Ristorante Nello In San casciano in val di pesa

05/04/2024: This is a special occasion gem. Obviously very expensive but the level of food and service is out of this world. Just incredible inventiveness, attention to detail, and perfect execution on every dish. We had the 5 course tasting menu. My wife has Celiac disease and we were told that with advance notice the chef could prepare special versions of the dishes that would be safe as possible for her. All the substitutions were great and she didn't have any reaction. What more is there to say? Every aspect of this meal was perfect!

26/03/2024: Overall, the service by the waitstaff was excellent. What really let's this place down is the food especially how it is plated to be eaten. There are multiple courses that are extremely difficult to cut in order to eat due to plating or having the incorrect utensil for the job. It feels as if they haven't tried eating what they are serving on the specific plate for the dish. Having eaten at a good amount of Michelin star restaurants I was disappointed there was only one dish that wowed me. The turbot, was the dish seemed well balanced texture and taste. I usually eat quickly, but we were waiting a long time between dishes, which just slowed the whole experience and made it less enjoyable. The olive oil provided for the bread to my tastes was overly bitter, and didn't add to the flavor. Some of the presentations were well done but others seemed to make the dish awkward to eat. We asked for two wines one for the first half and one for the second half. Neither seemed to pair with any of dishes especially well. All the staff we interacted with were friendly and spoke about the dishes with elegance and the occasional bit of humor. Anytime we asked a question they were able to give us information that was both interesting and helpful. Honestly the wait staff are the ones the make the place feel more alive than the food did.