261939 Wed Oct 23 02:37:32 -0700 2002 11 26 International 0 1384108 Ok lets get it going! This is a place that all the books say is a must go to. Well, first thing is there are just 2 seatings and when the hotel makes a reservation for 7:30 get there at 7:15 and wait in line because there are no reservations! They have no list and what happens is all think they have a reservation and start to form their own line it gets pretty messy One inside you sit at community tables with baskets of bread and cheap red table wine - the best part is you may meet some nice people to talk to as we did and saved us the possibility of a bad meal in Siena. Anyway, this is like a wedding. You get to choose from several choices in each category ie pasta, appetizer, main course, dessert and they give you some sweet sparkling wine and an after dinner drink - all for $35 per person Now, for us, I am not interested in this type of food- Especially after sitting on Delta with 2" of leg room for 8 freakin hours All of it has been prepared in advance -roast loin of pork, chicken, roast beef or lamb - my wife's chicken was a dry mess-my pork loin was no longer juicy. The only thing that was good was the pasta with meat sauce-the service is good and of course the food comes out immediately -the dessert terimusi is a joke- pre dished and molded it tastes nothing like the real good stuff. Now,if you want an incredible meal that is cooked to order for you go to LaPosta - A chowhound recommendation -thanks Bro for the recommendation whoever you were-fantastic and reasonable $70 inc $16 bottle of wine. Tomato and basil salad, pasta with so many mini sweet clams they fell off the dish, salmon with peppercorn sauce, fantastic desserts (2) for $70 euros inc service . Another hound recommendation for lunch that was tremendous DaPennelo Wonderful- these are the places we expected to enjoy - form your own opinions-I will post on Venice and Siena and Rome when I get back or if we have more time Wed Oct 23 02:37:32 -0700 2002 0 Chuck 1 1384113 Well, at least its confirmation on the site that Il Latini has not in fact improved over the last 20 yrs since we went there - from its $5 a day Frommer guide, to now, it has been primarily a place for young hungry tourists to scarf large quantities of indifferently prepared plain tuscan food. Despite more recent favorable reports,we had not had the heart to go back after the initial experience (same as you describe) in 1979. Only diff I can see from our experience is that they are serving tiramisu now instead of vin santo and biscotti as in 1979. Glad you had some good meals in Florence however, and looking forward to hearing more about your trip. Wed Oct 23 09:28:42 -0700 2002 1384108 0 jen kalb 2 1384116 Great lunch today at Enzo e Piero in Florence near the rail station (not a hound recommendation but from our hotel owner) and then a terrific bus ride No. 13 to get a breathtaking view of the city - incredible and for $2.00 don't miss this bus ride hounds. Just a note on our Hotel Casci - wonderful help from the entire staff - great great location - free internet- reasonable (135 euros for a double) - immaculate - recommended -organized - good bk. We have had to take only 1 bus since we've been here and no cabs - location of your hotel is key in this city -consider stay near Duomo if possible. Wed Oct 23 10:22:21 -0700 2002 1384113 0 Chuck 1 1384121 Is one of my favorite places in Florence to have lunch, specially when the weather is nice. Good to hear it is going strong. I am convinced they make the best fried squash blossoms in Italy. In order to eat a decent meal at Il Latini, you need to speak Italian. They seem to have two categories of foods: the food for locals and the food for tourists. I will admitt at having a perfectly made ribollita and a perfect straccoto di maiale there. I much prefer places like trattoria za za or da Mario's for inexpensive eating in Florence. I don't know if you are still there, but Enoteca Boccadama is a great place to try out wines and have some nice small plates of food. Wed Oct 23 13:14:19 -0700 2002 1384108 0 vlibin 1 1384145 Yeah, Il Latini has apparently not been good for a while. In Sandra Gustafson's "Cheap Eats in Florence, Rome, and Venice" she goes so far as to keep her entry on Il Latini solely to warn people away. I ate there about five years ago and it was good then...too bad. However, as you found, there are certainly plenty of other great spots. Thu Oct 24 12:48:19 -0700 2002 1384108 0 ragazza 2 1384157 I've posted on here several times over the last year or so that I thought Il Latini was a tourist trap with mediocre food and received a lot of criticism. It is. I know of no other way to say that. For what it's worth seriously consider di Vinus which is almost exclusively locals, has the absolute best bisteca a la fiorentina in Florence and was better than every two Michelin starred restaurant we visited on a recent trip. Not just the steak but everything. Just the other side of the Arno. Thu Oct 24 20:12:41 -0700 2002 1384145 0 Joe H. 3 1384171 Joe, In your travels to Florence have you eaten at a place called Buca Mario? I had the most wonderful evening there, with a bisteca a la fiorentina and tiny strawberries in cream for dessert. This was ten years ago, and it seems like yesterday. Fri Oct 25 12:53:53 -0700 2002 1384157 0 Pat Hammond 4 1384190 No, but thanks for the suggestion, Pat. My wife and I will be back in two months or so and will go there-if it is still there. Thanks again. Fri Oct 25 21:43:19 -0700 2002 1384171 0 Joe H. 2 1384160 My Bad - I hate getting ripped at a place. I had it as a must go from so many sources...Hopefully, others will learn from our mistake. Besides the bad food, I absolutely abhor a place that takes a reservation knowing all too well that they have no intention of honoring it. And, creating a situation where you feel like an absolute idiot waiting in line and seeing others cut in! And for what? Mass production cafeteria like food! I will post on my final day in Florence (two real good meals)as soon as I can check my notes and get the proper spelling of the places. I am now in Siena and will comment right now. Fri Oct 25 04:01:09 -0700 2002 1384145 0 Chuck 1 1384227 I have been lurking here for about 12 weeks and will be in Venice Saturday, then Florence Monday and Rome on Wednesday for 6 days. I have done my homework here and in some of the books like Sandra's. I have no plans on eating at Il Latini but we will file a full report when we return. Thanks all. Tue Oct 29 09:42:17 -0800 2002 1384108 0 mrplantman 1 1384250 Just my 2c to the never-ending discussion on Il Latini: 1. At this place you will get a four course dinner at half the price of any other place in the city center of Florence. 2. If you are just another dumb tourist, you will get the standard tourist dinner, but if you speak more than four words Italian and some sign language the waiter will present you quite a choice of Florentine cucina casalingha. When we were there last September, we had a nice prosciutto di Parma with small green figs, ribollita, pappa di pomodoro, fried squash flowers, wonderful trippa alla Romana and vanilla ice cram with fresh berries. Another time we had a big bistecca Fiorentina which was serving two and cost a fracture of what we would have to pay anyplace else. 3. Of course this is not high cuisine. OTOH a tourist sometimes just has to EAT and get something decent without paying 50 EUR per person... 4. The new Zagat 2003 gives il Latini 26 points for the food. Seems that there are more satisfied customers around ;-) Wed Oct 30 15:45:27 -0800 2002 1384108 0 Michael 2 1384265 Michael: I'm moving on regarding Il Latini - Glad you had a positive experience. But for me, its extremely disconcerting to know they don't honor reservations, but now you're telling me they treat some diners differently than others. This is definitely not my kind of place. Oh, and just for the record. My wife, just so happens to be Italian and speaks enough to get by. But, she obviously didn't give the doorman the right sign and perhaps we were directed to a special room - An Americano Room? We were seated in a room with more than 40 other people. I never checked their Italian. In our dining room, each and every table was approached by a waiter and told there were 3 choices of appetizer, three pastas, four entrees, etc. Never once did a menu appear like the one posted in their front window nor was one offered as an alternative. There was never any mention of figs, etc. Now, obviously you, in your good fortune to speak Italian, conveyed an aura that they sensed and you got the "A" list food. Good for you! Congrats! Just because many of us don't speak Italian doesn't mean we're "Dumb Tourists" in the sense that Italians know more about food than us. I don't want to get into a contest with you about who knows more about restaurants and food because it will be very boring. But, obviously many agree with my post on this place. It's really not too hard to figure out when you get served a banquet meal, even if you are a dumb tourist. The real question is why would anyone choose to operate a business in this fashion? I went there wanting it to be great. However, many people helped me with planning my dining trip through Italy on this site and I'm going to share my experiences with them. You've obviously done likewise. So, let's let all the "Dumb Non-Italian Speaking Tourist Hounds" decide for themselves on Il Latini - I'm moving on. Thu Oct 31 02:49:50 -0800 2002 1384250 0 Chuck