Centocanti — Restaurant in Florence

My husband & l came to Florence on our honeymoon and the hotel we were staying in provided us with a selection of recommended eating places, which this was one of them. We are here on one of the nights & were so impressed with our meals - a nicoise salad & centocante pizza, that decided to return on the last night of our honeymoon.

A completely different experience on this occasion, by the same waiter. We weren't seen to for a few minutes although it wasn't particularly busy.. on ordering our appetizers and pizza's, we were first served with very greasy meals which although fried, were very rich in oil - sickly. Our pizzas were the Dante & Sorrento, which both had buffalo mozzarella and this apparently was normal to have soggy, undercooked ingredients that slid off the base when picking up the slices to eat. I only managed a slice before having to stop eating it as it tasted "horrible' in my opinion. When complaining to the waiter l was made to feel very awkward, being told this was normal with this sort of cheese, with no apology for my disappointment or offer to rectify matters, Full payment was made & we left feeling extremely uncomfortable, and for me, upset to have our last night in Florence 'tainted'. Would not return to eat here after this...

I lived in Florence for 7 years, leaving briefly beginning in 2021. I returned at the end of 2024 and waited for my son to visit to take him to what had previously been one of my favourite eateries. I ordered the special of the day (pasta with crab) and a glass of white wine, my adult son had a pizza and a beer. Thankfully the drinks were good because neither dish was what was expected. The pizza was just average, a little undercooked and a bit sloppy. The special of the day was entirely inedible. The mini-crab had obviously soaked in water so long that the shells were too soft to crack. What little meat could be pulled out had no flavour and was waterlogged. Worst of all the pasta was swimming in a puddle of oil and was... It was just disgusting. The two female wait staff stood together, looking towards us but never once coming to ask us if there was a problem, regardless of our repeatedly making eye contact in a attempt to get their attention. We left the food and went to the register where we were not asked if we enjoyed our meal, but told the total and nothing else. This was not the Italian meal that I had hoped to share with my son during his first visit. It was my last meal in a restaurant that apparently never...

We wandered the streets of suburban Florence for a late Sunday night dinner. The streets were dead quiet and we only found pizzarias open. We gave up and started heading home when we happened upon Centocanti which was full of huge Italian families. The staff were gorgeous with wonderful English and we ordered dishes we have never seen before. Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino su vellutata di cacciucco con tartare di gamberi (a blended fish sauce with raw prawns on top) and Spaghetti dei poveri (Spaghetti poverty - tomatoes and chilli) and they were both amazing. The servings were generous and prices were reasonable. We couldn’t leave without trying their Apple pie and chocolate cheesecake. We were not disappointed! What a meal to end...