My wife and I decided to go to the Old Irish Stove in Florence specifically because it was "Irish". We recieved a very traditional Florentine welcome upon entering the city, which is cold, curt, and aggressively antagonistic to foreigners, especially Americans. So we thought it would be good to try and stay out of the way of the locals and we thought it best to stay near other English speakers. We did so regretfully but tried to understand their ambivalence to hosting so many tourists.
When we arrived at the Old Irish Stove it had only a few people sitting around (at prime dinner and drinks time), and its atmosphere didnt fit the name at all. Loud techno music was playing, every person at the bar was Italian, and the only beer, drink, or food that was "Irish" was Guinness. We shrugged and said "whatever lets give it a shot". Before sitting we said we were only interested in ordering drinks and asked the host if that was okay. We were assured it was so we sat. As soon as it was apparent to the server however that we weren't going to order food he became rude.
The short waiter with spiky hair and a "boy face" brought us our check after 1 drink and without asking (a bad sign in Italy). We declined and said we wanted a few more drinks, and were a little shocked seeing as there were still multiple empty tables. Why run away paying customers? After our second drink they brought us the check again. This time we flat out asked "are we allowed to stay for another drink or do you want us to leave?" (in Italian mind you, I can speak conversational Italian pretty well). The waiter said we were welcome to stay and I asked for a Hugo spritz, which is commonly seen as a girly afternoon drink, not a drink a large 6'2" bearded American would order at night. He then muttered under his breath an Italian insult that basically translates into calling me woman (but a bit more mean than that). I was shocked at his willingness to say this to me since the bar was essentially empty on a Friday night without a football game on. Doubly so because I had probably a foot and a half and 100 pounds on him and he looked like he could fit into a carry on luggage bag.
It ruined our night, especially since we specifically had gone to this restaurant to avoid the hate English speakers are prone to receive in Florence. We read other reviews on google, trip advisor, and yelp, and saw other people saying this same waiter had treated them poorly and was mean to English speakers. Why in gods name this IRISH BAR decides to employ people who actively dislike and insult English speakers is beyond me. If you read the responses from the owner of Old Stove to other low reviews you'll see the rudeness doesn't stop at the waiters. The owner and managers basically tell people who had bad experiences to "eff off" and "never come back". The responses from the owners honestly sound like a child's response, and reminded me ironically of American High School children. So much for hospitality!
Despite my love for the Italian culture, food, art, history, people, and the language we still received nothing but disdain. We saw the Uffizi, the Duomo, and David then cut our stay in Florence short and went to rural Tuscany where the locals treated us like family. It's not hard to see why the people of Siena still have a bad opinion of Florence and for our next trip we will avoid Florence entirely and make Siena our home. Good Riddance. read more