My husband and I are heading to Florence soon (staying at the Casci thanks to many positive comments on this site.) Does anyone have a good recommendation for a restaurant open for dinner on Sunday? We know about and have been to I Latini but would prefer another spot. Any suggestions?

Since no one else has answered your post and it's dropped down to number 69, I can suggest Osteria del Agnolo. That is, if you are not looking for something fancy.

They are located on Borgo San Lorenzo, on the right hand side between the Duomo and the Church of San Lorenzo. Great food, great wine bar, and I suggest a table outside.

If you prefer something more upscale, I have heard wonderful things about La Giostra, although we never made our planned dinner there on our last trip.

Hi CH,

I can highly recommend Il Ritrovo
Via de’ Pucci 4/A 055.281688
Best food for the price Has fish. Full dinner w/wine abt 40E pp
Closed Monday
From Pzza San Giovani (NW corner of the Pza del Duomo) walk one blk East to Via dei Martelli. Go left to Via dei Pucci. Turn Right. Look very carefully on left. No sign. Door could be locked. Ring bell.

We weren't that happy when we dined at Il Ritrovo less than a year ago. We never are satisfied when we want to experience the most local of dining experience only to sit in a restaurant full of people with Rick Steves and/or Fodors and/or Frommers guides in hand. American is the primary language in this restaurant. Even the portions, are American huge (just like the dishes that one gets in the Italian restaurants in the Bronx in New York). While the host and hostess were very friendly, this one is simply a tourist destination.

Try Paoli at via dei Tavolini. Superb steak with butter sauce and truffles. Other than us, the place was crowded with locals.

Gee Taylor,

Sorry that your one visit to IL Ritrovo didn't work out.

However, others have posted on this board that they greatly enjoyed their experience.

The food at Il Ritrovo wa OK, but nothing for us to get that excited at and write home about. I was able to order a bottle of 2000 Guado Al Tasso from Antinori, a great Super Tuscan, for only 85 Euro - easily the most enjoyable part of our meal. It just that 100% of the clienteles were speaking English, there was an American travel book at every table and the 2 tables around us just wouldn't stop commenting our way about how their antipasto and steak florentine were glorious.

We're that type that would go out of our way, within reasonable driving, metro/bus or cab rides, just to experience the best local dining experience. Il Ritrovo is simply a tourist destination.

We've actually enjoyed the food stall at San lorenzo market as we sat in communal tables with construction workers and market shoppers for during a few meals. Freshly-cooked and terrific hot dishes and a caraffe of local house (in this case, market stall-) wine, and we were all set.

"...others have posted on this board that they greatly enjoyed their experience."

Perhaps, I forgot to post my experience. My wife and I were there in October of last year and Taylor's comment was dead on - too touristy with sufficiently good food. However, there are a lot more better retaurants for the same money than Il Ritrovo in Florence. Cibreo and Il Latini, while having their fair share of tourists, are definitely better.

Thanks for responses and great suggestions. I'm especially intrigued by mixed reviews to Il Ritrovo, which is very close to the Hotel Casci where we'll be staying. I'll report on wherever we wind up.

I ate at Il Ritorvo a couple of weeks ago (probably for the sixth or seventh time) and it was, as always, perfect.

>Cibreo and Il Latini, while having their fair share of tourists, are definitely better.<

Having been to all 3, I can only say, "chacun a son gout".

PS

You might want to search this forum for ["Il Ritrovo" and Florence] (without the brackets) for other opinions.

Ira,
We can keep doing the childish use of French translations thing here and I'm not even going to stress that "certains peuvent etre meilleurs que d'autres".

You responded to the negative comment by Taylor that the basis for Taylor's review is based on a one time visit to the restaurant while generalizing that others who posted liked the restaurant. This contradicts what you just stated. Have you ever looked at food reviews about this restaurant elsewhere?

Face the fact - this board solicits comments and thoughts.

Dear ez,

I was under the impression that "chacun a son gout" was pretty much universally recognized as "each to his/her own taste". I am sorry if I offended you.

I commiserated with Taylor, and I commiserate with you. It is unfortunate that you each were there on nights when things were not to your liking.

I also posted a way to find what others have had to say about this restaurant so that CH could decide for herself.

>Have you ever looked at food reviews about this restaurant elsewhere?<

Yes - that is how I found it.

Dear CapitolHill,

A word of warning about the Casci - call them to TRIPLE confirm your reservation.

We reserved back in January 2004 for one night in June 2004 (a night on our honeymoon no less). Then we re-confirmed via email in May 2004. We arrive on the reserved day and they claimed to have had "email problems" that resulted in them overbooking. I had both email confirmations with me and they quickly perceived I was about to throw a huge fit in their lobby, so they walked us over to a neighboring hotel. I left a report on www.tripadvisor.com about the incident.

Email problems or not, why would they not have written down a reservation received SIX MONTHS ago...??? We got the impression that they wanted to rent out our room to someone staying more than one night.

All that said, I'd call them a couple of times to confirm and reconfirm your reservation. I'd call the morning you are to arrive as well. Can't hurt.

Everyone is a food critic these days and I think far too many here recommend some really awful places. Most fodorites mean well by offering their favorite "cheap" or "safe" spots but that doesn't mean they know anything about good food.

If you have any sense of what goes into creating an exciting, authentic meal and how "good food" is supposed to taste, you must research the recommendations of each fodorite and determine (with your own sense of taste) his/her credibility. (Some folks simply love The Olive Garden.)

On Sundays, I love to visit with Enrico and his lovely American wife, Janice, at their wonderful Trattotia Antellesi on via Faenza. What fun!

I've never stayed at the Casci but it doesn't matter where your hotel is in Florence. Good food is worth the walk and Florence is small enough to visit all the great places with ease.

I have never been disappointed at Antellesi and, if you like wine, you can drink very well. I think the prices are quite moderate, considering the quality. There's no pretension here.

Not as fab as Antellesi but, if you order the right thing, you can get a terrific Tuscan meal at Angiolino on via Santo Spirito in Oltrano. Chances are you'll find fewer tourists here because most are too lazy (or too tired) to cross the Arno. I love walking Santo Spirito after my meal. It's such a romantic Florentine stroll.

I love Osteria Cinghiale Bianco (white boar) on the Oltrarno. By the way, I've stayed at Hotel Casci and had a very positive experience there.

Try Trattoria 4 Leoni! My favorite restaurant when I traveled to Florence. Wonderfully quaint, top notch food and service. I don't think you'll be disappointed. For directions: http://www.4leoni.com/

Ira:
No apologies needed. We all want to chime in with our 2 cents.
I didn't think that the food at Ritrovo was bad, it was quite good. I, too, was just turned off by the overtly touristic atmospere.

I second trattoria 4 leoni. We ate there a few years ago- the food, service, and restaurant were lovely. We had a really fun waiter who was from the Dominican Republic by way of NYC- which we found amusing since we are from NYC and I worked in the same Dominican neighborhood he had come from. Small world.

It's a very subjective thingy. A lot of folks on this board raved about Osteria Cinghiale Bianco. We were spending one night in Florence, and decided to go.

Although the food was good, I felt like I was treated like I was in an American restaurant. Everything spoken & written in English, one course comes right after the other - fast, fast, fast. It was as though they were looking for table turnover.

We spent a wonderful time with another Fodorite couple we met, and we refused to leave, sitting there for an extra hour sipping on our wine.

Again, food was very good, but I wanted to be treated like a local -- this was not the place. If you are in a hurry for a good quicky dinner, this is the place.