Zeb

I’ve read a lot of reviews about this place, good and bad. The food is amazing and compared to what I’d pay in London, very reasonable prices. There’s a lot of reviews attacking the head chef for his approach. I think some of that criticism is unfair. He has an obsession for accuracy in his food & wine which may come across as intimidating at first. People who are used to the place will appear more relaxed and accepted but that shouldn’t put new people off. It’s a small place run by 3 people (as far as I can tell) doing all the cooking, serving & cleaning so if you’re expecting exquisite white tablecloth service then perhaps this isn’t the restaurant for you. Most of the diners sit on high stool-chairs around a high glass counter and the menu is presented on a blackboard to you when it is your turn & explained by the head chef. Only the meals for the present course are read out. Some wine is suggested once you express a preference for red or white. This is repeated per course. They’re open for 3 - 3.5 hours per session & try to get 2 sittings in per session so time can be tight if you turn up late. It is advisable to book. You can phone during opening hours to reserve but be aware that the Google Maps opening times were not accurate when this review was written. Best to check their website…

I am an American who moved to Italy and I am lucky enough to live near one of the best restaurants in the entire city: Zeb. Where do I start with this amazing restaurant? The service is impeccable, Alberto, the Chef is a master at his craft. The food here is incredible, it's not just a night out, it's an event. I have eaten at a lot of great restaurants in Florence, but Zeb is a cut above them all. The food here will blow you away. Whenever anybody asks me for a recommendation of a top-notch restaurant in the city, I tell them to go to Zeb because I know they will be blown away. This place is a gem, and it's nestled in the coziest neighborhood on the other side of the river, away from a lot of tourists. The entire experience, from the wine to the pasta to the slow-roasted meats will delight every one of your senses. Buonissimo! 10/10!

The food is really ordinary. The rabbit and the beef tongue dishes were very salty. The pasta and ravioli were standard. The best is panetone but it is not casero. My daughter asked for vinegar for her dish of mixed vegetable and burrata. However the owner chef would not approve her of adding vinegar to the dish. He said vinegar does not go with cooked vegetable but only with raw vegetable. It shows that his knowledge about cooking is very limited. Who says vinegar cannot be used in cooked vegetable? There are so many salad dishes with cooked vegetable. There are so many cuisines using vinegar in cooked vegetable as a refreshing cold dish. He really has an attitude and is very arrogant. Also, when he put up the menu board, he explained the pasta dishes without explaining to us that we would need to choose one of dishes as the first course as we each were expected to have the second course. What about some of us does not have the first course or the second course! I would like to remind him that we are the customers and we are there to pay for good service besides the food. He has no right to have an attitude towards his clients. Please do NOT come here if you want to have a happy good meal instead of being pissed off leaving the restaurant. I can't stress more that the food is not worth the nasty treatment. By the way, he just disappeared at the end of the meal. That is so rude! He couldn't even have the courtesy to say Good night and Thank you to his customers. NOT WORTH IT! DONT COME PLEASE!

I really wanted to like this place. The staff are kind, and were willing to translate the menu to English for us. The first course was amazing, ravioli. Well worth a visit just for this. Unfortunately, the second course dishes were just not great. The ossa buco, while being very tender, was extremely salty. We were unable to finish it. I would certainly recommend going for a first course here, and perhaps other second course dishes. We did not try the desserts. The atmosphere was amazing, the staff were great. Worth a visit if you're in Florence and looking for a light meal.

Amazing food and experience. How does this exquisite restaurant not have 5 stars? We entered the tiny, elegant restaurant and were quickly seated by Josephine, mother of the mother and son team. The menu was artfully presented to us, and we enjoyed a first course of stuffed pasta with yellow squash and a French cheese sauce that was to die for (capellacci di zucca gialla in salsa di delice de bourgogne), and spaghetti bolognese that was rich and so full of flavor (pici al ragu di manzu). We let our waiter select red and white wines, delicious. Already full, we shared the eggplant parmesan as our second (melanzane alla parmesan), and it melted in our mouths, no fried breading, just thin cut eggplant baked with ricotta and seasoned to perfection. Other reviews mentioned the service. It was not fast, but this artful experience is meant to be savored. You must take a deep breath, slow down, and embody the Italian passion for food. Each interaction with the staff was artful. If you want fast food, go somewhere else. If you want a laughing, smiling waiter/waitress, go to TGI Fridays. This is a show and a feast for the soul at unexpectedly reasonable prices (€88 with 3 glasses of wine and all of the above at a Micheline Star restaurant!). We were sad they were closed the next day before we left Florence, because we wanted to come back and try other dishes. Highly recommended. We'll come back to Florence for this restaurant.

SHORT: The most disappointing meal of my life, not worst, most disappointing. If you go, just be ready to laugh at the over the top condescending owner. LONG: Based on friends great reviews and years of Michelin stickers I was expecting amazing service and every bite to be delicious. Nope. Walking in felt like going into a library 10 minutes late for detention, dead quite and everyone looking down. The couple we sat next to greeted us with don't make the owner mad, what? The small room is two rows of 12 uncomfortable high back bar stools facing each either like a sushi bar, but with no cooking being done so you can either look awkwardly at those across from you, or look down, so cozy! No menus so you can't discuss what to share, the owner walks up with a white board, reads the primi selections of ~8 pastas with no other explanation and looks at you blankly to order now. But the food must be great, right? Nope. We started with a bolognese which was good, but not close to the great bolognese we had in the countryside. The ravioli with ricotta was very good, give credit here. The secondi we had the meatballs which looked like a square chunk of meatloaf cut in two on a blank plate, lovely presentation, at least they tasted pretty good. Our other main was two round zucchinis stuffed with bland ground meat on a light red sauce, overall it was watery due to the zucchini liquids releasing. So the food was good, but far from years of Micheline stars. On food alone it was at best a distant 3rd or 4th in 10 Italy dinners. But the owner set the meal apart, every single interaction dripped with condescension, everything about the experience was all about the owner and nothing was about the customer. Michelin, stick to pricy tires.

The food was fantastic in the taste and flavor category. The chef explained the menu to us really well. And when we ordered two primis to share he split them into half portions so we each had our own plate. And even though the chef always looked very serious, his mom was super friendly. If I had the chance I’d come back to Zeb.

We had the best dinner in Florence. Zeb is the best place, with the best pasta, the best environment and the chef is the cutest, he alone is worth coming to Zeb. I think that it is the best place in Florence from where you leave with positive emotions. It is necessary to book a table in advance to visit Zeb. And I almost forgot, be sure to try the cheesecake, it's the best of the best

I’ve read a lot of reviews about this place, good and bad. The food is amazing and compared to what I’d pay in London, very reasonable prices. There’s a lot of reviews attacking the head chef for his approach. I think some of that criticism is unfair. He has an obsession for accuracy in his food & wine which may come across as intimidating at first. People who are used to the place will appear more relaxed and accepted but that shouldn’t put new people off. It’s a small place run by 3 people (as far as I can tell) doing all the cooking, serving & cleaning so if you’re expecting exquisite white tablecloth service then perhaps this isn’t the restaurant for you. Most of the diners sit on high stool-chairs around a high glass counter and the menu is presented on a blackboard to you when it is your turn & explained by the head chef. Only the meals for the present course are read out. Some wine is suggested once you express a preference for red or white. This is repeated per course. They’re open for 3 - 3.5 hours per session & try to get 2 sittings in per session so time can be tight if you turn up late. It is advisable to book. You can phone during opening hours to reserve but be aware that the Google Maps opening times were not accurate when this review was written. Best to check their website…

I am an American who moved to Italy and I am lucky enough to live near one of the best restaurants in the entire city: Zeb. Where do I start with this amazing restaurant? The service is impeccable, Alberto, the Chef is a master at his craft. The food here is incredible, it's not just a night out, it's an event. I have eaten at a lot of great restaurants in Florence, but Zeb is a cut above them all. The food here will blow you away. Whenever anybody asks me for a recommendation of a top-notch restaurant in the city, I tell them to go to Zeb because I know they will be blown away. This place is a gem, and it's nestled in the coziest neighborhood on the other side of the river, away from a lot of tourists. The entire experience, from the wine to the pasta to the slow-roasted meats will delight every one of your senses. Buonissimo! 10/10!

The food is really ordinary. The rabbit and the beef tongue dishes were very salty. The pasta and ravioli were standard. The best is panetone but it is not casero. My daughter asked for vinegar for her dish of mixed vegetable and burrata. However the owner chef would not approve her of adding vinegar to the dish. He said vinegar does not go with cooked vegetable but only with raw vegetable. It shows that his knowledge about cooking is very limited. Who says vinegar cannot be used in cooked vegetable? There are so many salad dishes with cooked vegetable. There are so many cuisines using vinegar in cooked vegetable as a refreshing cold dish. He really has an attitude and is very arrogant. Also, when he put up the menu board, he explained the pasta dishes without explaining to us that we would need to choose one of dishes as the first course as we each were expected to have the second course. What about some of us does not have the first course or the second course! I would like to remind him that we are the customers and we are there to pay for good service besides the food. He has no right to have an attitude towards his clients. Please do NOT come here if you want to have a happy good meal instead of being pissed off leaving the restaurant. I can't stress more that the food is not worth the nasty treatment. By the way, he just disappeared at the end of the meal. That is so rude! He couldn't even have the courtesy to say Good night and Thank you to his customers. NOT WORTH IT! DONT COME PLEASE!

I really wanted to like this place. The staff are kind, and were willing to translate the menu to English for us. The first course was amazing, ravioli. Well worth a visit just for this. Unfortunately, the second course dishes were just not great. The ossa buco, while being very tender, was extremely salty. We were unable to finish it. I would certainly recommend going for a first course here, and perhaps other second course dishes. We did not try the desserts. The atmosphere was amazing, the staff were great. Worth a visit if you're in Florence and looking for a light meal.

Amazing food and experience. How does this exquisite restaurant not have 5 stars? We entered the tiny, elegant restaurant and were quickly seated by Josephine, mother of the mother and son team. The menu was artfully presented to us, and we enjoyed a first course of stuffed pasta with yellow squash and a French cheese sauce that was to die for (capellacci di zucca gialla in salsa di delice de bourgogne), and spaghetti bolognese that was rich and so full of flavor (pici al ragu di manzu). We let our waiter select red and white wines, delicious. Already full, we shared the eggplant parmesan as our second (melanzane alla parmesan), and it melted in our mouths, no fried breading, just thin cut eggplant baked with ricotta and seasoned to perfection. Other reviews mentioned the service. It was not fast, but this artful experience is meant to be savored. You must take a deep breath, slow down, and embody the Italian passion for food. Each interaction with the staff was artful. If you want fast food, go somewhere else. If you want a laughing, smiling waiter/waitress, go to TGI Fridays. This is a show and a feast for the soul at unexpectedly reasonable prices (€88 with 3 glasses of wine and all of the above at a Micheline Star restaurant!). We were sad they were closed the next day before we left Florence, because we wanted to come back and try other dishes. Highly recommended. We'll come back to Florence for this restaurant.

SHORT: The most disappointing meal of my life, not worst, most disappointing. If you go, just be ready to laugh at the over the top condescending owner. LONG: Based on friends great reviews and years of Michelin stickers I was expecting amazing service and every bite to be delicious. Nope. Walking in felt like going into a library 10 minutes late for detention, dead quite and everyone looking down. The couple we sat next to greeted us with don't make the owner mad, what? The small room is two rows of 12 uncomfortable high back bar stools facing each either like a sushi bar, but with no cooking being done so you can either look awkwardly at those across from you, or look down, so cozy! No menus so you can't discuss what to share, the owner walks up with a white board, reads the primi selections of ~8 pastas with no other explanation and looks at you blankly to order now. But the food must be great, right? Nope. We started with a bolognese which was good, but not close to the great bolognese we had in the countryside. The ravioli with ricotta was very good, give credit here. The secondi we had the meatballs which looked like a square chunk of meatloaf cut in two on a blank plate, lovely presentation, at least they tasted pretty good. Our other main was two round zucchinis stuffed with bland ground meat on a light red sauce, overall it was watery due to the zucchini liquids releasing. So the food was good, but far from years of Micheline stars. On food alone it was at best a distant 3rd or 4th in 10 Italy dinners. But the owner set the meal apart, every single interaction dripped with condescension, everything about the experience was all about the owner and nothing was about the customer. Michelin, stick to pricy tires.

The food was fantastic in the taste and flavor category. The chef explained the menu to us really well. And when we ordered two primis to share he split them into half portions so we each had our own plate. And even though the chef always looked very serious, his mom was super friendly. If I had the chance I’d come back to Zeb.

We had the best dinner in Florence. Zeb is the best place, with the best pasta, the best environment and the chef is the cutest, he alone is worth coming to Zeb. I think that it is the best place in Florence from where you leave with positive emotions. It is necessary to book a table in advance to visit Zeb. And I almost forgot, be sure to try the cheesecake, it's the best of the best