L’osteria di Giovanni

it was highly recommend to me by my friend and the Unilocal review looks great. but my experience was just ok, not great. They place is busy, so get your hotel to reserve a table or come in when they open.
The owner of the restaurant was very friendly and i can tell he was super proud of the popularity of the place. :) the welcoming champagne was also a great start. but the food was just ok, and it was a bit expensive…

One of the bigger restaurants in the city center with your typical Tuscan style dishes. Our table was not ready when we arrived and the owner was kind enough to provide glasses of prosecco and fried dough puffs.
We ordered the asparagus which was fantastic, the porcini mushrooms with Parmesan and truffles which was beyond fantastic.
Our main dish which was the beef stew which had a great sauce, but found the beef slightly dry.
Overall it was a great experience with amazing service.
Also we were given bags of some of the most delicious biscotti to take home.
Will be back on our next visit to Firenze.

My family and I were getting a little tired of Italian at this point (we had nothing but Italian and this was our 5^th day straight of having Italian for all three meals), but this place revived it a bit. It is a busy place, so the service was understandably a little slower on average, but beyond that, the service was very good, polite, and very approachable.
The food was solid, but nothing to write home about (at least compared to a few other spots we went to in Rome and Florence). However, instead of giving them 3 stars, they get 4 because not only did they finish the meal with complementary vin santo and biscotti, they gave me a bottle of their vin santo when I asked where they got it. It turns out it was a house vin santo and you couldn’t normally buy it. We gave them a bigger tip than usual, but still, it was a lovely gesture.

This restaurant came highly recommended by our local host as a great place to try traditional Florentine cuisine. We thought this was the best meal we’ve had in our entire time in Italy! You’re welcomed with complimentary champagne and a delicious fried bread appetizer. They can make almost every item on the menu gluten free which was very helpful for our family, and the food was absolutely delicious. We tried a variety of dishes, from pasta to risotto to ossobuco, all of which were wonderful. I would highly recommend finding this hidden gem!

More like 4.5 stars, but only because I am a Peter Luger snob.
Very good restaurant with a number of different ding rooms that was recommended by my hotel concierge. Did not disappoint. Thought about the larger Bisteca Florentine but went with the smaller Filet instead. Cooked a perfect medium rare and a bit different than a standard US filet in that it had some fat around the edges, but that’s a good thing as the fat added flavor. Washed it down with a nice glass of red wine. Very good service with English menu.

What an amazing meal. Authentic and delicious, friendly wait staff and all for an amazing reasonable price. We had the house red wine which was fantastic and cheap. Appetizer meat and cheese plate was fantastic and our pasta dishes were so flavorful. We also had the tiramisu dessert that is probably the beat i have had in my life. A must visit restaurant when in florence!

reservations and table ready for seating… coats taken to the closet… greeted with a glass of champagne before menu… deciding to share… antipasto to start, pasta second and meat last requested… complimentary salty balls of bread provided… hot, fresh and wonderful. so good and kept eating the salty balls… antipasto 15 € excellent and finding quite a large portion of savory salumi, soft cheese and cherry tomatoes, delectable bruschetta and toast with a dollop of warm pâté… wonderful start, but sizing better for three or four… pasta with sausage pure heaven for 15 €…best pasta dish had ever… double up on the pasta dishes if possible… that good… just magnificent and perfection… huge steak 55 € per kilo served rare and tasty…60 € total for one had with a big side of country potatoes… good piece of meat, but a heavy end… washing down with a bottle of pinot nero 30 €…light and fruity wine… complimentary tiramisu for birthday… biscotti and sweet wine to dip to finish…128 € total for a gluttonous dinner for two…

Amazing food and outstanding service. Best food in Florence by far. Make sure you have reservations in advance otherwise you won’t get a seat. It’s that good. It gets packed in 5 mins of its opening time.
Fried bread (complimentary) was really good. Tomato soup and the pasta we got were freshly prepared and tastes really good. Would definitely go here again.

We are goodies and a bit particular. Have to say both the food and the service were top notch. The waiter was patient explaining the dishes and answering our questions and the service was spot on. Super busy, but the owner came over personally on 3 separate occasions making recommendations and making sure all was well.
Shared the ravioli stuffed with potato with mushroom and truffle sauce, then the wife had ossco bucco and I had the cod, both really good, hers great.
The fried bread is to die for, they start you out with prosecco and finish with biscotti. I thought the meal was very reasonably priced, around 140 euros, but that includes an 80 Euro bottle of wine. There are less expensive wines available but we wanted something nice. Best dinner in Florence so far.

I wanted to like this place… I really did. Unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment to my husband and I. We came based upon a recommendation from our hotels concierge. She supposedly was a regular there and claimed that it was a locals spot. Sounded good to us, so we got dressed up and headed over.
As soon as we walked in the door, we got a weird vibe. First off, there was no waiter or hostess in sight, and the entrance was right smack in the middle of the tables so of course, everyone looks up and stares — a little awkward, but no biggie. After a few minutes, one of the waiters walks up to us, without saying a word. I proceed to tell him that we are here for our reservations and he immediately cuts me off and says «Follow me.» He takes us to the back of the restaurant, shows us our table and walks away. Weird, but again, I brush it off. Excited to see the menu, we waited patiently for our waiter. In the meantime, a couple of groups show up (who were locals) and sat next to us. Without a second to waste, they were offered complimentary Prosecco and bread and were greeted so kindly and attentively that I had to do a double take. Ok, so maybe they are related to someone, I thought to myself… playing devils advocate. Wait, nope, here comes another local couple and they also get hooked up, while my hubby and I just chill with empty glasses at our bread-​less table. I started to look around and noticed a theme. Tourists had water and whatever cocktail they chose to order and were pretty much ignored and the locals had the complimentary Prosecco and fancy bread, along with the awesome service. Just plain wrong on so many levels. Apart from that, the food was bad. The asparagus was drenched in butter and supper soggy, my husbands filet mignon was completely bland and on the other hand, his potatoes were ridiculously salty. Completely inedible! My pasta tasted like it was tossed with hamburger helper and canned tomato sauce. To make things worse, our bill was almost £100! It is truly mind boggling that this place has over 4 stars on Unilocal…
Please, please do yourself a favor and skip this place. Head over to the Mercado Centrale down the street and enjoy some truly AMAZING Italian food.

Certainly for Americans — served at the speed Americans enjoy. However, a truly remarkable meal.
Fava beans and cherry tomatoes with Parmesan. Sweet with light crunch. Cheese pulls tomatoes together with beans.
Pappardelle ragout — fresh pasta sticks to meaty brown gravy. Outstanding.
Roast suckling pig. Crisp skin literally crackles when cut. Moist flesh slices easily away from the bone. Hints of rosemary, plenty of salt and pepper.
Roast lamb shoulder. Pulls easily from the bone. Seasoned well. An delicacy served in slow roasted fashion on the bone. The crispy roasted potatoes absorb the juices.
A bottle of bolgheri opens nicely and sops up the rich flavors of the pork and lamb.
Incredibly friendly service with a small printed menu and a verbal list of specials twice as long.
Enjoy this meal — it is excellent.

With only one night to spend in Florence, we did our research to find this place for dinner and we loved it!!! Upscale atmosphere, impeccable service although casual dress and reasonable prices. The staff were attentive and made us feel so welcome! Started us off with complimentary champagne!!! We shared the tortellini with pears and leeks and the potato filled ravioli, both were excellent! Also added a side of zucchini blossoms. Unforgettable meal! Highly recommend this place!

Stopped by this place by the church. Scared it was going to be touristy, but turned out well. Had pasta with truffle oil, penne with meat sauce, and spinach and cheese ravioli. Everything was good. Service a little slow but was really crowded. Fried artichoke arrived after meal. Waiter did not ask if we still wanted it. Was good but did not want after meal.

We had an amazing experience here. We had a birthday celebration here and they gave us a cake. We also had champagne, wine, and dessert wine all together. All the food we had was amazing, along with all the things that they gave us as well. The biscotti at the end of the meal was one of the best cookies I’ve had in my life.

Our favorite place in Florence! We went twice, but the 1^st time was the most special:
1^st time: we get seated quickly and they serve us coccoli and we order the best meal, we then were served delicious chocolate biscotti, its basically cake, they give us big chunks of it for free for our dessert.
2^nd time: they put us in the wine cellar on a communal table, really cool downstairs area where you sit amongst the wine, we dont get the coccoli or the free biscotti this time, so 1^st time was extra special, but still great meal.

Great place to eat! Family friendly and reasonable priced. Excellent house wine and a small menu.

We had walked by this place on several occasions and it has a warm hue from the alley street its located. We were at another event with subpar food and decided there was no way we were going to waste space in our tummies for that, so we ducked out and headed to the warmth of this neighborhood restaurant.
We didn’t have reservations, but we were seated immediately. The place was busy with locals & non-​locals. Giovanni, himself, was on the scene, ensuring everyone was happy with their food and keeping watch of his place.
Once seated, you are brought complimentary glasses of prosecco. Nice! However, we then ordered a bottle of wine.
The food is more traditional Tuscan fare.
Started w/​a Caprese Salad. Artichokes, olives, burrata & tomatoes were excellent.
For my entrée: Rabbit braised in local red wine w/​green olives & sauteed swiss chard. This was Very Good. I enjoyed every bite.
Husband had a pasta w/​Bolognese and there wasn’t a bite left.
Server was friendly and kept bringing little extras of bread or treats throughout our dinner. As if that wasn’t enough, as we were leaving, Giovanni came running after me to hand me a bag of Biscotti. Awesome. (Brought it home and enjoyed it with my coffee.)
Would definitely return.

The absolute best meal I had in Florence, let alone Italy, was at Giovanni. The service was phenomenal. Reservations were made and the staff was beyond hospitable and friendly. Our waiter, Nicolo, gets especially high marks for his dedication and attention. I read several other reviews that complained about the level of service and wondered if having a reservation would have changed opinions.
The lightly fried bread dough and prosecco (complimentary) were a nice touch to begin our experience. We ordered a bottle of the house white wine which was smooth and easy to drink. Starter was a special roasted artichoke that was absolutely stellar — almost no seasoning, just light olive oil — practically melted in my mouth.
I enjoyed the tortelli stuffed with pear and the most incredible sauce I have ever tasted — made of roasted leeks and slivered almonds. My wonderful partner opted for the papardelle with wild boar ragu; I ate quite a bit to assist :). The noodles and sauce were perfect and the boar was light and tasty.
The main course — milk fed veal chop — was also stellar. Perfectly seasoned and cooked, served with cherry tomatoes that burst over the top for a light sauce. The side of potatoes (we did not expect) had crispy skin blanketing a soft interior that, again, melted. Absolutely wonderful meal from start to finish.
The brownie «cake» dessert we took to go because we felt bad taking up a table for nearly two hours. Cool and sweet chocolate ganache topping and a moist brownie with nuts made for an excellent finish. Nicolo, the server, ended up not charging us for the dessert. I know you are not supposed to tip in Italy, but the meal and service were so stupendous we left without getting change.
When we return to Florence we absolutely will dine at Giovanni again. Stellar.

If you’re looking for a true Florence food experience, this is it. From the moment we walked in the door we were greeted by the owner, Giovanni, and his band of waiters. The food was great, the price was right (not too costly around $ 20 a plate), and the ambiance was lively!
We did not have reservations, but showed up right at 7pm (when they opened for dinner) and Giovanni found us a spot. Others were turned away that showed up after 7:30, which is when they get busy. We started with a charcuterie plate, then their ravioli and mushrooms with truffle cream sauce, then veal rollatini (special for the night). We were so excited about our pasta and main dish, I forgot to take pics. We finished with tiramisu and house-​made almond cookies. Would go back in an instant!

One of the [many] wonderful things about Italy is that the food is so delicious, and ridiculously affordable. L’osteria di Giovanni is a bit pricey, relative to many of the other restaurants we visited during our stay, and it’s definitely worth it.
The service is fantastic, the food is delicious, and the setting is beautiful. They offer menus in Italian and English, which is convenient.
When you sit down, you’re brought a piping hot basket of coccoli, savory fried dough, and glasses of prosecco, and you know it’s going to be a good meal.
We especially enjoyed the fried squash blossoms, macaroni with squash blossom pesto, tomatoes, and burrata, and the tagliatelle with ragu, but everything was really enjoyable. The only
After lunch, we ordered espresso, which was brought with a basket of cantuccini (fresh biscotti).
They do apply a € 4 cover charge, which includes filtered still or sparkling water.

Touristen werden hier übern Tisch gezogen!
Essen ist mittelmäßig, Service ist ruppig bzw. Überheblich und auf anzockle aus.