Was in Florence for a day trip and found this wonderful restaurant. We were met by Nicolo at the…read moredoor and made our experience memorable. The entire staff made us feel like home. Food and wine was excellent.! Would like to thank Mauricio as well. Thank you.

In a town of Bistecca alla fiorentina, this restaurant was recommended to us and it delivered…read more The gnocchi was a fantastic way to start our meal. Creamy and spicy, only if you mix in the hot parts. They come to table and weigh the meat in front of you so you know what you're paying for. It is cooked rare or medium rare. This is NOT like steakhouses in NYC. In its own category. It was presented with melting bone marrow, sea salt and cut off the bone. Extremely flavorful and tender. My only issue is that the fat doesn't render and there was silverskin in some pieces making it inedible, plus you've paid for this by weight. Great attentive service by Nick

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.

Love this place. Been coming here for years! Food is excellent! Thanks Marco for always taking…read moregreat care of us. This visit we had the Cinghiale salumi and onion flan with truffles, 2 kinds of pasta- one with Cinghiale and one with truffles, bistecca Fiorentina (of course), white beans with olive oil, and sauté spinach with garlic. AMAZING!

Prior to arriving, I had done quite a bit of research. We only had 36 hours in Florence, so I…read morewanted to make the most of our time and choose the best of the best. Osteria del Cinghiale quickly popped up on my radar, so I asked the concierge at our hotel to make us a reservation. It's clearly a very popular spot--when we arrived, there was already a line up at the door. The Mr. had the sirloin strip steak with roasted potatoes. I had the beef filet with Chianti sauce as well as roasted potatoes. Our steaks were cooked to a perfect medium rare and the potatoes were so satisfying. We shared an order of grilled vegetables and had a carafe of the house red which we enjoyed. In fact, we loved everything about our experience. The food, the vibe, the service was all amazing! For dessert, we shared the tiramisu and the strawberries with mascarpone cream. The tiramisu was the best we've ever tasted anywhere. In our two week's stay in Italy, this was one of our favorite meals of the trip! To avoid disappointment, please make a reservation.

Great food and atmosphere. Other reviewers mentioned that the place seems to be family-run by four…read morebrothers and that looks like it is still the case. We were able to roll up without a reservation and only waited about 30 minutes total. Guy working the reservations/walk-ins gave us free prosecco while we waited. Food was fantastic, they clearly care very much about the quality of their ingredients and the presentation of the dish. Great hole-in-the-wall place and they have a clear passion for good music too as they would turn up the songs that they particularly liked. Place was a whole vibe. Highly recommend.

This place is absolutely amazing! The vibes are the first thing you'll notice. Great Wall art,…read moremusic, etc. Then there is the food which is incredible. We tried 4 out of the 5 pastas and all of them were excellent. The flower zucchini pasta is a must get. LOVED the caprese salad, so fresh and yummy. The parm on zucchini salad was perfection.

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.

I love Firenze! It's my home away from home. It's the place I go to feel happy…read more Part of that happiness, is discovery, new places, and realizing that, without exception, I thankfully have never had a bad meal in Florence, Italy. Trattoria Pallottino it's just that. A new discovery, and a menu filled with yummy sounding food. This definitely is a locals only location, and, despite the fact that seating is very, very tight, it seems to be a local date spot, both for dating couples, as well as, married couples. Once we tried the food, it was easy to see why. I ordered the eggplant Parmesan, because I had been craving a favorite, and it definitely did not disappoint. It was layered to look like lasagna, and for once, I was able to finish my entire meal in one sitting. The portions are average, not too generous, not too minimal . Lasagna was also ordered because just like gelato, we sometimes feel compelled to try the same dish in different places to compare which one is better than the last. I had a couple of bites of the lasagna, and while I found it to be tasty, but not anything extraordinary. Especially, after I just had amazing lasagna in Venice, this one definitely did not necessarily meet that mark. Service was impeccable, and the gentleman that runs the restaurant is not only attractive, but he was incredibly welcoming. Everything about the restaurant is super tight, and when crowded, you definitely need to feel comfortable sitting next to people that you may or may not know. They offer a variety of wines and other beverages, and I love the fact that it's frequented by locals versus tourists. The restrooms are a little bit of a trip... Nothing is necessarily obvious about how anything in the restroom works from the lighting, to turning the water on at the sinks. There's a foot pedal for the water in the sinks, and some other contraption to actually turn the lights on. The bathrooms are clean though, and that's a huge plus. Go for the eggplant, and stay for the enjoyment of dining with locals.

I would say 3.5 stars. Food was good but nothing special. Florentine Steak was made to what it is…read moresupposed to be. Pasta was good, again nothing special. Service was good and Ambiance was rustic.

One of the best steakhouses you'll ever try. Highly recommend. Service impeccable, steak and sides…read morewere great. Get the tiramisu for dessert.

I have been dreaming of having bistecca alla fiorentina ever since I can remember. Back in the…read morestates, I always get strange reactions from the waiters when I order my steak "as rare as possible." That is what I was expecting in Italy. Am I the only one that thought steak florentine was supposed to be served this way? Maybe that's was my mistake but I thought that's how it was prepared in Florence. Anyways, I was immediately suspicious when our waitress asked how we would like our steak cooked and her suggestions were medium or medium well. Uhhhh what? That goes against everything I believe in! The steak came out on a hot stone slab on top of a wooden box. The slab obviously continued to cook the steak so I immediately took off a few pieces to prevent this. The steak was thick and tender with chunks of large salt grains. It looked nice all sliced up but that's where the compliments end. It lacked flavor and ended up cooking to be more medium rare when I grabbed my pieces and then even medium by the time my dad grabbed his second slice. Our waitress seemed annoyed when we asked for the truffle sauce to accompany our steak (my dad forgot to ask for it when we placed our original order) and walked away with a huff to go grab it. The fries came out cold and limp with flavorless truffle shavings on top. I'm not sure why this place has such great reviews. Maybe it got too big for its britches and the quality has declined? The one saving grace was the crema bruciata! And the very understanding hostess who gladly pushed our reservation from 7:30 to 8:00pm due to travel difficulties. Whatever the reason, this place definitely missed the mark. You can't walk three steps without seeing a steakhouse here in Florence. My recommendation? Try one of those.

What an amazing evening at La Giostra! The restaurant is beautiful, warm and full of character. It…read morefeels special from the moment you walk through the door. We started with a Cynar Spritz and Aperol Spritz, along with the complimentary bruschetta with chicken liver pâté, tomato and artichoke. We also tried several appetizers, including roasted eggplant, roasted peppers, artichokes and the spinach-and-ricotta dumplings. And the fried zucchini was out of this world -- absolutely one of the highlights of the meal! For dinner, I had the sliced steak with aglio e olio, accompanied by roasted potatoes, carrots and rosemary. The steak was delicious and perfectly prepared. Jim had the cacio e pepe, and Tom had the seafood pasta. All three entrées were excellent. The wine list is enormous, and the atmosphere is unlike anywhere else. Soldano Kunz d'Asburgo Lorena, from the Habsburg-Lorraine family behind La Giostra, is quite a personality. He moves around the restaurant greeting guests and has the presence of a rock star -- he really adds to the experience. We eat at a lot of restaurants in Florence, and La Giostra was a memorable one. Beautiful setting, excellent food, great cocktails and a wonderfully lively atmosphere. We will absolutely return. Highly recommended!

Tourists Beware: Check Your Bill Carefully!…read more We were pleased with the food and the service at La Giostra a restaurant in Florence. Unfortunately, what happened at the end of the meal left us with a very negative impression. When the bill arrived, the entire check was in Italian, but one message was prominently displayed in large English letters: "GRATUITY NOT INCLUDED." We found this tacky and off-putting, and it gave us the impression that the restaurant was more interested in catering to tourists than creating a welcoming dining experience. We gave our waiter a generous tip, in part because he was standing over us while we paid, making us feel rushed and uncomfortable. We didn't have a proper opportunity to review the bill before paying. When we returned to our accommodations and finally examined the receipt, we discovered that we had been charged for an extra bottle of wine that we never ordered. This was especially frustrating because we had already left a generous tip, only to discover that we had been overcharged for something we never received. It's a shame because the food was good and the service was good. However, the prominently displayed tip message, feeling rushed to pay, and the charge for wine we never ordered put a bad taste in our mouths at the end of the meal -- no pun intended! My advice to fellow tourists visiting Florence: Be careful and thoroughly check your bill before paying. Don't let anyone rush you. Take the time to verify every item, especially when ordering wine, and make sure you are being charged only for what you actually ordered. What could have been an enjoyable dining experience ended on a sour note. I hope this review helps other travelers avoid the same experience.

Trattoria Ruggero is such a cute neighborhood place and happens to be right near our apartment, so…read morewe decided to give it a try for dinner. We arrived at 7:00 and were seated right away. We both started with Aperol Spritzes. Jim ordered the pasta alla carrettiera, and I had the roasted pork chop. We shared the fagioli all'uccelletto on the side. Everything was delicious, portions were good, and the prices were very reasonable--especially for Florence. We really enjoyed the relaxed, traditional trattoria atmosphere. Great food, good value, and definitely a place we'll be returning to.

Unless you're truly "in the know," chances are you won't find yourself dining at Trattoria da…read moreRuggero. Tucked away off the beaten path, it's not the kind of restaurant frequented by tourists. Lucky for the Mr. and me, I happened to discover this hidden gem during my research process. We had enjoyed a large breakfast, so we decided to share the pork loin chop, an order of sautéed zucchini, and the apple cake. Everything was delicious, and we especially appreciated the warm, friendly service and the rustic vibe of the restaurant. It was so charming! At the end of our meal, our server even offered to call us a taxi. It was well worth the walk to enjoy such a delicious lunch at this charming, off-the-beaten-path restaurant.

The food and staff were amazing and had great suggestions. The ordered the steak, probably the best…read moresteak ever and my pasta was homemade and delicious. Location of the restaurant was an easy walk from the center.

We had a lovely dinner at Trattoria Giovanni. We loved how cozy, spacious, and genuinely local it…read morefelt, like eating at your grandma's house. It's close enough to the lively, bustling part of Firenze to feel connected, yet just far enough to escape the city's never-ending wave of tourists. The service was incredible, and the owner (I'm pretty sure it was the owner?) brought so much energy that he single-handedly turned the whole place into an eclectic little spot during the "rush hour" of the evening. The menu was solid, if a bit "generic" at times. While everything we ordered was delicious, nothing at Trattoria Giovanni felt like a dish you couldn't find elsewhere... and honestly, that's perfectly fine! It was traditional, comforting, and exactly what we were craving. The plate of cured meats and cheese was phenomenal, a great start to the meal. The pastas were really good as well, though one of the meat dishes had a slightly off texture, with the chunks of meat a bit overcooked. All in all, we loved our meal and would definitely recommend this spot if you're in Florence.