Acqua Al 2 — Restaurant in Florence

TLDR

Good food, mediocre service. Would give them another chance to redeem themselves.

We came on the recommendation of a friend who studied abroad here. She highly recommended the blueberry steak.

Reservations

Easy to make. I was able to make a same-day reservation on a weekday for dinner through their website about an hour and a half before our desired reservation time. It took about 20 minutes to receive confirmation of my reservation via email. Please note you do need show the email confirmation when you show up.

When we arrived for our reservation, the restaurant was just about to open and there were 2 other parties already waiting outside. We probably waited 5 minutes total. We did have to show the email confirmation of our reservation.

Service

Service was initially good. Then, we discovered mid-meal when the manager was was taking away one of our plates that our second order (my order) of blueberry steak was never placed. We had ordered everything together with our server. By the time we learned that our second order of blueberry steak hadn’t been ordered initially, my boyfriend was almost finished with his. We later saw the manager talk to our server, presumably about the error in our order. We decided to go ahead and order it anyway. When the manager brought it out, he mumbled an apology to us.

To make matters worse, my fork had been taken away so I couldn’t even eat my steak while it was hot from the kitchen. It took another 5 minutes to flag down staff to get a new fork (it was busy and the staff seemed to have tunnel vision). Sadly, by the time I got a fork, my steak was a bit too cooked than I wanted—more medium than medium rare—and also cool. I was actually really looking forward to trying this dish, and unfortunately, this whole ordeal left a bad taste in my mouth. Truth be told, I expected a covert and genuine apology or possibly a small token gesture from the establishment. However, that was not the case.

Food

Overall, the food was good. My boyfriend loved the food (and had a great experience). My impression of the food would have been better had I actually been able to enjoy it simultaneously with my boyfriend! In my honest opinion, the blueberry steak reminded me of the flavor profile of sweet and sour pork. In terms of drinks, the strawberry wine was very dangerous—it tasted like strawberry soda and I couldn’t taste the alcohol at all!

Ambience

Plates on the walls decorated by lots of celebrities with appropriate...

This place is a pantomime of the worst of Italian culture. Service akin to that proffered at a pig's trough, provided by a single arrogant waiter. Of course this fine establishment would find it beneath them to offer an English menu - ironic, considering that not a single Italian has dared to venture within their walls since the fall of the Medici. Rather, throngs of American tourists, palate torched by bubblegum vape juice and minds entranced by the grating sound of pure sheeplike muck, eagerly loiter outside the establishment for hours on end - with a reservation, of course - clamoring for the honor of being degraded in there Italian fashion by the one-man show inside. Once this ritual is complete, the diner is ushered through a narrow corridor, providing the opportunity to trample several hapless sheep along the way. Past this corridor one must pass the foul smelling and ill-maintained "authentic" Italian washrooms, to finally find a seat at a European-sized table at a European temperature of 30C. This authentic atmosphere is only interrupted by the presence of cheap Chinese utensils, wine glasses that by their weight one would judge to be made of lead crystal - but alas, they are more akin to Ikea glasses. Menu selection would appear to be diverse, judging by the endless Italian script pouring off the pages. Of course, not once has the menu been deciphered, as no soul with a knowledge of the Italian language has ever dined here. However, upon asking the pigkeeper about any general category of dish, the reply is a haughty chuckle. No veal, no lamb, no seafood - we only serve vegetarian pasta and beef here! Drinks? Under champagnes is written a single word: "Champagne.". Which champagne, one might ask? The answer is: none, only artificially sweetened Prosecco that resembles grape juice left a fortnight neglected in the Italian autumn sun. At this point in our saga, your protagonist has become quite perturbed, and seeks the nearest exit - inevitably trampling another dozen sheep on...

I used to go here a bit when I lived in Florence for a few months. This was in the winter so I didn't really need reservations. I was recently in Florence again (visiting from Canada) and didn't think to book a reservation, which was my own fault but the owner was EXTREMELY rude about it. I asked if they had any tables available and he dismissed me very abruptly with a "no". There was only 2 of us so I thought maybe if there was a no show or something we could try our luck so I said "really?" and he answered me very rudely again with "YES REALLY". I ended up making a reservation for the following night because I do like the food. And the food was good when we came the following night. We made the mistake of having the house wine which was already on the table because service was slow I figured it would just be the faster option. The wine tasted like it had gone off even though it was still corked. It was just an AWFUL wine.

I was also excited to show my boyfriend the restaurant because I spoke so highly of it before we went.

Overall, I don't think any food is worth being talked down to the way the owner spoke to us. Lots of people in line had the same opinion and there was a horrible vibe in the restaurant. When we were waiting in line for our reservation (which we had to wait about half hour even though we had a reso?) I watched everyone leaving the restaurant and not one person had a smile on their face. One lady I spoke to in line said "I guess when business is this good you don't need to be nice." I understand what she meant but I do not agree with the sentiment. The owner, a bitter, miserable old man needs a lesson in manners.

From the look of other reviews it looks like people share the same sentiment as me....