Perseus — Restaurant in Florence

Appalling service. Used to come here every year around Xmas when visiting my parents. My mom called to reserve a table early on in December and specifically asked for a table inside. We arrived punctual at 19,30. The head waiter (or what I assume was the head) an unpleasant middle aged man, was already very brusque and told us there was only a table outside. Outside is under a tent with heaters. For various reasons we preferred a table inside in a nicer atmosphere (and warmer!). We said we would wait. They did not specify how much the wait time would be. We waited 15-20 min in an uncomfortable small space, while people with reservations for 3 kept on being seated. It was full of tables for 3 inside and they did not even consider giving us one of those, we did not ask but kept in waiting. Since they kept on seating the couples that came in without reservation in the outside part, my husband thought that maybe they had not understood that we reserved, and I asked again, POLITELY, If he had gotten my name and that I had reserved. The head waiter went mad and started literally yelling at us saying that we had a table outside but we were being difficult. I was totally taken aback by his rudeness and sudden outburst. I even kept my calm but my husband told him we would never come again and he said he didn’t give a damn and to not come again, always shouting. I never saw anything like this in a restaurant, they should be ashamed of themselves and this guy should be fired. While we were waiting I could see how he treated the waiters and even foreigners who called on the Phone, muttering stuff in Italian (obviously this individual did not speak English). Perseus became famous for its Fiorentina steak, but there are plenty of other places where you could go for a great steak. We ended up in Bronzino that was excellent and the staff lovely. Clearly we will never...

Yesterday our hotel called to reserve a table for us for this evening at Perseus--the restaurant asked if 8p could work...so we reserved 8p. Walked 35 minutes outside of the city center, and arrived tonight to a very abrupt "I told your hotel you could come by, but you'd have to wait...go wait in that corner." From the owner. OK--we wait 30 seconds, and he comes back and says, you can sit outside. We go outside and there are two seats open at someone else's table only...a bit surprised I ask a waiter in perfect Italian (I'm bilingual), "we sit with others then" He snaps back..."that's all we have." I'm processing for a second whether we are OK with that, as another waiter says we can take those seats, and the previous waiter says "NO no, don't give it to them...let these people (without a reservation) sit there instead."

Enough disrespect, so walk away...after having looked forward to a Fiorentina steak for a few days now. No meal is worth being mistreated by people who believe there food is good enough that we should feel lucky to give them our business and accept being disrespected. Going here felt akin to a South Beach or New York club using red velvet ropes and bad attitudes to create an aura of exclusivity. Keep is up Perseus...a few more bad reviews and people may start to...

WORST dining experience in Florence! In a city that prides itself on its Tuscan cuisine and welcoming visitors to the table, this restaurant failed spectacularly at both. My mild-mannered husband, who speaks Italian, was screamed out when he asked for a table outside, and I mean SCREAMED at! Why would you do this to a potential customer?

I ordered the pork cutlet, and my husband ordered the rabbit, two common dishes we’ve seen on menus in Florence. Both were absolutely disgusting. Mine was almost all fat, I was able to pull out, perhaps three forkfuls of meat, see picture. My husband had the same experience, his dish was all fat and very little rabbit.

After dinner, when my husband try to speak with the restaurant owner about being yelled at, he could care less. I don’t know what was said in Italian, but it was obvious by the hand gestures that chose to ignore us and we were shooed out of the restaurant.

Me and my husband are in our mid-50s and mid 60s respectively. We’ve traveled extensively and we enjoy visiting new places, trying to foods and getting to know the local people and culture. Restaurants play an important role as ambassadors. If you are looking for great Tuscan cuisine in a warm and welcoming atmosphere, keep looking, this isn’t the place, not...