Acquacotta — Restaurant in Florence

When our family of four (two adults and two kids) walked into this restaurant, we were in a good mood. Since we had eaten a very late and filling breakfast, we weren’t really hungry—our plan was just to let the kids have something light to keep them on schedule. So, we ordered two bottles of water, one Aperol Spritz, and one beer, and decided on two full-sized mains to share among us.

Just as we thought the order was finished, I casually said, “That’s it, we’re not very hungry.” To my surprise, the server immediately insisted—with a sarcastic grin—“Oh no, each of you must order a dish. We are a restaurant, not a bar.” At that moment, I almost “honey”-ed her out of pure irritation. We tried to explain that we had two children who weren’t hungry, but she firmly refused. My husband had already ordered a set menu, but she insisted they could only prepare food for two people now, and that my son and I would have to order later. This put us in an awkward position—the set menu was already more than enough food, and we really didn’t want to order unnecessarily. I told her we’d like to change our order instead.

Less than two minutes later, she walked straight back to our table, notebook in hand, pen poised, staring at me as if demanding we “order now.” I was already annoyed and turned to my husband in English: “Is she now forcing us to order now?” She clearly understood, because she instantly put on a weirdly stiff smile and said, “No, no, you can think about it a bit more.” But I could hear her talking loudly in Italian with the kitchen right after—it didn’t feel genuine at all.

A minute later, she returned again with a new suggestion: “Why don’t I bring out what you already ordered, you can start eating, and then decide if you want to add more.” My husband asked, “And what if we finish and don’t want to order anything else?” Only then did she backtrack: “Oh, then it’s fine, no problem.” By that point, I just wanted the whole exchange to be over, so I told her to go ahead.

The entire process was unnecessarily stressful. Instead of feeling like welcome guests, we felt like we were being pushed around to follow some rigid “rule.” It turned what should have been a lighthearted family meal into a test of patience.

And sadly, the food wasn’t even worth the hassle—the chicken was dry and flavorless, and the Aperol Spritz didn’t even come with a simple orange slice. For a city known for warmth, hospitality, and incredible food, this was hands down the low point of our trip.

Added comment in response to owner’s reply-

8/27/25 Thank you for your response. In all the restaurants we visited throughout Italy and other parts of Europe, none had this “rule” where every child must order a full meal — they didn’t go bankrupt, they are still thriving. If you do enforce such a rule, it should be made clear before seating guests or taking orders, not afterward in a confrontational way. Had you made that rule clear before we even ordered two alcoholic drinks and two bottles of water, we wouldn’t have wasted each other’s time.

The issue was not the rule itself, but how it was handled: the sarcasm, the rushing, and the lack of hospitality made us feel unwelcome. Many families with small children who read both my comments and your reply will see how not family-friendly your restaurant is, and perhaps realize it may be better suited for adults only. I also wonder if you eventually allowed us to continue with our initial order more out of fear of a review like this than out of genuine kindness.

As guests, we expected clarity and true hospitality, not arguments. Farewell to you as well — I will not spend another moment on this. If you choose to treat future customers with warmth and professionalism, I sincerely wish you success in...

We came from Paris to Florence for a one-week stay, and we just kept returning to this place no matter how many other restaurants we have tried. The lunch menu with two dishes, a glass of wine (great wine!) and a bottle of water for 14e always guaranteed us a perfect meal. All of their dishes have a very particular fragrance, the ingredients are super fresh and you can basically order with eyes closed. I personally love the vitello, the spaghetti with pesto, the ziti ritorti with aubergine and tomato (and ciboulette!! loved that), cheese and pear salad, the spaghettone with seafood, and wild boar tagliatelle (the last two are from the general menu, the rest are from lunch menus of each week). All desserts are great, not very sweet, and they have very thick and milky ice cream. The service is fantastic as well, the general menu has an English version, and the lady is lovely and nicely offered to translate the lunch menu for us, and is always really organised. Recommending it with ten stars if...

If I could get this restaurant 10 stars I would.

We visited to make a reservation and our first interaction with the lovely people here was so friendly.

We arrived late due to Google maps taking us the wrong way and again there was no issue we were seated at a fantastic table by the window.

This is such a quaint, quintessential Italian restaurant from the tile floor to the decoration. It's understated but classy.

We chose the beef tagliatelle and pheasant ravioli to start. They were both pasta perfection. There is nothing quite like home made Italian pasta and this was the best we have had in Florence.

We then had the pork in herbs and stuffed rabbit. Delicious, tender and full of flavour.

We finished off with tiramisu and it was divine.

Neither of us could fault the food and the service was exceptional.

Add to that a great wine list and you have a not to be missed restaurant.

Thank you Acquacotta and sorry again...