La Bottega del Buon Caffè In Firenze

Tl;dr - excellent food and service, but asking us to tip was odd. I had the (land) meat-based tasting menu and my wife had the fish and seafood-based tasting menu. We thoroughly enjoyed the dishes, and sampled each other's courses, and both agreed that the meat-based tasting menu was better. They offer several wine pairing options and have an extensive wine list comprising Italian and foreign (heavily French) red and white options, many with a decent 10-20 years of age, with a wide price range for any budget, with some of the bottles starting as low as 50€. Service was very friendly and extremely organised and professional. We were asked several times for our opinion on certain dishes. They called us a taxi at the end of the evening and made sure the driver knew where to take us. The only reason I'm taking away a star is that at the moment of paying the payment terminal asked us for tips in a very American style with the large [10%][15%][25%] buttons, which is the first time I've seen this in dozens of restaurants across various regions of Italy. I'm assuming this would look very odd to a guest from Italy or from nearby countries which also don't tip in that style, and I'm wondering if they turned on the tipping screen because they saw we were Canadian/American. It just feels very tourist-trap-y for a Michelin-starred restaurant. If you need tips to pay your staff, then perhaps you should just price the tasting menu higher.

Amazing experience. They have a special vegetarian menu which all comes from their farm to table mission. Each dish was well thought out and not a typical vegetarian substitute as we’ve had at other Michelin star restaurants. The staff was amazing and the chef Ariel also came by to introduce himself which was very thoughtful. If you are Florence (and especially if you are vegetarian) this is a must try!

Tldr; save your money and stick to the more casual, homey, and delicious restaurants of Florence!!! My boyfriend and I dine at fine dining restaurants often in California where we live and around the world. We love Tuscany and visited Florence quite a few times. We selected Saporium because of its story, sustainability, connection to its farm Borgo Santo Pietro in Tuscany which sounded special and promising. Unfortunately, we did not get the experience we had hoped for. The food was generally good, but not worth the pricepoint (compared to other 1 Michelin star experiences) and we were really soured by service by the end of the night and issues with payment. Food & Drink: The menu is confusing - they offer 4 different tasting menus (abbreviated vegetarian, seafood, and meat tasting menus and longer chef's choice tasting menu) and a la carte menu. Choice is nice, but too many feels unfocused and confused. We opted for the 10 course chef's choice to get the full experience. The experience started strong -- the chefs played with a variety textures well and was interactive -- our favorites were the pumpkin risotto and snail dish with sunchokes and hazelnut oil. They started to tell the story of Saporium and the farm, olive oil, vegetables grown on their property but a few dishes in that was all forgotten and the experience started to feel bland. The sommelier seemed knowledgeable but wasn't really very friendly. We asked for a shortened wine tasting experience. The wines just felt average to us. The sommelier basically disappeared the last few dishes of the meal and we realized at the end we were charged for a welcome drink (usually that is complimentary at other Michelin starred restaurants) and the full 4 glass tasting although we only received 3 glasses. This has never happened to us to be overcharged like this. The wine portion was an afterthought. Service: The service started strong, we were welcomed by Riccardo, the restaurant manager, he was warm and he said he chose 'the best seat' in the house for us. He was hospitable, we asked him to tell us more about their farm in Tuscany, he said later he will explain but he just disappeared and never came back for the night. It was a shame we didnt learn more. I understand if there is an emergency and he needed to step out but the fault is that his staff and coworkers did not cover for him and continue telling the story. As a restaurant of that caliber, you cannot rely on just the one manager to carry the team. After we paid, we realized the whole staff went missing, nobody to be found and we ended up going behind the front desk to grab our jackets out of the closet ourselves. There was nobody to say goodbye or help you collect your things. It felt transactional -- like after we paid, the job was done and the staff didnt need to be there anymore. That left a bad taste in our mouth and is completely unacceptable at any restaurant!! Price & Payment Issues: Like a couple other reviewers said, there were issues on Saporium's payment processor to hold the reservation. Saporium charges a whopping €100 per person to hold the reservation. Like others, we dealt with Riccardo and for me it was a back and forth battle to get my refund. It is fine to have the credit card on file in case someone doesn't show up. But it is NOT OKAY to charge the card €200 and not refund the amount for weeks, and that is only because I contacted them!!! What happened to me was that they said they would apply the hold amount to our final bill but instead, they charged the additional €200 to us. Riccardo messaged me on WhatsApp later that night explaining the mistake, and said he had already refunded the amount, but it turns out it never went through. So it was a back and forth battle to get my money back. We paid over $900 for a meal and wine for 2 people. It's completely not worth the price especially for the experience we had. In the US, that pricepoint is closer to a 2 star experience in a more expensive city like SF or NYC, which Saporium is not. It's safe to say we'll never be back.

Excellence in every aspect. We had an amazing dinner with an exceptional service. Everyone happy and attentive. I recommend it.

A spectacular dining experience

Perfect and warm welcome from the entire team, who took the time to explain to us the philosophy of the chef and the restaurant, based on farm to table, with almost all the products coming from their organic farm 70km from Florence . A well-deserved Michelin green star (in addition to the normal star)! The cuisine is super creative while being regressive and delicious. And it's very nice to have a vegetarian menu that is as elaborate and creative as the others! The chef was very present and friendly (in perfect French!). We also really appreciated that the kitchen was open to see behind the scenes behind each dish. A success!

The most wonderful food experience we’ve ever had. It’s a beautiful place, the service was so attentive but never obtrusive, and the whole team - starting with the incredible chef - is just so talented. And, most importantly, the food was literally all perfect and so interesting - every new dish a surprise but a great progression, the portions just the right size, and not one thing could be improved in my opinion. We got the seafood tasting menu for me and the meat for my husband and both tried each other’s and all were just supreme. And I was pregnant and couldn’t drink, and the mixologist made me three of the best mocktails I’ve ever tasted - and this is not my first pregnancy, so I’ve gone through a lot of mocktails. They truly made me not feel like I was missing out at all, which was a real achievement because I love tasting wine and was sad to miss out on that part of the experience. We can’t wait to come back one day.

Really a great food and service experience. A Michelin star experience. Very professional. The explanations about the food were a bit strong and difficult to understand, but otherwise fine service. A bit expensive.

It was a really impressive evening. Starting with the bar, which is super nice. In the restaurant we had a taste explosion in several courses. The individual dishes were very creative and delicious. The service was excellent, very attentive and friendly. We felt very comfortable.

I NEVER leave reviews, but Saporium Firenze may be one of the top twenty restaurants in the world right now. As someone who has eaten at hundreds of Michelin starred restaurants, and as a former restaurant owner myself, believe me when I say the tastings menus are Michelin 3 star. The vegetarian tasting is stunning (they do not force the entire table to have the same tasting menu, bravo). The menus balance savory with unique sources of acidity and sourness (fermentations, etc…) to create perfect harmony, sadly lacking at many places. The food is neither too heavy nor too ethereal. Both tasting menus we had were mistake free. Front of the house is perfect, charming, warm, and thoughtful. Wine list is massive and has a few hidden gems at reasonable prices (heavy on the Italian selection as you would guess but hey, drink local). If you are looking for modern creative italian fine dining with a soul still intact then just go. Seriously. Just go. You don’t need to know more.