Trattoria Il Giardino — Restaurant in Florence

The night started off great. We didn't have reservation but they were able to seat us at a table in the corner. We had two Hugo Spritzes (the best we've had in Italy in 10 days) and our third who didn't order anything was offered a complimentary prosecco. Our food was ordered (the risotto, gnocchi, and carbonara). We ordered a bottle of wine but the owner/server upsold us on another that was 14 euros more than our original price point. The food as phenomenoal. The risotto was the best of the three dishes. Even the bread was great! However it was obvious that maybe they were understaffed. We were told when they cleared our food plates they would be back in 5 mins for dessert orders. We had only about a quarter bottle of wine left and our water was almost out. After waiting 45 mins with no more wine or water and watching 2 tables who got sat up and leave before even placing an order, we flagged down the person who had been waiting on us and asked of the check. When he asked about dessert (we were going to order tiramasu, some digestifs and coffees that would have been probably another 30 euros), I informed him that it was now to late. I am used to European vs. American service and prefer the european style of not constantly being checked in on. But trying to get any attention once our food was cleared became tough. Each time it looked like we got someone's attention they would get interrupted and turn around to help that table. Maybe they didn't have enough staff tonight in the front but it was a low ending to an...

Toast to Delicious, Quality and Honesty It is a lovely restaurant located near the station, the stuff is super friendly and helpful. The restaurant have a magic cube on each of the table, you can scan the code to connect to wifi, check out the menu in your language (I get a little bit nervous when I checked their menu by the door to be frankly, because it is entirely write in Italian, but on the brightside it means it is authentic!) The florence steak is on point,and the cooking is just about right. 1.2kg is a nice portion for a group of 3 people like us. The steak meat is very fresh and juicy. and with the right amount salt to enjoy. The risotto is also wonderful, personally I love risotto that could pull back a little bit on cream/cheese to brings out the mushrooms aroma more and the creamy texture and flavour is only shown thru time but not by the addon dairy products. This is the restaurant that delivers such quality that I love. For the ossobuco, the meat is fully tenderized and the aroma is fully developed. The onion and carrots adds the right amount of acidity to brings out the flavor of the beef. And the portion is also wonderful to enjoy it with the mashed potato or other dishes. But other than all of the delicacies, it is the staff of the restaurant that really understand what the guest needs,and their honesty is the gem to this place. Thanks for making me a mesmerizing trip to...

I don't like to give poor reviews. But the overall experience was less than positive on my visit To be fair it was a very busy day and as a chef, I could see that the restaurant was very understaffed for the number of guests. But that led to an unpleasantly long wait time

The Good: Food is generally good. Although we had an underseasoned Tagliatelle alla Eddy. Everything else ordered was seasoned very well Service was very friendly and attentive. Even service recovery done was actually impressive.

The Bad Long wait times. 20 min to get orders taken which is understandable to stagger orders for the kitchen. But we waited another 20 mins for the appetisers to come. We only ordered primis which arrived only about 1 hour 40mins after arriving which was ridiculous. Thankfully, food was mostly positive.

Verdict: Service is good, I believe the food and the chefs are good too. But the long wait time was really unpleasant. Perhaps it would help if the front of house had informed customers of wait times OR even stop taking new reservations or walk ins if the kitchen cannot handle the volume. Is it worth another visit? Probably if it was...