La Cucina del Garga

Make reservations if you want a seat! My friend and I were lucky enough to get a table without reservations, but people were waiting for a very long time and I think some were even turned away. We were seated in the drawing room, which I found was fun and unique. It helps pass the time when you’re waiting for your food. They even use the really good drawings. Being able to see through to the kitchen and watching who preps/​cooks your food and how it’s being made is always nice.
I ordered the seafood pappardelle and omg, it was heaven! So delicious. I’ve been wanting more ever since I’ve eaten it, but there’s no place that I’ve been to with this type of meal. Still will be searching, but I would go back to Florence just for this meal.

Yum! Fried polenta was complimentary and delicious. Calamari antipasti was perfect. We had beef and chicken after many days of pizza and pasta. You can never go wrong with truffle oil. Definitely make a reservation. It’s worth it.

Sorry folks or maybe an off night but for the record:
We had reservations for two and were seated promptly. The waiter took our orders. We found the selections to be refreshingly differed. we ordered some apps a pasta dish and for a main dish octopus and a chicken dish.
The apps came right a way but we waited a ½ he for the pasta and it was not all that busy. It was the broad noodles with a pesto that had mint and pine nuts, again very good.
The bad: it then took almost an hour to get our main course. When it came, the octopus was excellent, however the chicken breast was dry and lacked any flavor. No one came to check if everything was ok and we could not find our waitior. Finally the person who cleaned the table, asked if we were finished. When I said the chicken was dry, she asked if we wanted to take it with us. Hello McFly!!@ Our waitor finally asked what the problem was, we explained and he apologized. Ok fine and we asked for the check, but after 20 minutes no check so I had to go find the waiter to settle up.
Too many great restaurants in Florence to give it a second try

Excellent service, tasty food and somewhat funky but comfortable ambiance. We tried this on a recommendation and all four of us left completely content and with high praises — which is a first on our family vacation so far. Not necessarily a traditional Tuscan fare, del Garga added an artful and progressive twist to its menu choices (which is easily understood by this monolingual American familia). A friendly staff provided complementary glasses of sparkling wine and an appertif before our meal and was attentive to our many questions and requests. The lemon pasta and avocado chicken were especially scrumptious. The wine list was more than ample but not over the top and our waiter made a very apropos recommendation that hit the spot. We can definitely recommend this small restaurant with big taste.

Very nice meal.
If you feel like it, definitely splurge for the € 60 Fiorentina bifsteak (largely enough for 2 people!) It is amazing. The side of spinach (€ 4) was good even if a bit salty, and the cheesecake (€ 7) was amaaaaaaaaaazing.
Only downside: even though the waitresses were super nice and the restaurant clearly aimed at making customers feel comfortable (it’s amazing to get pens to draw on the tablecloth ;)), it was a bit too quiet — we were only 5 tables occupied that night though, I’m sure it is often livelier!

It seems that this is a restaurant whose staff has very questionable ethics. We saw something incredibly shady take place which left us feeling rather uncomfortable. There was a party of 6 sitting in the same room as our table, and one of the members seemed a little different, perhaps as if he had Asperger’s or was somewhere on the spectrum. It was by no means disruptive, but noticeable to anyone who was in the room, regardless of which language you spoke.
Towards the end of the meal, the boy ordered a slice of cheesecake. He then decided he didn’t want the cheese cake, so the table called the waiter back to cancel this request. The male waiter who had been serving him was upset by this, but agreed to cancel the order. He walked back into the other room past our table and told the female waitress to hurry up and serve the boy the cheesecake and refuse to take no for an answer. She did just that and it caused a whole scene in the restaurant. The customer told her that he had just cancelled with the other waiter and the woman pretended that she didn’t understand what he was saying. She placed it on the table and insisted that they pay for the cheesecake.
By now, the boy was nearly in tears, so the older man at the table, who we assumed was the father, gave up and said that fine, they will pay for the cheesecake. This is all over an € 8 slice of cheesecake that you know costs about 50 cents to make, and was most likely prepared in bulk, earlier in the night before orders even come in, and sitting in a refrigerator somewhere. I felt like I was in an «What Would you Do?» episode, and now regret not having pulled the waitstaff aside to reprimand such behavior.
I understand if it was a group of obnoxious drunk people who exhibited a pattern of ordering and then changing their mind at the last minute because they are too inebriated to make decisions, but this was a young boy with special needs whose night they just ruined (along with the nights of everyone else in the room) for a measly € 8. This was not the review I wanted to be writing for this restaurant when my meal began. But unfortunately I can’t frequent a business that is so lacking in ethics.

Every meal we had in Florence was great but this one was the best! Our group of 8 ordered a multitude of dishes. From steak to pasta to sautéed spinach, everything was exceptional. We had a Super Tuscan wine from their list recommended by our server that was reasonably priced and the best we had in all of Italy.

A great meal served at a little too leisurely pace. Made up for by a comped second bottle of wine. It also had one of the best chocolate cake desserts we’ve ever head. Definitiely a keeper.

I am going to buck the trend here and say that I didn’t love this place. I had the pasta with pistachio pesto which was just ok. My husband had the chicken with Dijon sauce (highly recommended on Unilocal) which was over cooked resulting in dry, chewy chicken. Service was patchy. The welcome drink and snack were a nice touch but didn’t impress overall. There are better places to try in Florence.

April 24^th Dinner at La Cucina del Garga was all Guy Fieri said it would be! I could not wait to have the Tagliatelli del Magnifico that Alessandro cooked on the show. It was wonderful and different with the citrus and mint flavors! Alessandro works that Kitchen all night. The décor is different and amazing with the artwork on the walls. The service was great too. Definitely a place t go when in Florence

I ate well in Florence and this restaurant was no exception. The perfect resturant for our last night in Florence! First or all the atmosphere is on point — as you can see in the photos. They greeted us with a glass of prosecco — like Italian version of champagne. They also gave us an appetizer on the house before the one we ordered. They gave us a lightly fried polenta cake with cheese on top and we ordered the buffalo mozzarella app that had eggplant — both were to die for. My mom had the pasta with calamari, my sisters had the steak and the veal chop, and I ate the fried cod. We also had steak the night before and we all agreed this was amazing! Our chianti was great — only 18 euro. And then we finished with the best cheesecake we had ever had. Do yourself a favor and go to this restaurant!

Del Garga was an interesting eat while we stayed in Florence. We sat in the painted room. Which isn’t quite the frescoes that cover the surrounding churches. This was more abstract but interesting.
The service was great! The food was a blend of odd combinations of flavors. Lots of citrus flavors, lime, lemon, orange and so on. This made for some whacky sounding dishes, but overall the food was good. Would I go back to this restaurant yes. Is it a must when visiting Florence again in the future, I don’t think so.

This is a fun place to eat; it’s in an out of the way street north of San Lorenzo, but worth the trip. The food is focused and creative — we learned that vodka is an ideal accompaniment for anchovies, and I enjoyed both the Tagliatelle del «Magnifico «and the fried cod. According to our son, the veal chop alla «Stinchetti» is a keeper as well. The atmosphere of the room is certainly unique, with local artists work on the work, the ceiling, and every other available surface, and diners are exhorted to decorate the tablecloth with washable ink.

My wife and I are from North Carolina. We are big foodies. It’s hard to find a resturant that doesn’t charge outrageous prices for meals that are par; however, after finding a few reviews on online on Unilocal.We made a 14 min walk. We got there last table around 8pm. (We were beyond lucky) when we sat down. I thought about my clothing, whether or not I wore the proper attire, but you could easily get by with a collared shirt. After 1min of sitting down, they gave us free persecco, free on the house home made polenta with some amazing cheese. Our first dish was pasta of course, best pasta hands down. Secret meat sauce which is delicious. My wife had an eggplant dish which was also good… BUT the second dish was literally the best food we have ever had (chicken with dijon honey mustard sauce with asparagus, purple cabbage, tomatoes. .we also had the best spinach as well we have ever had… there too and IT WAS ONLY A SIDE… FOLLOWED BY THE BEST CHEESE CAKE… YOU HAVE TO GO HERE IF YOU COME TO FLORENCE

When friends from back in the States come to visit, they always ask for my restaurant recommendations. I usually throw out a few favorites, but Garga is the only place that is consistently on my list as a MUST – for every age group, every budget, every palate. The service is exceptional and without a doubt the friendliest I’ve had at restaurants of this caliber in Italy. Your wait staff will be attentive and kind, but they won’t rush you. If you want something super fast, go to a pizzeria – La Cucina del Garga is best when you’re leisurely lingering, catching up with friends or as the climactic closing night of an Italy vacation. Head chef Alessandro Gargani is an internationally-​minded Florentine and he has the menu (and cooking chops) to prove it. You’ll find classic Tuscan staples like ribollita, Florentine steak (the best in town) and fagioli e salsiccia (sausage and beans) but there are also more adventurous choices like the to-​die-​for tagliatelle del magnifico (creamy citrus pasta that will rock your world), chicken with avocado and truffle sauce, and more. Personally, I can never go to Garga without ordering one of the seasonal salads, too – the classic «insalata del Garga» is delicious (hearts of palm, tomatoes, arugula, pine nuts and more) but I also love the sauteed artichokes served on a bed of rucola which I am pretty sure are served at the heavenly banquet. For desserts, everyone loves the cheesecake (including me) but I am also a huge fan of their chocolate cake with olive oil and rosemary (don’t question it, just order it).
I really don’t want to associate this place with the Olive Garden because obviously Garga exists in a completely different universe, but I just have to say it: «When you’re here, you’re family.» Don’t miss this place!
If you’re interested in learning a little more about the history of the place and one of its main faces, check out this article:

Really enjoyed this restaurant. The service and food were excellent. As a fun little addition they leave water soluble markers on the table so that you can draw on the white table cloth. Not generally my thing, but we saw other diners taking advantage of the fun so we participated.
Three of us shared a massive Steak Florentine. It was cooked perfectly to medium-​rare and was over 45 oz. We also shared a salad and pasta to start. Service was good and included as a separate line item in the bill as is sometimes the case in Italy.
It is not inexpensive, but not crazy expensive either. About 40 euros a person excluding the wine (which of course will vary a lot based on what you buy). If you just want pasta you can surely find cheaper alternatives, but I thought this restaurant was worth the price

I have to update my review simply because I went three times during my week in Florence. Yes, it’s that good. The 2^nd and 3^rd times I ordered the strozzapreti with pistachio pesto, lime and pinoli, and the fettuccine with shrimp, calamari and clams in olive oil. Both dishes were phenomenal! The pesto dish had such a unique flavour without being overpowering as a result of the lime. The seafood dish was equally delicious, and chef Garga does NOT cheap out on the seafood. There were big shrimp, lots of fresh calamari and tasty little clams. I think there was more seafood than pasta! It was fresh and incredibly flavourful — I don’t particularly like calimari so never order this at home, but I can tell you that I ate every single tentacle on my plate. I had the Tiramisu one evening and wow, simply fantastic.
I also want to give a shoutout to the owner and staff for being so warm and hospitable — especially when I showed up last night without a reservation. Somehow they found me a table so that I could enjoy my last meal in beautiful Firenze. Grazie Mille, forza Garga!

It saddens me to have to give Garga only two stars, considering how excited we were to come here based purely on amazing Unilocal reviews, but our experience was disappointing to say the least.
The meal actually started off great, we were welcomed by prosecco on the house, and that was even followed up by complimentary focaccia bread as well, which was delicious. Also I asked for the chicken & avacado dish (which I had read about in a few reviews) only to learn it was no longer on the menu. However, they still have it to me.
However, here are the negatives:
–Mixed up our reservation, so that we had to wait to return on Saturday after originally booking a reservation on Thursday night
–10% «service charge» on top of the meal (highest I’ve seen in Italy)
–Had to wait 20 minutes after being seated to be greeted by our waiter and place and order
–We waited 40 minutes between our appetizers and entrees (and even after all that time, they still gave me the wrong one!!)
–As stated above, after the waitress talked about going out of her way to bring me the old chicken dish with truffle sauce and avocado that is no longer on the menu, they mixed it up and brought me the new menu item instead. Then although a server corrected the issue for our waitress, our waitress never at any point came over to apologize.
–Lastly the spinach ravoli with meat sauce was very subpar (which surprised me considering how fantastic it sounded)
Overall two stars: for that price (70+ euros without wine, 90+ euros with wine) you better be getting great service, and sadly it was pretty poor. Won’t be coming back.

Gemütliches Lokal, kleine und sehr feine Speise– und Weinkarte! Sehr freundliches Personal! Hervorragende Küche!!!

Came without a reservation on a Wednesday in the off-​season and were seated right away. This is a very elegant restaurant, white tablecloths and walls filled with art. It’s romantic and would be a great place to go if you’re looking to err on the side of fine dining instead of casual trattoria.
We got their house wine which was lovely, but more expensive than other house wines in Florence. We are cheapies and like the places that give you a liter in a carafe on the table but this more of a fancy «wine list» kind of establishment. To eat we first had Fagioli all’ uccelletto, which was beans with sausage and sage in tomato sauce. Followed that up with Tagliatelle del «Magnifico,» fettuicine with citrus zest and mint in a creamy sauce, and Osso Bucco (veal shank simmered with chianti). Also a side of chard with roasted garlic (simple but yum!)
Everything was good, but the only memorable dish was the pasta. The beans and the veal are quite rustic dishes, and nothing they did to them here reinvented the wheel. As well they shouldn’t, but you could get the same dishes at a trattoria for much less money. But the pasta is certainly worth a taste. It was so creative and full of the most inspired flavor!
My recommendation is to order something that sounds unique, something you haven’t seen on other restaurant menus in Florence. Look for something you can only get here and get it — anything else will be just as good and cheaper elsewhere. Get elegant food to match your surroundings and you’ll feel you are getting your money’s worth!

Actually not a review for the restaurant itself– we had a private cooking class with the owner at her house. It started with a walk through the market to select local, seasonal ingredients. Then she showed us how to make an appetizer (sautéed artichokes with greens), pasta (handmade ravioli with ricotta and mint), main dish (chicken with cream sauce and avocado), and dessert (lemon tart).
The food we cooked was wonderful and we learned all sorts of tips and tricks to try to replicate at home. The experience of being with a local chef and learning all about the food and culture of Florence was spectacular. Sharon is so sweet and speaks English and Italian so you get the best of both worlds.
I would highly recommend the class if you have a free morning and early afternoon.