16/03/2025: We chose Borgo San Jacopo as a fine dining restaurant during our trip to Florence, after careful choice, and we did not regret it.
We trusted the reviews that promised an unforgettable experience and the dishes, from first to last, confirmed what they said online and that Michelin star. I opted for the vegetarian menu which was created to perfection. It's difficult to choose a better dish because they were all excellent but the risotto with mozzarella and capers and the pasta with chickpeas will certainly retain a place in my heart. But everything from the amuse bouche to the dessert was flawless. A surprising note is the Florentine baba, a baba soaked in alchermes that made me overcome the trauma of the alchermes cakes that were so popular in Italy in the nineties, making me think that I would even eat two of them (not on the same day however, at the end of the meal I was decidedly full).
To crown it all, a fantastic service, attentive but not intrusive, polite but never fake and excessively formal, all the waiters were excellent and Nicola made us feel perfectly at ease from the moment we set foot in the restaurant.
If we ever pass through Florence again, we will be back to see how the menu has changed!
16/03/2025: Ristorante Borgo San Jacopo, Florence
» My visit: March 2025
» Total score: 4.6/5 – still very good
» In a nutshell: I thought the food was very good overall. I would particularly highlight an intermediate course with turbot and perhaps the main course with suckling pig (with an avant-garde-touch in its composition) which I found outstanding.
Overall, I also found the wines very good. Here I would like to highlight what I thought was an outstanding Vermentino from southern Tuscany.
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My ratings for this gourmet restaurant in detail:
●● Service – 4.8/5 – very good:
● Hospitality, friendliness, obligingness, etc.: 4.8/5
● Atmosphere, temper, facilitation, etc.: 4.8/5
●● Food – 4.8/5 – very good:
● Flavors (range, depth, composition, harmony/balance, etc.): 4.8/5
● Level (thoroughness, craftsmanship, originality, exclusivity, variety of impressions, consistency/diversity, etc.): 4.8/5
● Choices: 5.0/5
●● Beverages, mainly the wines – 4.8/5 – very good:
● Taste (depth/range, length, complexity, balance, accessibility, elegance, intensity/subtlety, etc.): 4.8/5
● Level (variety/novelty of impressions, consistency/diversity, exclusivity, etc.): 4.8/5
● Did the beverages (mainly the wines) match the dishes?: 4.7/5
● Choices: 5.0/5
●● Presentation of the food – 4.4/5 – good to very good:
● Textures and (differences in) temperatures: 4.8/5
● Colors and decorations: 4.2/5
● Timing and sequencing as well as sizes of portions: 4.6/5
● Special effects (positionings, DIY-effects, sculptural or thematic elements, surprises, color and motion effects, fake effects, olfactory effects, fog or smoke effects, etc.): 3.3/5
● Procedures at and around the table (attunements and explanations, elements added/changed, service and staffing intensity, involvement of kitchen team, orchestrated dish presentations, preparations and dishes (partially) built up at the table, etc.): 4.7/5
●● Presentation of beverages, mainly the wines – 4.8/5 – very good:
● Procedures at and around the table (explanations and attunements, etc.): 4.8/5
● Quantities poured as well as timing in relation to the dishes: 4.7/5
●● Premises and location – 4.6/5 – still very good:
● Accessibility, surroundings and - as applicable - the view: 4.7/5
● How did I like the room or - as applicable - outdoor area’s style, decor and atmosphere?: 4.7/5
● Well-being (space, privacy, temperature, ventilation/odors, lighting, soundscape, sanitary facilities, etc.): 4.5/5
●● Price – 3.8/5 – satisfactory to good:
● Price-performance ratio for food: 3.4/5
● Price-performance ratio for wines and other beverages: 3.5/5
● Price transparency and correspondence of the expected to the actual price (simple, complete and unambiguous price information on the restaurant's website and in the menu, etc.): 4.8/5