4 comments on “Florence: La Giostra Ristorante

  1. The dessert in the picture is called Sissy .Don’t you think that it was too much food?i mean at the end I was feeling bad …I like the place but I think they should either warn you or make their portions smaller.

  2. alban,
    thanks for the dessert name.
    It was a ton of food, but I went in large groups, hence I was not sure how much food there was. Lots of us also came from the USA, so ourr portions are a bit larger.
    As to a warning of too much food…well, thats up to whos going…large portions are great if you are hungery and low on cash, but sometimes when you pay a bunch and get a bunch, it feels better. I dont think their portions were too big, but their 1st dishes were a bit big, though tasty.

    I’d go back here anytime with a group…perhaps I should try going in wiht one other….but from what I saw, all the tables were packed full of larger groups..

    cheers,
    _t

  3. hi again,

    I live in the States too and I know that people like to get as much quantity as they have paid for the food(not that quantity is always the goal in a dinner).However,I have been to the Giostra many times(my wife and I lived a few blocks away on Borgo Pinti) and always had a good time but never managed to finish my first course.I like the friendly atmosphere in the restaurant ,I like the presentation of the welcoming appetizer (a bit disappointed when I heard the same exact welcoming speech being repeated verbatim to the next table ) and I liked that although it’s not on the menu they always gave me just the one glass of red that I wanted.The wine list is nicely selected and you can pick anything even if you don’t know the wine. One of the few places where I didn’t feel I was being tricked monetarily or qualitativily.

  4. alban,

    I’m glad to hear you have been to giostra several times, and just like you, I tooo was a bit tiredsome of the repetative presesntation by the old man(prince) chef, yet, it was entertaining and charming each time somehow.
    The atmosphere was great…i like cozy mid lit environments, with some bricks and a bit of jazz and excitement.
    The wine was always good…but then again, i was in italy…i only had bad wine at the touristy areas where the damn waiters would server watered down cheaper wine other than the one we ordered….my friend who speaks italian overheard some waiters yelling at their workers to do this and get more tourists, etc…that left a somewhat bad impression of their culture, but hey, its business…and the more money the better in some areas… hopefully Florence gets rid of their touristy areas some and mandate some food laws for tourist.
    Since you lived there, perhaps you could give me your top3 list with webpages, locations, etc….I was suppose to be there in June, but i think that trip is going to be postponed till a later date…
    thanks!
    _t

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