Looking for a place to eat in Florence that will be the meal of all meals. Cost doesn't exactly mean the food is great but the experience and food must be.

If price was no issue, and food is the issue, where would that place be?

We need a Saturday night in Sept. 08 availability for 4 people...

I guess I'm a bit of a broken record on the matter but I'd certainly have no problem putting forth Omero for your consideration.

http://www.ristoranteomero.it/

The food, the service and the location was most impressive when we were there.

HTH
K

http://www.ristorantelagiostra.it/

I would not call this a "most impressive meal" but love the quaintness of the surroundings and excellent food of Acqua al 2.

http://www.acquaal2.it/

The food is absolutely terrific. The decor is rustic and fun. We ordered the the house wines and they just kept it flowing. Service was excellent.

You are surrounded by local artists' works and it has an artsy student following. However, at 40 something, we were NOT the oldest people there. (Yeah!)

I still remember exactly what I had there... It was chicken, pounded painfully thin, with a light curry sauce that had bits of granny smith tart apple. I know it may sound odd, but it was the most amazing dish I had that trip! We were the last table there that night, were not rushed out and Gianni, the owner, was kind enough to ask Stefano, the chef, to share some of his sauce secrets with me.

My husband is very picky about gnocci and his Acqua al 2 experience
set a new standard for his rating system!

There is also a 2nd location in San Diego and they flip flop the chefs from one location to the other, or they . I've been to that one several times and find it to be truly excellent.

Enjoy!

>>If price was no issue, and food is the issue, where would that place be?<<

http://www.enotecapinchiorri.com/

WOW, I knew there was fantastic food in Florence, this is exactly what I was looking for - when you can remember the feelings that the meal held as wonderful memories, wonderful food and service, I can almost taste it now.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, I will check all of them out, and I mean in person!

Just be aware that you will spend a minimum of about 190 euro per person, excluding wine, at Enoteca Pinchiorri!

If you are ok with luxury pricing, you might also consider dinner at Villa San Michele in Fiesole, in the hills overlooking Florence:



http://www.villasanmichele.com/web/o...an_michele.jsp

I would say Perseus for the best Florentine beefsteak in town-I also did La Giostra at the insistence of several different friends but I was singularly unimpressed-it was over priced & the food was OK but you will hear people rave about it. Good Luck

I was unimpressed at La Giostra. The place was lovely but the food was just OK. And we had a terrible experience at Omero. Good food but terrible, rude service. And unless you're seated right by a window (which we were not even though we made our reservation months ahead and requested a window) you cannot see the view.

Here is my food-centric report on Florence (and 2 other stops); you will find details of a restaurant that we like very much and where we ate two dinners, in early 2006:







http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34743272

bookmark

I'm surprised at the difference in our experiences, plafield. We booked a few days in advance and were seated on their terrace on a perfect June evening and the service was attentive when required and retiring otherwise.

We went for Sunday lunch in May with the idea we would enjoy the walk back down. We had made the reservation online well in advance, asking for a table by the window which they had confirmed. The terrace wasn't open.

We arrived and the place was FULL, all Italian families enjoying a leisurely Sunday lunch and we were seated at the only open table, right near where you first enter the dining room, far away from any window. We explained that they had a confirmed a reservation by email of a window table and they asked us if we had a copy of that email with us, as if we were lying!

We were not treated cordially and the food was just average after all that.

Here's the link to our Italy trip report which has lots of detailed restaurant information, including numerous meals in Florence.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35005867

We had fabulous meals at Leo S.Croce and Il Gucio, but neither of these places have the atmosphere of elegance that some folks want for that very special meal. La Giostra has that but the food isn't particularly special. For me, I prefer amazing food to amazing atmosphere and of course, both is best but hard to find, especially for a reasonable price!

We had wonderful meals at Leo S. Croce

www.italiatoday.net/aa/leo/index

and at La Giostra
www.ristorantelagiostra.com

and at Trattoria Garga
www.garga.it

Would rate the food and the experience at Leo's the best. We had reservations at all three restaurants and arrived early to Leo's. Leo himself seated us and wanted to know how we heard about his restaurant. I told him all about Fodor's Talk and the Fodorites who had recommended the restaurant. He treated us to a free drink! When I got home I sent him the links for the threads that mentioned his resstaurant! La Giostra is very pretty with all the sparkling lights inside. Huge amounts of food were served and the "house" starter was amazing. The tables for two are very close together and I did not appreciate having my dinner with strangers. Loved Garga - atmosphere is dark and intimate with tables for two more isolated than at La Giostra. All three resturants were great and I would eat there again! (Don't know why two web site addresses are coming up on my reply...can't seem to get rid of the duplicate)

The single best meal I ever ate in Firenze was at Don Chiscsiotte, which specializes in fish, a rarity in most of Firenze, but it has meat dishes as well. It is a classic fancy Italian ristorante, the kind of place loving sons take their mothers to on their 90th birthday. It also has some private booths that Casanova might have died for. Something for everybody! And the food is exquisite. I recall a primi of gnudi with spinach that was perfectly done. It's nearer the train station and Accademia, near the Fortezza. Last time I looked it was recommended in the Michelin guide.

http://www.ristorantedonchisciotte.it/

Probably the best dinner we have had in our several visits to Florence was at Quattro Leoni. Certainly nothing fancy but the food was superb and a great deal of fun.

http://www.4leoni.com/

I wouldn't rate this as the meal of all meals, but we love del Fagioli. I haven't tried bistecca alla Fiorentina in all the restaurants in Florence but I can't imagine anyone doing it better. It is a family run restaurant and not fancy but it is one of our favorite all time restaurants.

http://www.travelistic.com/video/show/4933/Del-Fagioli

Hi

My wife and I went to Florence last year and we had some great food there. Check out my trip report on http://gardkarlsen.com/florence_italy_travelogue.htm. It also contains a section about where we ate with pictures

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Enoteca Pinchiorri, of course. Price is no object...