Trattoria Maga Magò — Restaurant in Florence

Honestly, I have thought about leaving this review for a year now. This happened in December 2023. I was recommended this restaurant by a friend who loves the food and had wonderful things to say. However, I am leaving a 1 star review due to how unwelcome my family and I felt. I am a foreigner and had been living in Firenze for a year for my Masters, I can speak basic Italian and I brought my family to the restaurant. The hostess refused to seat us at an empty table at the front of the restaurant (we were not given a reason as to why) and the entire restaurant laughed at us when we had gone to sit down. The table did not appear to be reserved, as later in the night two diners walked in casually and sat at the table with no problems. Instead, the hostess seated the 4 of us in the back next to the toilets, on a table shared with a man who was already eating by himself. He was confused and kept staring at us the entire time we were eating. It was an overall unfriendly and unpleasant atmosphere for us, the only non-Italians and we felt it. At one point, either the chef or waiter said an expletive and looked at my brother when he dropped something… I had heard of racism/discrimination happening in the form of being seated next to the toilets in restaurants in Italy, (out of the sight of the window/other diners)… and honestly I was shocked and embarrassed to see this happen to my family. I wish we had not gone...

absolutely amazing .. everything! our favorites were the mussels in red wine & rosemary sauce (antipasti), the 'mezze alla carbonara', which was a fabulous twist on a classic carbonara, bursting with flavor and texture with smoked meat (he made our spicy on request!), crispy breadcrumbs, sharp pecorino romano cheese, and topped off with two fried egg yolks and a strip of bacon... perfetto! (and not drenched in cream sauce!)

and can't forget his special, tagliatele con tartufo (broad noodles with shaved black truffles in a cream sauce) was also absolutely to DIE FOR ... I live in Manhattan and eat many truffle foods .. this was by far the best truffle dish I've ever had!

we got his homemade chocolate tart and tiramisu for dessert, classics done absolutely splendidly.

close your eyes and point at the menu... you'll be served something fantastic! we came back to Maga Mago 2 additional nights of our 4-night trip to ensure we ate well... once for caffee & tiramisu (after a subpar touristy meal elsewhere), and again for dinner on our last night to re-indulge in our favorites from...

Cute little gem away from the hustle and bustle of tourist areas whilst still located very centrally. There are plenty of seating outside which is perfect for warm summer days. Menu is limited but they clearly make them very well. Unfortunately the lady was pretty occupied with multiple phone calls etc. which impacted on service (she forgot to serve bread to me which would’ve been nice to have with the leftover sauce of my pasta). The guy (the chef) was however very good and attentive.

I had pasta with clams - super delicious and authentic although they clams aren’t very fresh (only half of the portion have open shells, the rest remain closed). But I guess Florence is far from the sea! I also tried caccio de pepe - so sublime and perfectly seasoned. The chef really is talented.

My biggest compliment is the tiramisu - definitely the best tiramisu I’ve ever had so far. So packed with flavour, perfect texture and just enough sweetness.

Despite some issue with service, I think they still deserve 5 stars and I’d happily...