Acqua al 2, Florence

Out of all the restaurants we visited this weekend, this was my favourite. Can highly recommend the pasta sampler starter dish and the Blueberry steak. The atmosphere and general decor were great, would love to be able to design my own plate next time.

Had the best meal of our trip at Acqua al 2. Pasta sampler and the Blueberry Steak were out of this world. A bottle of wine..etc. Just a great evening at Acqua al 2. Can't wait to go back someday!!!

We made 7pm reservation for 10 people at 5PM. They put us downstairs which was just like having our own room. We had a blast. The TV shots of the Kitchen from our Table was a bonus. The Blueberry steak was outstanding as 5 of us had it. Excellent service... loved it. Prices were ok and a good value. Would love to visit again someday. Since we were visiting our Son in college we took his 4 friends... Get the house red wine... very good.

The Chicken with the Port-wine reduction was AWESOME. The service was less than ameable. Their drink selection was limited to wine, beer and water. The place was packed on a Sunday night at 9:00pm, but only had to wait 15 minutes to get in. It's a very cramped space. Overall the food is great, as long as you are in good company and have plenty to talk about because you will have a long wait between courses.

I have been to Acqua al 2 at least 15 times and I love it! DO NOT GET THE PASTA SAMPLER! They give you only a tiny bit of about 5/6 different pastas, none of them are special and they bring out each dish separately so it doesn't seem like enough food. BUT DO GET THE STEAK!!! The steak is amazing and better than any steak I can get in America! They cook the steaks about medium rare and they are nice and juicy with amazing sauces like pepe al verde! I agree the service isn't the best and I think it is due to the fact they are always sooo busy and crowded, but if you want an AMAZING steak - go here!!

Dinner for 6 ppl came to $294.+ with NO DRINKS!!! This is with each person choosing the pasta sampler, 2 appetisers (eggplants) and 3 entrees (blueberry steak, halibut, and spinach balls) I couldn't imagine how much the check would've been if we ordered a bottle of wine or cocktails. Service wasn't anything special. And the bag of stale bread was DISGUSTING! To pay that kind of money for PASTA is makes me feel cheated.

I like this place and foods... But the Mrs. is NOT KIND. Since it's "TOURISTIC" restaurant, they cheat the bills to foreigners, especially, to Asian people. When you ask how come that you have one more place, they simply reply..."ops! it's a mistake. it may happen, isn't it?" and give back the money. The food is not bad. But, even if not so romantic, CHECK THE BILL! I can't stand if I think how much money they can make more putting one more plates to tourists, or romantic dinner which you can't check one by one, every night!

If you are looking for an authentic Italian experience, this is the place for you. The food was terrific and the ambience can't be beat! We had two nights in Florence and this was a recommended restaurant from the hotel. We loved it so much - we went back the next night to try the things we didn't the first night.

Aqua is the typical tourist restaurant. We usually only eat at "local" tratoria's and restaurants so maybe we just expected the same quality of food and hospitality. Although the restaurant looks inviting it's clearely more concerned with turning over tables. In general, the food was good, my cannelloni's were excellent, but the staff was overwelmed, disorganized and owner Steffano was gruff to one of my friends and outright rude to me when I sent back my dinner. Afer asking why I returned the steak, (not why I didn't like it) I told him politely I didn't care for it, he told the waitress to kick us out and then tried to charge us for it!!!!!(I ordered the green pepper steak, the sauce was a viscous pool of white tasteless paste.) He claimed his dish was "world renowned" :). (I have had this dish before at a local Florence tratoria, "Guscio's" and it was fantastic. no white sauce ) In addition, our waitress was overwhelmed and while taking our order, Stephano interupted her 3 times and made her deliver the dishes to other tables. The whole experience was a bit strange. In our 10 days in Italy, this was our only issue.

If and when you go to Florence, you HAVE to try this restuarant. The likes of Jake Gyllenhall and other A list actors have been spotted here, and once experienced its easy to see why. The food is to die for. I suggest their pasta sampler for an appetizer and blueberry or balsamic steak as an entree. Yes, I know that when you go to Italy you're supposed to eat pasta, but trust me - it's more than worth the change of pace. Each of the steaks is a premium cut, cooked exactly to your specifications (by the way, if you like your steak medium rare, order medium or medium well. They tend to undercook them) The sauces, while sounding strange, complete one of the BEST meals you will ever have. No joke. I lived in Florence for a semester and this was by far and wide my best discovery.