BaccoMatto — Restaurant in Florence

What a collossal way to ruin a lunch experience with a rude attitude. After wrapping things up and almost ready to leave, I decided to stand by the door in front of the bar for a minute under the air conditioner, hoping that I would cool off a bit. Like many other restaurants, the circulation and the air conditioner was not nearly adequate for a hot July day.. server lady then came by behind the bar counter and picked up the AC remote. I smiled thinking she was emphatizing, and making small talk while perhaps trying to adjust the temp lower. What She was however saying was something like “only employees are allowed to use the AC remote, you weren’t allowed behind the counter” accusing me of messing with their AC remote, further implicating me by offering evidence such as the remote was moved from point A to B on the counter etc.. At first I thought she was joking but she was dead serious.. I tried to explain to her that I had gone nowhere near the remote or the forbidden zone of behind-the-counter, let alone touching the remote, and that I was simply standing by the exit in front of the bar hoping to catch a whiff of cool air.. Furthermore, I thought out loud, what if God forbid I had touched the remote (which I hadn’t); was it worth making a fuss about it and being rude to a customer??? It is obvious many businesses in this town take a constant inflow of tourists for granted. (Perhaps I shoild still consider myself lucky as at least they are not yet harrassing tourists with water guns as they do in Spain.) I then reminded myself I should be completely chill about this, and that I am not here in this town for a holiday with good service and pampering, but to see some cultural sites along with the stampede of tourists, check off my list,...

I almost never write reviews, much less unfavorable ones, but I am utterly baffled by all the positive reviews of this restaurant. My earnest hope is that we caught them on a one-off bad night, but I still feel compelled to relay our experience, because this was not just the worst meal we had in Italy -- it was the worst meal we've had anywhere in a long, long time.

We found the restaurant based on its stellar rating and were excited to try a more modern spin on classic Italian food following a day of very traditional (but delicious!) Florentine dining. The space is cute, the staff were friendly, and the wine was nice, but the food itself was borderline inedible. The crostini were decent if unmemorable, but it was all downhill from there: we were served tragically overcooked pasta, undercooked, chewy octopus, and dry, tasteless "rabbit" that could've been literally any white meat protein cooked within an inch of its life. We did not stay for dessert, and we left starving. The next night we made a better meal for ourselves out of prepackaged food from a local grocery store for under €15.

As I sit here staring down the formidable 4.8 stars, I can't help but question whether my experience was just a bizarre fever dream -- but in retrospect, there were signs. If nothing else, the other negative reviews suggest that ours was not their only off night. Perhaps if we're feeling like playing the odds we'll chance another try next time we're in Florence, but in our experience there are far, far better places to eat for far less money. Proceed...

Welcome to the 21st century with modern food, Firenze. This is fine dining Italian cuisine. We loved every bit and bite of the delicious food. From the cute thinly sliced and crispy baguettes that had basil, tomato and olive oil flavours off the richter, to the well balanced and seasoned beef tartare. The cream, when mixed with the Dijon mustard, capers and onion, created a cocktail of flavour with the beef that didn't require an egg to gel in the flavours. A symphony of flavours. The cacio e Pepe ravioli with bacon and pear was a stroke of genius. Quality pecorino was clearly used. Pastry was soft not Al dente. The real star of the show was the perfectly cooked octopus. Not rubbery or chewy. Just well cooked. Tender, easy to cut, and the charcoal burn on the tentacles was balanced against the citrus and sweetness of the orange marmalade. Stroke of genius.

The house wine was fine - I'm no connoisseur of wines but it was easy to drink along with the proteins.

And as for the desserts. Chocolate mousse with flecks of crisps made for a good textural experience. Not too rich or melted.

As for the cheesecake, I would say it was more a deconstructed cheesecake which was certainly interesting in a good way. The sourness of the cherries was a good contrast to the smoothness of the cheese.

Couldn't fault any dish. If anything, everything was executed with control and thoughtfulness. This was a delightful dining experience. Thanks for making our trip to Florence a...