Upfront confession that my experience was part of a vacation package, but I am so thankful it was…read moreincluded. We received a cooking demonstration from the owner and chef Matteo Sciarri. Matteo was humble, funny and informative; sharing tips on how we could recreate the dishes he created for us. Our starter was a savory pumpkin flan. Chef Matteo made fresh pici pasta with a spectacular garlic and green tomato sauce topped with hot pepper (capsicum) strands. I've made my own pasta before, so I know it is not as easy as he made it seem, but it has inspired me to try again, because fresh pasta cannot be beat! The restaurant is intimate, and the inside is absolutely gorgeous. The teal color walls against the exposed stone is eye catching. If you can, grab a seat by the functioning well; the running water is so soothing as you dine (or it might make you want to use the toilet a lot!)

We had a cooking class with Mateo and it was FANTASTIC!! We had the WHOLE resturaunt to ourselves…read moreand 1 other couple - FROM THE US!!! We could not believe it!! They were lovely. Mateo really took the time to explain how to cook specialty items, and the importance of knowing your ingredients and knowing your equipment. He also detailed how "where" you live can cause a need for adjustments in cooking temps & times. I am so grateful for his motto of "no secrets in the kitchen". For him, it is all about sharing and collaboration. We started with popcorn sprinkled w/ paprika. I have never had it like that before and it was so light and tasty. The 2nd course was a pumpkin flan. He taught us the rule of balancing - 4. 1) 2oz eggs, 2) 2oz kitchen cream(or heavy cream), 3) 2oz milk and 4) 2oz pumpkin (or fig or veg, etc.). It was SO GOOD. Topped with sweet peppers shaved like saffron, a pistachio crema, & pistachio pieces. Little dallops of basil & pistachio gelee circled the little flan disc as pops of brightly flavored bursts. OMG!! Delectable! Paired with a rich Sangeovese, it was amazing!! Then we moved on to the 3rd course. Pici pasta. The pasta was superb! Fresh, fresh, fresh! with a home made green tomatoe and elephant ear garlic sauce. A deep "Super Tuskan" red to accompany was perfection. For dessert we had Cantucci and Vinsanto. What a lovely night!

We had an amazing vegan meal - they prepared 5 courses for our table of 6 vegans, and each course…read morewas better than the next. Everything was so fresh - so many ingredients straight from their garden. We sat outside and enjoyed an incredible evening! Perfect!!

From the owner: Unico ristorante 100% vegetariano/vegano in zona, con piatti biologici preparati giornalmente…read moresoltanto con prodotti freschi e di stagione. Selezione di vini e birre biologiche e artigianali.

Stopped in for lunch after reading good reviews about this vegetarian cafe/shop. We both ordered…read morefrom the lunch special which allowed you to get a pasta, a side and a special. The food was good but a little on the salty side. Still nice to have a vegetarian restaurant option!

Brac is strong in concept but middling in execution. The idea of building your own plate (a 3 item…read morebespoke sampler) is appealing but doesn't overcome the lacking flavor of the individual dishes. The green lasagna and chickpea tempeh were both surprisingly bland despite enticing descriptions. The big winner was the beet salad which I could have eaten three times that night. The service was friendly but the approach to the meal is overly theatric when they should just double down on great food. Right now they're style over substance. But major props for all vegetarian food in Italy!

Fantastic and inexpensive pitas. Really nice staff. Fresh ingredients and vegetarian friendly…read more Owner Alessandro speaks great English and cook Barbara is very kind. Super glad I found this place.

Delicious! Worth checking out. It's very local so either get there right when it opens or have a…read morereservation. Prices are affordable. If you are looking for something different. Menu changes daily. Vegan options. A nice change of pace for those of us who also eat meat but want to finally limit it. Also the way it works is that you order ahead and pay and then the food is brought to your table. Service isn't exactly warm but they are quick and efficient with your meals.

We're always very excited to try a 100% vegetarian restaurant knowing we can eat anything we want…read moreon the menu and we were excited to learn that Il Vegetariano existed. It's a bit of a walk outside of the center of Florence but we'd thought we'd see what the Italian vegetarian focus experience was like. It was serviceable, but not as great as we'd hoped. The concept is interesting...the menu changes every day depending on the whims of that days chef, so our experience could have been informed a bit by just what we experienced that day, and might have been completely different on another day. An issue sometimes with all vegetarian restaurants is they specialize in the concept of being vegetarianism, without necessarily specializing in a particular kind of food which can lead to a mish-mash of disconnected offerings which is what we found on the menu here. The night we were there, for example you could get Italian, Indian, and strudel main dishes...all vegetarian, but otherwise not specializing in any particular type of food. We also didn't have a reservation. They were nice enough to seat us, but the restaurant was not at all full in any of its rooms (at any point when we were there) and the person who seated us, made a point of telling us they prefer reservations and then seated us at probably the least desirable table in the restaurant, right next to the cash register and right across from the salads display case which was the most trafficked area of the restaurant with people ordering their food hovering right over our table. We definitely felt like we were being unnecessarily punished with this table, especially when there were plenty of other places we could have sat and the overall demeanor of the person who seated us made us feel like she felt like she was doing us a big favor and she had her limits. So kind of a bummer of an introduction to the place. You order by writing down what you want on a slip of paper they provide you with, and then bringing that to the cashier to pay. That's fine, but it's not exactly "service" like you might get at any other sit down restaurant with servers and a wait staff. The food came extremely quickly...at the same time as the wine...It's hard to complain about quick service, but at most other places we experience in Italy (and the rest of the world for that matter) you get your wine first and can enjoy it a bit before the food shows up. We felt rushed. Also, and I'm sure I'm coming off as awfully picky, but you can see the high scores I typically give in my other reviews so...but the chairs were really uncomfortable to sit on. I typically don't think about the chairs at restaurants...these chairs made me think about them. My wife and I shared a lasagna and a greens-filled calzone-like pastry for our mains. Both of these portions were super-large...we appreciate generosity in portions, but these were just too large for us to be able to finish...both, especially the lasagna were really rich and heavy dishes too. They checked the box for being vegetarian but didn't excel to star dishes in terms of flavor or presentation that we'd want again. The desserts looked amazing but by the time we had eaten as much as we could of the mains, we just didn't want anything else or to hang around. We had many vegetarian-friendly meals at many restaurants in the cities we visited in Italy on this trip. This one was easily the most disappointing. If we lived in town we might come by to try the desserts or to see if it's a completely different experience with an unnecessary reservation and different chef...but otherwise, it wasn't really worth the walk out of the center of Florence to eat here.

We stopped by for a light snack one night while in Pienza. Cute little place! Friendly owners who…read moreare well-versed in their local wines. We had a few glasses of local vino and a Salumi plate that cost 10 euro but was so large we had to get the owners to wrap up half of it for us to takeaway. One on of the side streets within the old town. I'd go back.

Great service, food quality and atmosphere. The owner's English is perfect, so helped me order…read morewhat would suit my taste buds the best, and he was correct. Great cheeses and great wine at a fantastic price. Thanks for the yummy lunch! Note: If you're looking for pasta, this is not the place. They do not have pasta on the menu. Try the crustini's, fantastic!

This is a true temple for vegetarians! But please do not take it too seriously: milk, egg & cheese…read moreare still on the menu. AND that's great. The owner's wife runs the kitchen and she knows it all. We had fabulous stuffed figs, ravioli with sheep cheese and truffles and Indian Paneer that made it clear: she is the goddess of the veggie temple. Her husband runs everything else and personally overlooks every detail in the dining hall. At every single table he whispers the ingredients of the dishes like little secrets and makes you feel very special. Perfect.

The type of place you get a sandwich at 3 times a week. And I'm the type of girl that wants toread more

I was wondering around when I found this great Lil…read moreneighborhood place with a fresh selection of meats cheeses and breads as appetizers They even make their own wine in house.... For 1.5 euros and a menu under 3 euros the 8 chairs fill up quickly and spill into the plaza with young and old ... Be quick but be here and enjoy an early evening snack

From the owner: L'Osteria de Le Belle Idee fa parte di un centro di natura e cultura impegnato nella diffusione di…read morenuove forme di qualità della vita. I menù proposti, che cambiano quotidianamente in base alla disponibilità dei prodotti biologici e locali utilizzati, sono vegetariani e creativi, con ampia scelta di piatti vegani. Il pane, gli impasti, i dolci sono realizzati in casa in maniera artigianale con grande cura e attenzione alla freschezza degli ingredienti. Su prenotazione è possibile avere menù personalizzati per intolleranze o altre esigenze particolari. L'ambiente, ricavato dal recupero di uno spazio per anni abbandonato, risulta gradevole e molto rilassante, gli arredi sono realizzati con materiali di recupero per minimizzare l'impatto sull'ambiente. Adiacente alla sala pranzo, la bottega di prodotti biologici e locali.

What a picturesque location right there below the old hilltop stronghold. Charming narrow streets,…read moreshops, limited tourist kitch....its a beautiful location. I recommend parking on the opposite side of the hill and climbing up and over, through the ancient walls and past the church...don't worry there are tons of escalators...however you will have a steep walk up and down once you get on the side with the restaurant but this is still the ideal parking....now the food: this is top notch Tuscan cooking. I had the pici with the boar sauce, my daughter had the ravioli, and my wife had the pappardelle with mushroom sauce. All were amazing. Our waiter was friendly and helpful. And the wine is delicious

Fantastic traditional Italian food and service! I have brought multiple groups here and it's always…read morebeen delicious