Antiche Dogane — Restaurant in Florence

Honest review. Read before you go!

Overhyped and disappointing experience:

I recently visited Antiche Dogane in Florence, having made appointments directly with the owner, Leonardo. Unfortunately, the experience was a letdown.

Despite our prior arrangements, the service felt rushed and impersonal. The owner would lecture us about great wines from renowned regions but didn’t bother to offer a single sample from those regions or anything even close. Instead, he poured us seemingly cheap, overly sweet wines like moscato, frizz, despite us specifically asking for balanced, structured options like Chianti Classico or Montepulciano. This was especially frustrating because I went there with the intention of buying 6-12 bottles to ship back to NYC, yet left with no sense of what they even had to offer.

The interior decor felt more like an Instagram backdrop than an authentic wine bar, all style and no substance, lacking the warmth and charm you’d expect from a place supposedly celebrating wine.

To make matters worse, a new group of customers arrived, and one woman smoked continuously inside the bar, completely ignoring the comfort of other guests. The owner did nothing to address it, which only added to the uncomfortable atmosphere.

As if that wasn’t enough, the owner seemed more interested in closing up than providing a proper tasting. He started packing up and preparing to leave, making us feel rushed and unwelcome.

I do not think Leonardo (owner) is an honest man; especially since he and I exchanged several conversations about my interest in buying and shipping some Chiantis and Montepulciano wines before I made the reservation. It was such a waste of time and money for the value we got out of...

Best Wine Tasting Experience in Florence!

We tried so many wine bars during our week in Florence, and this was hands down the best experience. 1st, the shop owner, Leonardo, is super welcoming and does a great job explainig the differences between the different Tuscan wines. 2nd, he focuses on small production, local wineries, so you really get to try quality wines at very reasonable prices. ($6-$8/glass) 3rd. It's a great atmosphere as his shop is directly across from the 6th Century, round Roman Tower, (which is now a luxury hotel), and he plays hits from Pavarotti and Bocelli. 4. He provides tasty snack items to pair with your flight, so hungry doesn't get between you and your tasting. 5. There's no need for a menu. During our hours of tasting on two visits, we never once looked at a menu. Leonardo simply asked if we preferred white or red wines, and then tailored the tasting based on our feedback.

I hope that you found this review helpful.

#tabestravels TOP TIP# Get there before the evening crowds as we did (by 5p), and you should be able to get a table out front with the best view and people...

Lovely little shop right outside the front door of my favorite Florence hotel, the Brunelleschi. Had walked by it many times, but didn’t visit until our last trip.

We were leaving the next day to meet friends in Nice and wanted to take some wine with us. No one else was there at the time and the young lady working pulled us a nice variety of wines to try. We fell in love with a few reds and a fantastic sparking Rose.

Ended up with 2 of those for our trip and shipped another 18 bottles of reds and the Rose home. Shipping costs are not inexpensive, but theirs are no higher than any others we’ve paid from wineries or other local shops anywhere else in Europe.

We didn’t have an opportunity to meet the owner, but my sister did run into his son and he was very cordial and clearly loves what he does.

Tastings run around 5 to 8 euros a glass and they do serve food. We didn’t have time for the full experience, but we’ll definitely...