L'OV Osteria Vegetariana — Restaurant in Florence

I hate to give bad reviews to vegetarian-vegan restaurants because I really appreciate their existence but this was a very bad experience. I booked 3 weeks in advance because it was my husband’s birthday and it was our first night in Florence travelling from Spain. When we arrived, the staff informed the dinning room was full. We had to wait 45 mins to have a sit, we couldn’t understand why they accept reservations if they are not going to respect them. Anyways, once we were sitted, they brought some bread. It turned up to be frozen in the middle. We informed the staff and they apologised and left. We thought they went to get a new one. We waited for 15 minutes and asked the waiter if she was coming with a new bread, she then apologied and informed there was no more bread. When I booked, I requested them to bring a candle in the dessert for my husband’s birthday. They also forgot. We end up paying 75€ for a very bad experience and they didn’t even have any detail after all this mess.

Fair to say the food was nice, the problem is they are very badly organised and the service is not proffessional. The least you can do after all this is not charging us for a bread that was frozen or inviting us to the dessert with no candle but they didn’t even...

I hesitate to ding vegan concept Restaurants but flavors and focus matter and value for the price matters.

La Osteria Vegeteriana in Florence offers a promising concept by providing a vegan and vegetarian menu, but unfortunately, they’ve also chosen to make it gluten-free. While being vegan or vegetarian is a lifestyle choice, gluten-free dining is a medical necessity for some, and the all-encompassing approach might not cater well to everyone.

The menu is vast, ranging from Pad Thai to gnocchi, but this broad focus seems to spread the kitchen too thin, resulting in dishes that miss the mark. Our meal included fried mushroom, polenta cake, gnocchi, sausage and beans, quinoa cabbage roll, and pancetta. Sadly, each dish was easily forgettable.

Portion sizes are incredibly small, especially considering the high prices. The wine list is not impressive, featuring only one subpar wine available by the glass.

Service was ok, we asked for that said glass of wine and they completely forgot to deliver until prompted.

Overall, while La Osteria Vegeteriana has the right idea in providing diverse vegan and vegetarian options, it needs to refine its focus and execution to...

I had the worst experience I have ever had at any restaurant here this afternoon. We sat down with the intention of ordering lunch. The vegan main course option has peanuts, which I’m allergic to, and the salad has celery, which I’m also allergic to. In order to try out something we ordered the vegan dessert - there was none left! So we ordered coffees, after which the waitress SNATCHED the menu from my hand, at which point I told her we would pay for the water we had and leave, as we were clearly not welcome here. She looked at me with disgust and stormed to the other side of the restaurant. I wouldn’t mind, but we were one of only three tables occupied in this ~15 table restaurant. I’ll certainly never come back here. I’m not just disappointed, but insulted by the service I received.

Had the waitress taken the time to understand why we were not ordering main dishes, perhaps she could have offered some alternatives which might’ve convinced us. Being rude to guests is...