Martarè — Restaurant in Florence

We arrived at 9pm for our reservation. We were greeted by an agitated woman at the register and two customers. It turns out they could not leave without paying three Euros for the water they drank; they were leaving unexpectedly due to the fact that one of the customers was pregnant and not feeling well. They had no cash so the pregnant woman left to find an ATM. Upon learning all this, I paid the woman on their behalf. From Sweden, they were grateful and left. We were finally seated in the near-empty restaurant. There was no ambiance, nothing “cozy” about it. My gut told me to flee. I should have listened to it!

We were brought menus. We asked for flat water. We were not brought a wine list. We asked for one but we continued to wait as the woman (who never identified herself) scurried about to serve one lone diner. She then appeared to take our order. We again asked for a wine list and this flustered her as she was ready to take our order…so we ordered, but only after hearing of what was no longer available. We had now been seated for 30 minutes so we were anxious to get our food order in. Those wanting steak switched to lamb and pork as no steaks were available. They were out of rabbit and cod, as well. My wife and I ordered pasta dishes. We also ordered a Caprese starter, two in fact.

We finally received the wine list and they were out of the first bottle of white wine we chose. We selected another and a bottle of red. The red was fine (no red wine glasses) but the white was horrible. We didn’t finish it. The caprese starters (quite good) and bread basket made it to the table and I asked for a spare plate and olive oil for the bread. It seemed that we were overwhelming her with our requests (there were no other servers). She had just seated 4 othe diners. She finally brought two tiny bowls, filled them halfway, and that was it. We ran out quickly. We were afraid to ask for more.

One from our party returned from the bathroom to report there was no toilet paper. As our server/owner knew no English, I found the translation for this and when I shared this with her she was noticeably amused and embarrassed at the same time. Another from our party later confirmed that issue had been resolved.

After one hour our entrees arrived. The pork and lamb arrived with no salad or vegetables as the menu stated. The lamb was excellent, however the pork was bland. My wife ordered ravioli and there were exactly six spaced on a plate; more of a starter than entree. They were “okay.” My pasta with meat tasted like Hamberger Helper. Largely disappointing. We were desperately hoping the food would make up for everything else.

The empty water bottle sat in the middle of the table and was never replaced or removed. The table next to us remained unbussed our entire meal. We skipped deserts and left.

This is not a “hidden gem.” It was the worst dining experience of our 20 days in Italy. How it has 4.6 stars is a mystery. My instincts told me to leave immediately but the couple we are with made the reservation. So we stayed. With so many wonderful restaurants to choose from, avoid the ratings and go...

Get here before the influencers find it! If you’re looking for a place that is fine (in the full sense of that word before four “$’s” have been added) dining in Florence before it has been Stanley Tucci’d or influenced to death, this is your spot.

Friendly, welcoming staff: check. Beautiful, tasteful and comfortable ambiance: check. Totally reasonable pricing: check. Accessible reservation queue: check (for now!) DELICIOUS, innovative, and authentic Tuscan menu: double check!

Less than one block from the tourist crunch of the Gallerie dell’Accademia, this exquisite, professional experience delivered the best meal we‘d had in Italy, and we were here for the food.

Our waiter, Francesco, was as delightful as the food was delicious, and getting to meet Marta herself was as close to a brush with the living artisans of Florence as we came in our week in Florence.

We sat at the two-top table in the window facing the shaded yet bright busy street, (bounce lighting is gorgeous in Florence) enjoying the street scene with the perfect distance to enjoy our wine and meal. Think: romantic movie lunch of your Tuscan dreams.

On Francesco’s recommendation, I had the egg pasta with “seafood truffles” ( a clam-like shellfish), peaches, ginger, and hazelnuts, which was truly outstanding. Rick had the memorable meatballs with tomato confit, served over squares of delicate polenta-like potato. The portions were perfect, and if you’ve spent a week being overwhelmed with ridiculously huge servings of just “meh” pasta, this was such a welcome relief in itself. The freshness, ripeness, and flavour pairing of each element was spot on. So we went back for dinner.

And the magic continued. From the chicken liver pate (on perfect croissants!) appetizers to the incredible “Martare” chocolate heaven-on-a-plate dessert, our evening experience met and even exceeded our hopeful expectations.

This is what they mean by “old world hospitality.” Francesco, Marta, and Massimo are a remarkable team that enjoy their shared passion around beautifully conceived, prepared, and presented food. They also genuinely enjoy their customers and each other, and that’s a winning combination that delivers everything Tuscan food is celebrated for...

Nella tranquilla e silenziosa Firenze notturna, questo locale cerca di far sentire la sua voce puntando su un mix tra tradizione e modernità.

Location e servizio :

Locale moderno, elegante e accogliente. La musica in sottofondo migliora l’atmosfera perché avvolge e non dà assolutamente fastidio. Servizio eccellente. Accolti dalla proprietaria Marta che con gioia e gentilezza, ci ha accompagnato in questo bel viaggio di sapori e tradizione. Anche di fronte a domande sui piatti e sulle ricette risultava ben felice di rispondere e di fare conoscere i prodotti della loro cucina. Ci ha fatto sentire completamente a nostro agio con qualche chiacchiera e battuta durante il servizio. I miei più sinceri complimenti.

Cibo :

Prima ancora di ricevere gli antipasti, ci è stata offerta qualche pizzetta al pomodoro. Buona, calda e saporita. È stato molto apprezzato. Gli antipasti, divisi tra caldi e freddi, sono abbondanti per una singola persona, quindi meglio condividere la bontà dei piatti. Tra un olio eccezionale, il pane fatto da loro ( tra piccoli panini, pane arrostito e profumato con origano e schiacciata, tutto fatto da loro ), un crostino toscano delicato e leggero, e un piccolo panino stracchino e salsiccia che esplode in bocca, posso dire soltanto che era tutto buonissimo. Questo antipasto super completo lo considero un piccolo viaggio nella tradizione. Inoltre, per alcuni degli antipasti veniva aggiunto un fiore edibile che aggiungeva una nota colorata e un sentore al palato . Andando sui primi piatti, ho avuto modo di assaggiare sia gli gnocchi che un fuori menù del giorno, ravioli ricotta e spinaci conditi con una crema di formaggio blu. I ravioli avevano un’ottima consistenza e lo spessore della pasta era proporzionato al ripieno, ben fatto e molto gradevole. La crema di blu era adatta a quei ravioli, che venivano avvolti e coccolati da questo gusto erborinato. Per quanti riguarda gli gnocchi ho apprezzato la loro consistenza e leggerezza. Buona la crema di pecorino, necessaria ad ogni boccone, perché senza, lo gnocco mancava un po’ di sapore. Tutto sommato un piatto più che gradevole. Passando brevemente ai secondi, ho dato un piccolo assaggio all’ossobuco di maiale. Buono, ben cotto, delicato, e anche i contorni a fianco del piatto per niente male. Piatto ben riuscito.

Aggiungo che ci sono stati offerti anche i cantuccini prodotti da loro. Eccezionali. Croccanti, leggeri e delicati.

Prezzo :

Prezzo eccellente considerando quantità, qualità e posizione del locale. Credo sia veramente il costo corretto, quindi davvero un ottimo rapporto qualità/prezzo .

Conclusioni :

Una bellissima scoperta dove ho avuto modo di conoscere una proprietaria gentilissima, dell’ottimo cibo, in un locale non turistico dove trascorrere una cena tranquilla e di gusto, nel quale divertirsi a scoprire tutto ciò che i proprietari hanno da raccontare attraverso i piatti. Chiaramente,...