Ristorante Alla Vecchia Bettola Firenze — Restaurant in Florence

If you want to eat here, I suggest reading other reviews of this place if you are not Italian. We have eaten here twice and we won’t ever be back again as to us, this place seems to have a problem with non Italians. On our first visit, despite having been really pleased with the food, we got slightly irritated for being moved twice during dinner because other regulars wanted our tables. Right in front of our face as we were about to get our antipasti this group of men approached the waiter and within a minute we were moved elsewhere. We found it amusing at first until we realised that the boss is behind all the changes occurring during service and doesn’t even have the courtesy to offer anything in return for the inconvenience. We even caught him at some point pulling one of the waiter by his t-shirt as this poor guy wasn’t moving it like his highness the boss wanted him to. It shows what kind of bully he must be. I swear it felt like we were in the middle ages. Again the food was nice, the service is fast and it’s a well known place among the locals so we decided to give it another go. For the second time, we had booked specifically to be seated outside 5 days prior our visit and when we turned up, we were told we would be seated inside, with no apologies or explanations whatsoever. A bit of a deja vu we thought. We were sat at this big table in the worst corner to be shared with other unknown guests who coincidentally were also non Italians and also on that same corner next to us was a table of 2 with a british couple which we heard were also moved there from outside on our arrival, all just by the kitchen pass where all the dishes come out and the pot and pans clanging . Needless to say, it is the worst spot of the dining room. Guys, if you don’t want non Italians at your restaurant, clearly say so!! A bit tired of this nonsense, this time, we will definitely...

We’ve been here twice. The food is always excellent. But the guy in charge is such a grumpy toad. The first time we witnessed him speaking in a very patronizing, unpleasant way to a very sweet and eager waiter. We were sitting outside and halfway through our meal we were moved to another table to make room for other guests. Both tables were fine, we didn’t have a problem with it - but it seems this sort of thing happens a lot... especially if you’re not Italian. So this time we asked for a table outside when we booked (on Tuesday for Saturday night), and when we arrived we were told our table was inside... directly in front of the serving window... at a table with two other people, also non-Italians, who didn’t know each other. Again, we had no problem with this, but it was just an interesting observation that all the foreigners in the house were kind of clumped together in one area of the room (we overheard the English couple next to us saying they had also booked a table outside)... also, the 12€ antipasto with mushrooms is amazing and fresh, but in about any other place in Florence you’d pay 6€ for it. My porcini pasta was the best, with a very generous amount of mushrooms. The food here will NEVER disappoint but the guy in charge puts a strange damper on the otherwise relaxed, homey atmosphere. And you might be paying slightly...

PENNE ALLA BETOLLA STAND UP! This place was absolutely the most authentic restaurant I have been to in Firenze. I think I was the only one who didn't speak Italian in the place lol.

I was brought here by fellow American who has been living in Florence for the past 4 years, so I knew it was going to be phenomenal.

This was head and shoulders the best Penne Alla Vodka (Penne All Bettola) I have ever had in my life, and I've some great PAV in my day. Coining that acronym haha. I don't even have words to describe how good that PAV was. It was delightful.

We also got the Rosbiffe di categoria, which was a thin slice of beef cooked rare. It too, was delightful. But not life changing like the PAV. I didn't get a picture of the meat as I was pretty deep into the 1.5L bottle of house red that they provided so that's on me y'all.

It is communal dining so we were sitting at a table with 3 strangers, but as I've said in prior reviews I find this kind of fun. You have the option to engage or not with some randoms. You should talk to strangers though you can learn a lot.

It was filled to the brim in there, so make a res if you can. We walked in at 9:15 ish and had about a 20...