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Oltrarno/Santo Spirito: Osteria Santo Spirito

Piazza Santo Spirito, 16r , Phone: 055.238.2383

Reviewed by: Kevin Clark from Italy, review #1783

When: 2005

A very pleasant bistro atmosphere and a nice meal.

On a Sunday night, this place wasn’t very busy and the only other diners in the upstairs room were a few other tourists. The décor reminded me more of a French bistro than an Italian trattoria but it was certainly pleasant and the service was good (until the end when it got a little slow).

I started with zuppa di cozze. I was expecting an actual soup of mussels, but what I got was a huge bowl of mussels in the shell with a little broth for my bread. They were excellent. My wife's gnocchi with cheese and truffle essence was also good. The secondi were outstanding, both my wife’s duck breast in balsamico and my filet of sea bass. Both desserts (torta al cioccolato and crema di ricotta con gocce di cioccolato) were also excellent – the chocolate torte was runner up for best of the trip. We had a nice bottle of Rosso di Montalcino. With water and coffee, dinner was €85.

Reviewed by: colleenk from MA, review #1270

When: 2005

Excellent moderately priced restaurant with a Bohemian style.

Osteria Santo Spirito is a small restaurant that also has outside seating on the serene Piazza Santo Spirito. It has a "bohemian" feel to it with brightly colored walls and mismatched chairs. I walked by at 5pm to make reservations for 7:30 pm. It was a good thing I did as the inside tables were all reserved as the night went on.

We had a variety of salads and pastas that were all very good. My pasta amatriciana was particularly good. We had our best bottle of wine here; a 2001 Rosso Montalcino in the €20 range. I wish I had written down the name as it was excellent. It had a very pretty label with 2 angels on it. We asked if we could have the label and the very accommodating staff let us take the empty bottle home. Alas, I could not get the label off and left Florence without it and the name of the wine! This was a very nice dining experience and if in the Santo Spirito neighborhood well worth a stop.

Meal for 4, including wine: €107

Reviewed by: Marian from NJ, review #958

When: 2004

This relaxing restaurant on Piazza Santo Spirito has good food and stays open from lunch through dinner. Good place for drinks and snacks as well as meals.

I wish I had eaten at this restaurant more than once! I finally got to it the last full day of my stay in Florence. It has a lovely outdoor seating area right on the traffic-free piazza, and is somewhat less touristy than some of the other restaurants on the piazza.

I had a delicious lunch of rigatoni pomodoro con ricotta salata, insalata mista, glass of Vernaccia for a total of €21. Other diners were local business people and some relaxed tourists of all nationalities. As the restaurant is open all day, every day between lunch and dinner, it is a good place to stop at odd hours for a snack, aperitivo or meal, right in view of the church.

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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Oltrarno/Santo Spirito: Osteria Santo Spirito

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