Risotteria Melotti Firenze — Restaurant in Florence

When in Italy, must try Risotto: is one of my goals. Found this Risotteria while searching for a place for Dinner. Advice: make sure you reserve a table because it gets filled up quite fast or you have to wait outside.

Dishes orderded: Arancini for starters Risotto Funghi Aglio nero burrata cheese with anchovies Tiramisu + espresso

The unique point about Melotti is that they use their own grown special risotto rice, hence the interior making you feel like your in the country side. A nice touch to the rustique vibe.

Dishes were satisfying. Arancini has a nice crust to the bite, and the inside is rice with seasoning and on the side a mayo type sauce for an additional flavor. Risotto: now this was difficult, they have a huge selection that I just had to go with my instinct lol Fungi was good, nothing new, just a safe choice of mushroom risotto, but Aglio nero burrata cheese with anchovies was a hit and miss. The flavor was deep with garlic with fresh burrata cheese topped on (cold style) but the anchovies were too overpowering IMO, so those who don't like fish, I do not recommend it.

Service: Now this is where I was a tad disappointed. We had booked a table for two in advance, but once we arrived it was not ready, told us to wait a minute, once they said it was ready, I presumed the empty table of two was ours, but the waitress prepared a table all the way inside and most important was a table that was connected to another British couple, which was not expected. I asked if we could seat at this empty table for two, but she said I had to wait again for them to set it up, hence just sat down at that akward table because it was already past 8:30pm and was not going to wait again.

Secondly if the waitress confirms your name and table I presume she would know the info, but she constantly asked my name, which felt disorganized.

Dishes need some time before it is served, that is totally understandable, but it does take quite some time for your order to be taken. The british couple next to us had finished their dinner and had asked for the menu for desserts and the waiter took over 20 minutes to give them the menu, which they had to ask again out of frustration. Desserts as well took a long time to be served, by this time they were just annoyed and were not happy. To avoid the same situation, I just orderded what I had in mind without asking for the menu.

Pro: atmosphere and food is good. Con: you require a lot of...

Waiter extremely rude. I dined here with a friend and came in at 10pm, they told us the kitchen closed in 30 mins so we had to order fast. No worries there, but we came in from the cold and had long coats and scarf and hat and they sat us at a small two person table in the corner right next to other people when the other half of the restaurant was empty. There were about six tables empty and it was obvious no one else would enter as the restaurant closed in 30 mins. We asked to change tables to be more comfortable sitting with all our things and was told yes but directed to another two person table right next to other customers. We asked to sit at a four person table and was told no, after insisting he insisted no again and said it’s not possible. USE COMMON SENSE PLEASE. He was very rude with his attitude towards us as if he was disgusted we would dare to take a four person table only being two people. I do understand this makes sense when you have other reservations or if it’s a peak time and maybe a four person table can come in. But please use common sense. Food came out rushed and tasteless. I will never eat here again and I don’t recommend it. I’ve live in Florence seven years and have never been treated this rude! I dined here a week ago and debated writing a review but after a week I am still feeling angry about this experience. Food 1 didn’t even finish mine and left hungry. Completely overpriced. Atmosphere 1 (no music and sat everyone on top of each other) Service 1 waiter with glasses needs to rethink his service industry career because it doesn’t suit him. Get some common sense please!

Edit: I almost forgot to mention how they started spraying tables to clean them right next to us making the entire restaurant smell strongly of cleaning solution.. it’s one thing to start cleaning in the back but the audacity to spray cleaning solution so close to people’s food was the cherry on top of a horrible dining experience. Absolutely zero common sense or understanding of customer service. We were not the last ones there while this was happening either. There was another table still finishing their meal or coffee.. we arrived at 9:30 and...

Nice gem almost out of the extremely busy centre.

Looking for a good risotto, this place ticked all the boxes.

First of, they get all the "extras" right - the place is nicely decorated to highlight the background the Melotti family have with rice. Perfect size to feel intimate enough, but not claustrophobic - with enough space between tables to allow for privacy. If you choose to sit outside, there is a gorgeous over Catedrala Santa Maria del Fiore. The music fits the atmosphere perfectly. The only "off" element is a big sign mentioning everything is gluten free - okay, personally not a fan of that.

Although there are negative reviews about the waiters and we were expecting the same, our experience was very different - they were polite, careful and friendly - ensuring everything was going smoothly. However, they have this annoying script whereby they'd ask if you have a reservation and check to see if there are any empty tables otherwise - it's fine, but the restaurant was almost empty when we went in to start with. (around opening time)

And now to the food.

Firstly, a small set of fresh rice bread and hot, slightly salty rice cakes on the house - great start.

We had the Salami and Formaggi platter - delicious. The meats had a subtle, fresh smoked aroma, and the fat would simply melt in your fingers. The Cheeses were soft and creamy, and the plum sauce really brought everything together.

And as far as the risottos go, we're already excitedly planning what we'll have on our next visit.

Simply amazing - we had the mushroom risotto and the saffron and beef stew one.

The mushrooms were rich in flavour and texture, and the beef stew is addicting. The risotto itself is great - great texture and taste, and incredibly filling and nutritious.

Great place - and we'll surely go back in Florence, and also looking forward to other encounters as they have restaurants in various popular different cities...