Feedback on my restaurant choices for 3 days in Florence please?
 

We're counting down! Leaving for Rome, Florence and Venice in 2 weeks and 5 days! I've researched like mad, asked some questions and have narrowed my restaurant choices down to what I hope are all winners.

The shortest stay we have is in Florence, so there are decisions to be made since we can't possible eat at all the great restaurants! Here's what I'm thinking and I would love feedback on the proposed restaurants.

We arrive on Friday around 12:30. We will have snacked on the train from Rome so we won't eat lunch in Florence, but probably head for gelati or to Rivoire for hot chocolate and pastry.

Here are my proposed meals:
Friday dinner: Il Guscio.

Saturday lunch: 4 Leoni for pear and asparagas ravioli

Saturday dinner: Leo's or La Giostra?

Sunday lunch: If the weather is fine Ristorante Omero, if raining Il Ghibelli?

Sunday dinner: Cantinetta Antinori or Osteria dell'Olio

Monday we leave on the train for Venice in the early afternoon so will eat gelato and buy sandwiches for the train.

Input please!?

La Giostra. We had our second best meal of the trip there. We had the best meal of our trip in Florence at Alle Murate, Via Del Proconsolo, 16/R, +39 055 240618.

Thanks el 344. I've read lots of great reviews of Leo's too, but La Giostra looks so beautiful.

Any other opinions on these and the other restaurants?

tt

Hi P,

From my notes:
Cantinetta Antinori, 3 Via degli Antinori
Great ambience, perfect service, excellent wines, VG+ food. About 125E for 2, with wine. Pasta in a sauce of zucchini blossoms, pine nuts and cream was particularly interesting.

((I))

I love the hot chocolate at Rivoire--hopefully they stilll have it since it might be seasonal. Your choices sound great.

A

Thanks ellenem. Anyone have preferences between Leo's, La Giostra, Cantinetta Antinori or Osteria dell'Olio?

plafield,

If you are choosing 4 Leoni and La Giostra for your meals on a Saturday, recommend you reserve as they are both very popular. Really enjoyed our meals there.... we try to never miss the pear filled ravioli!

It looks good but I would substitute Sostanza for Cantinetta Antinori. Less fussy and probably much better food. But that would be MY choice...you will be fine with any of the palces on your list (although I have not heard of a few of them..)

EK,thanks for recommending Sostanza. Do you have an adress?

How far in advance do folks recommend making reservations for these restaurants?

Well, it seems that both Cantinetta Anitori and Sostanza are closed on Saturdays and Sundays! Can anyone confirm this? I get being closed on a Sunday, but on Saturday too?!

Hi plafield

I can vouch for the pear and cheese ravioli at 4 Leoni. Very good! Good service, also. If you book online, you get a discount.

La Giostra is wonderful, too.

What a delimma!

Johanna

Sostanza is at Via dei Porcellana, 25r. Not too far from Santa Maria Novella and Borgo Ognissanti. It will cost you half of dinner at Antinori.

Can you rearrange or did you already do all the reserving? Can you fit it in for lunch?

La Giostra was our most memorable meals after spenindg 25 days in Italy. The food and atmosphere were great, and the people were very friendly. We were in the restaurant for about 3 hours (though we could have left sooner had we wanted), and we were stuffed when we left. My fiance asked for a scotch after dinner (because we are not fans of grappa), and they gave him an entire bottle of Oban and told him to pour as much as he wanted. We are planning to go into Florence one night on our next trip to Italy specifically to eat there!

Eks, Maybe we can switch and go to Sostaza for dinner on Friday evening and Il Guscio on Saturday evening. Of the 2, how do they compare? And how far in advance do you think we need to reserve for these 2?

That would make our meal intinerary for Florence:
Friday dinner: Sostanza
Sat lunch: 4 Leoni
Sat dinner: Il Guscio
Sunday lunch: Omero (already reserved)
Sunday dinner: La Giostra

How does that sound everyone? I'll be sad to miss Leo's. but So many good restaurants, not enough time. Hopefully all the walking (up and down the hill to Omero)will make all this eating doable without us needing special transportation to roll us to Venice!

I wanted to update here and let folks know where we ended up eating in Florence and how it was.

Lunch on Friday: Il Ghibelli: Piazza S.P. Maggiore 8/9/10, phone: 055.21.4424 (closed on Wednesdays.) we had pasta and a calzone. Nice outdoor seating. The food was OK, nothing special.

Dinner Friday night: Il Guscio Via dell' Orto, 49. phone: 055-224421
in the Oltrarno. It is on the south side of the Arno in a neighborhood a little off the beaten path. Open only for dinner. Closed Sunday and Monday. This place was fantastic! casual, friendly, wonderful food, numerous really nice wines by the glass. Very reasonably priced Really a great restaurant.

Saturday lunch: Nerboni boiled beef sandwiches in the Mercado Centrale. Deicious, cheap, fun!

Saturday dinner: La Giostra, Borgo Pinti, 12/R, 055 241341. Lovely setting, expensive, the food was a bit over the top and not really worth the price.

Sunday lunch: Omero. Average food, lovely seting if you get a window seat. They lost our reservation (made and confirmed by email 3 weeks in advance) and we were seated in the back, no where near a window and were treated like they were doing us a favor to serve us.

Sunday dinner: Leo's in S. Croce, Via Torta 7R – www.florencerestaurant.com open for lunch and dinner – closed Mondays – phone 055 210829. This place was wonderful! Fantastic food, lovely ambiance, very friendly staff, menu only in Italian, reasonably priced but not cheap. Really great place I highly reccommend.

There are very detailed descriptions of the all the food we ate with the cost of the meals in the post of my trip report if you're interested. Click on my name and look for "My First (and probably last) Taste Of Donkey"...yes, I tasted donkey at La Giostra. I don't reccommend it!