Il Giova — Restaurant in Florence

If I die tomorrow, let it be known that my final moment of true bliss occurred in a modest corner of Florence, inside the gastronomic temple that is Il Giova. This wasn’t dinner. This was divine intervention with a side of carbs.

I ordered the Pici with Duck Ragu, innocently unaware that I was about to experience pasta transcendence. One bite in, and I swear I blacked out briefly—either from joy or because my soul momentarily left my body to ascend to a higher plane of flavor. The Pici: thick, hand-rolled, each noodle hugging the duck ragu like it knew this was its life’s purpose. And the ragu? Oh, mamma mia. Rich, deep, meaty – like the duck had spent its days bathing in Chianti and listening to opera.

As I tried to recover, the Tiramisu arrived, floating to the table as if carried by cherubs. Light as a cloud, creamy as a Florentine dream, and just boozy enough to whisper, “You’re on vacation – have another bite.” I did. Many bites. I regret nothing.

And let’s talk service: warm, attentive, and somehow telepathic. They knew what I needed before I did. Water? Already pouring. Wine? Already breathing. Existential crisis about whether I’ll ever eat this well again? They offered more bread.

To finish, a cherry wine that was so good I briefly considered moving to Italy, changing my name to Giovanni, and dedicating my life to hunting down the recipe. It was sweet, tart, and had just enough kick to say, “Yes, you really did just have the best meal of your trip.”

If I could bottle the experience and sell it, I’d be rich and morally conflicted. But since I can’t, I’ll just say: go to Il Giova. Run, don’t walk. Take a friend, take a lover, take your therapist. Just go. Your taste buds will write you thank-you...

Stumbled across this restaurant by chance on my first night in Florence after visiting another restaurant where the food was ok.

This place was so busy, every seat inside and outside was taken - so I thought to myself I’ll be back again on my last night.

This restaurant, their food did not disappoint! ✨

We didn’t have a reservation, so we got there at 7:30pm, in hope we will get a table for 3 people and we did! 🤩

For food we ordered the following:

Fried duck egg with truffle Pasta with truffle Pasta with clams Pasta with white rabbit sauce Rabbit Beef with mushrooms (not pictured) Tiramisu

The pasta dishes were incredible. I ate the pasta with truffle and pasta with clams - they were just so good. Cooked to perfection and the flavours were just right. 🤤

My friends who ordered the pasta with white rabbit sauce, rabbit and beef with mushrooms all praised how delicious the food was!

We paired the food with limoncello spritz (it was strong the drink! 😅) and ended the dinner with classic tiramisu which was just as delicious!

Service was friendly and attentive. The man (wearing with glasses) who served us was very lovely and funny!

This restaurant is away from the hustle and bustle of Florence therefore a lot of the diners are local and I can honestly see why they are so busy because the food is incredible.

This whole meal will live rent free in my head forever and I hope to be back again to eat at this...

Oh, please!

This is the easiest, best authentic restaurant in this area! Hands down!

First, the owners and servers are so warm and accommodating to us. The least amount of time that we spent there, they made us feel like family!

Let's go to the food, shall we? We ordered pastas with wild rabbit and wild boar!!! Oh my my... so delicious!

Then we got a wild rabbit and a beef cheek with meat sauce, we lmist forgot our names because of the delicous they are. Im a heavy eater, but we had to take some out because their servings are HUGE! Im not kidding. A lot of restos here serve delicious food, but the servings are ok. IL GIOVA servings are bigger. We almost didn't have room for dessert.

Their pricing are cheaper than the other authentic restaurants in Italy, so we can not believe our eyes! Also, Mama owner gave us a discount in our bill, which we didn't expect.

We're not gonna lie. We stumbled upon this restaurant by accident because we couldn't find the first restaurant we were looking for. But thank God. I dont believe in accident or coincidence. I knew we were lead to find this treasure in Florence!

Dont miss out! They dont make reservations, so make sure you bring some patience, but we guarantee you, it's worth it!!!

PS: they always change the menu every day, so you know they always want to surprise...