Osteria Vecchio Vicolo — Restaurant in Florence

It was our last night in Italy and we wanted to have a great dinner experience and we were not disappointed. What a fantastic place. Owner (Luigi) greeted us at door and seeing I was using a rollator he gave the two of us a four top table by the door which as someone who worked in restaurants for over 40 years is true hospitality as they were crowded and an extra two covers is a big deal in a small restaurant. The food was just superb. We started with a grilled mozzarella and grilled vegetable dish, then had a burrata tortellini dish which was one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever had. My wife got the lobster over pasta which was cooked absolutely to perfection. Finally we had tiramisu; not the glass bowl of custard which seems to be a sad replacement for true tiramisu, but the real thing made from scratch. Oh my God it was fantastic. In between we were lucky enough to meet the owners wife Katia as well as Luigi. They were both actively working the floor and making sure everything was perfect and succeeding! I can’t tell you enough how much we appreciated such a wonderful meal in your fantastic restaurant. Thank you for ending our trip on such a high note.

Update

Wow what a disappointment compared to two years ago. Made a reservation for 830pm which was accepted online. The first time we came two years ago, it was the culinary and hospitality highlight of our trip. Not this time. When we showed up at 830, the owner told us he was closed. We actually thought he was kidding but after a few back and forths, it was obvious he was not. We showed him the reservation and he proceeded to tell us that it was wrong. He finally sat us but said we have to order quickly. We placed the entire order besides dessert and the food was very good like last time. However the service was terrible, no refills, no offer of second glass of wine and while we were eating the owner glared at the two tables the entire time. When the waiter dropped off the meal, my wife asked for Parmesan cheese and was told no, it’s not appropriate for a seafood dish (meanwhile my dish had no seafood and hers had lobster (in shell) over a large portion of spaghetti) Then they literally started shutting down the restaurant around us (stacking chairs etc) His wife was the only bright spot at all (she was wonderful the first time we went as well). Waiter finally asked my wife about dessert when he saw me trying to pay the bill up front. We made this our first reservation on our return to Florence, but never again. I ran restaurants for over 40 years and once a table is sat, no matter how late (and it was only 830), you never ever rushed them or made them feel uncomfortable. We have friends joining us in a couple of days and were raving about this place (see my first review) and now will never be back. The owner has obviously forgotten what hospitality is, and although his kitchen is very talented at recreating his recipes, the lack of genuine hospitality is truly a shame. We did find a couple of gems, after that at Lo Scudo and Ristorante Il Morellino which surpassed our expectations for hospitality, food and...

As my parents are small business owners, I typically try not to leave bad reviews because I understand faux pas can happen however, I feel a strong necessity to say something so others can avoid this tragic experience.

Long story short- I can NOT recommend this place.

We came to eat at this place because of the 4.6 star review and wanted authentic Italian food. The ambience was decent and the service was good. I ordered a bean soup and a fancy “spaghetti with meat sauce” called PICI ALLA MAREMMANA. To summarize and to save your time, it was basically a hamburger helper with “home made pasta”. There is nothing positive I can say about my meal other than it could prevent you from famine if you are at that point. The waitress and the restaurant manager were both aware I didn’t consume more than one bite of my food, yet, they never asked how the meal was or question why I was not eating more. My husband ordered a different primi (don’t recall the name) but his was no better than mine. As we sat there for 2 hours finishing our bottle of wine, 2 other couples left without finishing their food. There is nothing authentic or good about the food here. If you are hungry and are down to eat anything this is still not your place. If you are in a search for some good ol’ Italian food, please go elsewhere else. We spend 80+eu here including our sparkling water, 2 soups, a (23eu) bottle of wine and 2 primis but we only enjoyed ourselves bc we had each other’s company. To conclude, a frozen meal from Olive Garden is 10x better. Save your time and experience and...

My wife and I visited based on the reviews here and were not disappointed. The proprietor (his wife; she gave him credit, but as a business owner, I know full well that for every successful businessman, there’s a strong wife pushing them forward), was our host/server and it was apparent that the both of them love what they do.

As a chef myself, if I set my ego aside for a moment, it was probably the best pasta meal I’ve ever had. We started with the cheese board, which has very interesting but accurate descriptions of the cheeses. For the main course, I had the Tortellini di Burrata and my wife had an amazing pistachio and asparagus pasta dish (I can’t recall the name, as it was long and my Italian is terrible), followed by the cream puffs (also a long Italian name with pistachios) for dessert.

The service was perfect (we wanted for nothing) the food was amazing (we both literally cleaned our plates) and the atmosphere was awesome; set up like a quaint alley or quiet street that you’d find in any tuscan town.

If the Michelin people are watching, these folks deserve a star or two. Simply perfect in every way.

Thank you for a...