she kept shouting "excuse me...I give to you..." I set them on the table and she gave me the son story of being pregnant and since she give to me, I should give to her for the gift. I said no one final time and she snatched everything off the table and left...FINALLY. Ugh. So not sure if the restaurant can do more but they need to.

Amazing pasta dish with fresh truffles on it. Wine selection is fabulous. Charming ambience and…read moregreat service

Were able to snag an outside table walk in but certainly they fill up quickly and a reservation…read moreprobably would have been better. We grabbed a bottle of wine on a warmer June afternoon after a day of exploring, which was definitely refreshing. The location isn't much as it overlooks a pretty bare piazza. The service can be a bit on the slower side, especially when I walked in and tried to get the bill. But still if you're able to get a table it's a pretty quaint wine bar. It seemed like they had some flights/tastings, which would have been an interesting option.

Stopped in for a break in our travels through Florence. Enjoyed a very nice write wine, Cesani…read moreVernaccia Di San Gimignano. Our waiter, who is a sommelier, gave us a great insight into our wine. Very knowledgeable and funny, which made our stop so much better. Our trip May turn into a dinner later on our Italian vacation. A little history shoe this wine ideas in the top 4% of wines in the US! So enjoyable!!

Everything. Warm welcome. Good food, excellent bisteca Fiorentina. Good wine selection. Perfect…read moredinner.

Peak fine dining experience…read more The location alone is one of a kind. Located in the heart of Florence inside Hotel Brunelleschi, in a tower, they have very limited seating. The reservation process alone was an adventure in itself. Our visit was to celebrate 3 Libra birthdays. Our party of 4 opted for the 9 courses. One of us decided to do the wine pairing. When I tell you, there was so much food. We would've probably been better off doing the 7 courses, but we wanted to eat everything. We were all falling asleep by the end of the night. One was nonstop yawning. To the unfamiliar, they focus more on seafood. Every dish is out of this world. Down to the presentation. I savored every bite. The standout for me was the oyster and how it came in two parts. It was so innovative. I loved the sauces that accented the protein and the jus. Don't even get me started on the service. What an attentive team. I always refer to it as poetry in motion the way the team moves effortlessly that you don't even realize when they refill your glass of water. No crumb was left behind on that table. Someone scraped up anything that didn't belong on the table after every course. Lastly, I just want to mention what a great job they did with the birthday cake that was an add-on to our meal. It was so damn good. Grazie Chef Rocco and team for an amazing meal.

In Florence, I got super lucky in that Santa Elisabetta was a 5 min walk from my hotel, and that…read morethey had reservations available the next day for lunch, so I booked a table for one. The restaurant is located in a tiny space (just 6 tables) within a 13th century stone tower. There was only one other person in the restaurant during the entire duration of my meal - which meant that both my server and the 'overall server' were pretty focused on us the entire time. My server even escorted me up to the restaurant once I arrived at the location. I don't mean to sound too hyperbolic, but it feels like I ascended to a higher plane of existence when it comes to dining. I ordered the Carte Blanche option, which was a 3 course tasting menu of whatever the chef chose from the main dishes. The meal consisted of 7 separate sections, each with their specific parts. Firstly, it started with an amuse bouche, which consisted of 5 separate small dishes - there was chicken liver, prawn, oysters, and so on. It was in this very first meal that I realized I was going to have a meal that far exceeded the quality of anything that I've had before. Next, the bread came out, and this bread was just astounding. I was seeing types of bread I've never seen before. My favorite part of this was what looks like the focaccia, with lardo on top. The first main course was raw red prawns and caviar. It was my first time trying caviar, which I absolutely loved Next came what might be the best food I've had in my life - a spaghetti made with 3 different types of algae butter, and sea urchins. I can't even describe how good this pasta was - from the noodles, to the meat, to the natural, earthy flavors Before dessert, there was a mood cleanser of hibiscus tea and chocolate mousse. Dessert consisted of yogurt froth, kiwi, and namaleka, and was so good it exceeded a melt-in-your-mouth feeling. I thought I was done at this point, but they brought out another set of 5 smaller pastries - compliments of the pastry chef. These included a pistachio cream lollipop, french biscuits, madeleine, and more The cost of the Carte Blanche that I ordered was 159 euros, and I also got a glass of champagne for 25 euros I spent over 2 hours at this restaurant - way longer than I thought it would actually be. Like I said, this was my first fine dining experience of any kind, so I really had no idea what to expect. I was absolutely blown away by this experience and consider it to be 100% worth the money. For me - this felt like every single part of this experience was perfect. Everything I ate here was a massive step above any food I've had in the past. The quality is unreal. The variety is unparalleled. There are ingredients used here that I've never seen before - and stuff I didn't even know was edible. The amount of different food I got to try was like nothing I've experienced before. I left the restaurant incredibly full and completely satisfied

Lovely friendly helpful server Camilla, tasty wine & the most delicious sandwich ever, the…read moreFranchino!!! I would eat lunch here daily if I lived in Florence. Travelers, rest yourself and enjoy.

This is a very busy sandwich shop, generally full of locals, just off the beautiful Piazza Santa…read moreCroce. The staff is always crazy busy and the place runs surprisingly smooth. It's got a great menu, charcuterie platters and sandwiches, a nice selection of wines, they serve a really good spritz, and the prices are good. There's usually something going on in the piazza and it's a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio so it's a regular stop for me when I'm in Firenze. Five Stars

We had a great dinner when in town for a conference. Walter was very friendly and attentive. We…read moreenjoyed several antipastos and entrees- would highly recommend if in town!

Cozy spot with fantastic food and the kindest service. (Grazie Walter!) Great for an easy, classic…read moreFlorentine meal. Don't miss the bruschetta. The name is slightly different than the name listed here -- Osteria Cacio e Vino.

Restaurant opens right on the dot with no one answering the phone a minute beforehand (we tried to…read moresee if we could move our reservation but no one answered). Restaurant is nice with maybe 6-7 tables inside but service was quite slow. We made reservations in advance but a few others were lucky to walk in and get a seat. Enjoyed the pork cutlet as it was cooked perfect and had great flavors but the other pasta and octopus items we had were very small portions and tasted just ok and we left hungry. The bistecca looked amazing and large portion size from what I saw at other tables but didnt get to try that this time around.

We weren't in Florence for so long so really needed a solid place to try Florentine steak and this…read morewas a great option. The vibe itself is cool (automatic door walking in, dungeon-like walls with cute decorations). Walking to your table you walk by a huge wine selection, which can be overwhelming. We started with the asparagus and peas salad. This was pretty solid, simple but it worked. We grabbed the spaghetti with the cream of asparagus-normally wouldn't order so much asparagus but this was the pasta that sounded the most interesting to us and we did ultimately end up enjoying the sauce quite a bit and it was one of the better pasta dishes we had in Italy. Got a side of the white beans which we probably didn't need but didn't mind. The steak: first of all it's very sizable. The Florentine way is rarer than I would ever order a steak and while I'm glad I tried it, I probably wouldn't choose it again. It's an interesting ordering process as you're essentially given the sizes they have left there for the night so you never know walking exactly how much you'll pay. I do appreciate that they cut it for you but I did feel like some of the meat was still on the bone (not that we really needed MORE meat I just didn't want to waste any). The flavoring is pretty good but there are definitely bites that are better than the others. The service was a bit mixed. There were times they were interested in talking with us while others they didn't seem so interested and a bit aloof. This was especially true when we went to check out. Ultimately, served its purpose in introducing us to a style of steak we hadn't had before and did so in a way that we enjoyed.