L'Ortone — Restaurant in Florence

We walked all the way here from our hotel in Florence without reservations because we could not call for some reason (issue with my phone). Well we got there and they were fully booked for the 8pm time slot so we were turned away kindly and regrettably. Well… looking at all the incredible foods on the menu, we could not help but make reservations for the next night! I will say if you don’t have reservations, try showing up on a weekday at their opening time (7:15 I think) and there were plenty of spots for a small group.

WELL THIS PLACE WAS AWESOME! The food was one of the best we had on our trip in Italy (including some dishes better than a Michelin star restaurant we went to in Rome!!!). The pigeon risotto was my favorite dish; I could have eaten two of them! The beef tartare was extremely good with very flavorful meat! The panna cotta was TO DIE FOR and I will crave it for the rest of my life.

The service was so kind and friendly and they served us beautifully, checked in regularly, and they all had genuine smiles. Sadly sometimes as young Americans we find ourselves not being treated respectfully at Italian restaurants, but this place had such professional service that just left us enamored with the entire atmosphere!

I would love to come again if I am back in Florence one day and wouldn’t be surprised to see additional awards...

I went to l'ortone with a friend who had a great experience there the day before. Unfortunately, my experience was not the same. And this mainly has to do with the service. The evening was very very busy and it left the service quite uneven. I ordered a glass of Bolgheri and it was poured to me without giving me the opportunity to taste it before. Another table right next got that opportunity which would seem to me a pretty normal standard service approach that should be applied to all tables. Later on when I ordered another glass I was not even shown the bottle and when I asked the waiter angrily answered "it's the same one you had" ... Again not the most pleasant attitude. As for the food, also uneven. I had a beef tartare and it was great thanks to the quality of the meat; the various seasoning around added no value. As a first, I had the black cabbage gnudi which were good and a generous portion. The tomatoes pasta of my dinning partner with burrata was excellent. The desserts were a miss, my dinning partner creme brûlée was liquid below the crust and my panna cotta was closer to jello. Really not sure if this was just an off night... I understand this place was tagged with a "bib gourmand " which has increased volume of guests which could in turn be impacting the ability to maintain and adequate level of service...

Of the many restaurants that we've been to during our time in Florence, this ranks high up on the list. If not the top, this will be a definite top 3. They're deserving of their Michelin Bib Gourmand title.

For the price point, they do a good Tuscan food rendition; not too traditional unlike the Il Latini of the city, neither does it feel like a Frankenstein.

We had the following items: Fried anchovies with lemon salt, yogurt cream and mashed fresh tomatoes Boiled beef meatballs, roasted pepper cream and florentine green sauce Wheat germ linguine with leek cream, raw Mediterranean red prawns and herring caviar Tuna steak, sautéed chicory greens, pistachio pesto sauce and sweet and sour red onions

Items were generally beyond good, with appropriate flavors and umami found within the dishes. The pastas were an absolute joy. Washed it down with 2 different red wines recommended by the patient server. Paid about 100EUR for the both of us.

Lastly, given the common commentary by many others - if you are willing to pay a little more, try to stick with only Michelin recommended restaurants while in Florence. This is one of the...