We were recommended to dine here in Italy, including the raving reviews this restaurant has seen, however, I believe our first mistake was this is a chain steakhouse within Florence, which is a red flag, even internationally.
Upon being seated, our waiter (Marco) didn't come to remotely greet us for around 5-10 minutes. I was under the impression he had more than 5 tables or was cooking the meals, but that wasn't the case.
From the moment the waiter touched down at our table, I could sense he wasn't happy we weren't Italian, yet Americans, as locals came in and out of the restaurant, they received white gloves service from beginning to end.
I ordered the MENU BISTECCA- STEAK MENU, comes with the following for 25,00 which seemed like a good deal: (recommendation from server as their specialty)
Crostini misti
Rib roast steak (medium)
Patate al forno o insalata mista Baked potatoes
0.37 cl water and 1⁄2 bottle of win
Soon after ordering, the wine and water immediately arrived.
Roughly 20 minutes later, the food comes out, now just my steak alone. Didn't receive the crostini or potatoes and I had to ask the server of the food, not the waiter.
Both were brought out immediately afterwards.
The crostini is an appetizer and if the waiter would have stopped accommodating the locals, he would have cared to assist us, along with the other tables that weren't locals. Also, he forgot about the side with the steak that comes with the meal.
The steak was supposed to be cooked medium, unfortunately it was medium well to well done. I was tempted to send it back, but given the circumstances of our dining experience already, I was just going to deal with it.
Bottom line, I don't know what the fuss is about this place as it's not anything to cry home about. Maybe this just a bad dining experience or maybe this restaurant has peeked. I'd stick to the the long line of authentic Italian restaurants while in Florence and skip this dining experience altogether. read more