Pandemonio

Best restaurant we visited while in Europe. Great atmosphere and amazing food! We will be back!

This trattoria was recommended by a local when asked about the best bistecca fiorentina in town, and it did not disappoint. It was my absolute favorite trattoria in both Rome and Florence and I recommend you get the T Bone steak along with the ribollita and some side dishes if you’re in a group. Absolutely delicious.

I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant. I have been to many restaurants in Florence through out my stay here and this one was a bit disappointing to be quiet honest.
We asked to be seated in the back of the restaurant where they clearly had room, and they insisted that it was full. But half an hour later three people walked in without reservation and they magically had room for them in the back…
As for the service, it was okay. It was a little hard to get the waitresses attention at times.
As for the food, the bruschetta was a bit disappointing. it wasn’t the usual yummy bruschetta that I found in other restaurants. And for the vegetable soup, well it was more like over cooked veggies with a bit of broth. And finally the main course. I chose the veal cutlet with veggies, and that again was disappointing. The veal was okay crispy in some parts, and soggy is others, but the veggies were horrible, they were the same ones they used for the bruschetta and just added some leaves to make it a «salad».
We were so frustrated after the main course that when she came to ask if we wanted dessert, we asked for the check and just wanted to get out of there!

Pandemonio est un restaurant familial à l’ambiance feutrée, parfait pour les repas de première ou de deuxième partie de soirée.
L’accueil est y très convivial, le service irréprochable et la cuisine parfaite.
Gros coup de coeur pour le Sformatino di melanzane et le Fagottini ripieni
Un reproche tout de même: obligation de commander une bouteille entière de vin, seul les vins de la maison sont proposés en demi ou en un simple verre.

Best florentine steak I have ever had. Great service and amazing food. I’ve recommended this place to my parents when they visited as well as my boss and everyone who has gone has raved about this place.

the fillet steak i had there was to die for! A very homely atmosphere and the service was great as well.

Une excellente adresse pour une trattoria traditionnelle. Le serveur, qui de surcroît parle français, était aux petits soins pour nous. Le risotto à la crème de gambas est excellent, le vin au verre très bien servi, quant au dessert: je né savais pas choisir entre le gâteau au chocolat et le tiramisu … Du coup le serveur m’a apporté des deux !! Et le limoncello maison pour finir: parfait.
Un seul bémol, la salle est un peu bruyante.

Traditional Tuscan style steak restaurant. That means you see the Fiorentina style t-​bone that you order by the kilo. The staff is mostly family members we gathered, led by a little cute old lady called Mama. She was kissing my wife goodbye like they were family. I did not get the big t-​bone, but I did get a smaller steak with Sheeps cheese on top that was delicious. My wife had their little filet and it was perfect. Our red wine was from the Coltobuona winery we visited in Tuscany, quality! For desert they put a bottle of limoncello on our table to help ourselves, so we proceeded to get hammered. Not all tables had it though, so maybe they liked us. Solid food, ambience is very casual and their are lots of tourists. Space is very cramped and everything is very simple, but quality food!

Made an online reservation the day of for our last night in Firenze. Firenze establishments typically run lean with one or two waiters on hand, but pandemonio was well staffed and we were greeted cheerily from the moment we walked in. Was surprised as we were what appeared to be the only guests in the restaurant. However, upon using the washroom realized there was a bustling and beautiful backroom. The ricotta and spinach ravioli was delicious, scampi risotto rich and creamy, and chicken breast with tomatoes and capers was traditional Toscana cooking at its finest. Had to dash immediately after so didn’t partake but shots of limoncello were being served to those in the restaurant that night. A great end to a wonderful meal!
Tip: When making reservations, specify for a spot in the back

We arrived late on our first night in Italy and needed to find a place to eat for dinner. We walked around the corner from where we were staying and found this place. We were so well treated here! They made a table for the three of us. We spoke different, but similar languages and so we all understood each other.
The food was delicious and exactly what we had been waiting to eat. The servers were in the best moods and helpful! There were any laughs.
When we were done eating, they invited us to move further back in the resturant because space opened up and they offered us some Limoncello to drink. We finished a bottle and the server even had a drink with us! We felt so at home and it was the best environment to have an Italian meal.
PLEASE GO HERE!

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. I’d like to preface my review by saying that I have spent every summer in Europe for the last decade, and have traveled all over Italy. As a matter of fact I write for an Italian publication reviewing operas and I’ve dined at more Italian restaurants than your average reviewer, so I know what I’m talking about when I say that this place is truly AWFUL. I had quite possibly the worst dining experience of my life here just last week.
Now the food was decent, I’ll admit that. However, the way I was treated at this restaurant was beyond appalling. Everything was fine until the last course. I ordered a cappuccino with two desserts. Now I know in Europe, especially in Italy, it’s «piano piano» when it comes to service. You’re not rushed. I’m used to this. But after finishing our desserts my boyfriend and I waited and waited… and waited and waited… and waited some more for my cappuccino. 20, maybe 30 minutes pass. Nothing. Finally as I see all the guests around us (even the ones who were seated well after us) settling up and leaving, I ask our server regarding the whereabouts of my cappuccino and he exclaimed «oh my god!» (clearly he forgot). «Okay, fine, then forget the cappuccino. It’s late, we’re tired; just il conto per favore,» was my reply. Then we waited and waited for the check. We see our server return to our section twice with checks for other tables, but where was our check? I ask again, and he gives me some excuse about sorting out the bill for a table of 14. Finally the bill comes and at the bottom — a 10% service charge in addition to a 6 euro coperto. Huh? What service? I’ve never seen a service charged tacked on to a bill at any of the other restaurants I’ve visited in Europe. A coperto, perhaps, but not a 10% service charge (for terrible service at that). Then ‘mama’ comes over to see what was the matter and in a very righteous manner she starts lecturing me about how their establishment doesn’t make cappuccini (well why didn’t you say so to begin with??) and oh it’s not so good to have a cappuccino after the wine and the service charge is actually the tax. I’m sorry woman. Tax is tax. I know that the VAT is always included in the price (sometime broken out at the bottom of the receipt) and on the receipt it clearly says «servizio — 10%.» She then starts fussing about how «we’re not rich people and many restaurants in Italy, they are not honest and give tourists a different menu with different prices than the locals but we are honest people and the 10% is the tax… blah blah blah.» She says all this with so much indignation (never once apologizing) it almost seems like it was MY fault for ordering the cappuccino and for complaining about the 30 minute wait for the bill. But wait, there’s more. And here’s what really made me furious. As we were leaving, this vindictive woman had the audacity to send me off with a threat: «Lady, you watch out. You be careful in Italy. Bad things happen to people like you.» WTF??? Seriously? I have never, EVER, in my entire life been treated with such disrespect and spoken to like this at a restaurant. This meal left me disgusted and sick to my stomach. Even if the food is passable, the experience will leave you with more than a bad taste in your mouth. DO NOT EAT HERE!

I recently had the distinct displeasure of eating at this sad little restaurant. I chose Pandemonio as a recommendation from my hotel and can only assume that the hotel must get kickbacks or something to send guests here. Upon arrival on a Tuesday evening at 8:30pm, I was promptly seated in a half empty dining space. The setting was dated and the energy/​vibe was off. I should have turned around immediately to go elsewhere to dine, but I just did not have the energy to wander around the neighborhood looking for an alternative. That being said, I wish that I had.
The menu was standard Italian fare that one sees everywhere in Italy. However, the overall quality of the food was simply average. Nothing stood out as being memorable. Yawn.
However, what earned this restaurant two stars was the following:
1. The service was downright awful. Our waiter, Bobo, was too busy hanging out with his friends drinking to provide decent service. He was absentee during our entire meal. Given how quiet the restaurant was, this seemed totally unacceptable. I think that the mythical «mama» had the night off, and the place simply fell apart.
2. Warning: There is a cuperto (bread charge) as well as a 10% service charge, which solidified this place as a total tourist trap. The total actually came to about 20% of my entire bill. Real Italians would never tolerate paying these charges. That being said, maybe only the non-​Italians get charged, which would be pretty typical of a tourist oriented establishment.
3. One of the guests, a drinking friend of our waiter Bobo, urinated in plain site of everyone in the restaurant, in the back garden. Can you say, welcome to a fine dining experience?!
Anyone reading this should simply choose to eat elsewhere as there are any number of very good trattorias in Florence.

The women owners are delightful. But, BEWARE, the food is outrageously expensive and not worth it. Plus, we were charged an extra fee and we had no idea what it was for. Every restaurant charges a «cover charge», but this extra fee was in addition to the «cover charge.’ And, the owner’s husband came to our table to «chat» and offered us some Lemoncello which we accepted. He then offered my husband from Grappa, which we also accepted. Little did we know that we were going to be charged for what we thought was a generous offer. Many other restaurants had offered us Lemoncello and it was always given to us — no charge. WE LEFT THE RESTAURANT FEELING DOUBLY CHEATED.

Excellent meal. Had the T-​Bone steak and the tagliatelle fungi as my primi. Great service. Save for the concierge sent tourists (incl us) and the top 40 music, this would have been a 5