Acqua Al Due

Acqua al Due is a very popular restaurant near Piazza della Repubblica. Many celebrities have visited this establishment, by proof of the autographed plates that sit along the walls. I knew I had to eat here because of all the hype, so I visited two times and had two completely different experiences. 

My first trip to Acqua al Due was with a friend and was quite enjoyable. We didn’t start with an appetizer, just a primi (small pasta starter) and a main meal to split. I got the baked cannelloni which came straight out of the oven to the table. The cannelloni had a hard and crunchy outside with melted cheese on top, and a soft inside with more cheese. It sat over a red sauce, and I thought it was a great pasta dish. However, the best pasta on the table was the gorgonzola gnocchi that my buddy got. I was mad that I didn’t get it as well. It was a plate of gnocchi in a creamy gorgonzola sauce. I mean it sounds amazing even when writing about it. 

For secondi course, we got the blueberry steak to share. We had heard a lot about this dish and had to try it. Blueberry steak is a weird combination to start with, so I had no idea what to expect. This dish isn’t appealing to the eye. It looks like a dark bluish blob on your plate, but this didn’t really matter to me because if it was good who cared what it looked like. This ended up being delicious. The dark blueberry sauce was tangy and gave a little flair to the dish. The steak was also tender (always a good thing). The cool part about this dish is that it is different from anything you will find at other restaurants, which is why it is worth a try. Overall, a good culinary experience for a first time. 

The next time my friend and I went, it was my last week in Florence. We arrived in time for our reservation at 8:45 thinking we would be in and out. We promptly sat, but our waiter barely gave us any attention, and it took around an hour for him to come take to our order. He was the least attentive waiter I think I’ve had in my life. The service was horrible. Thankfully there is no tip because the waiter wouldn’t have got one. 

Anyhow, this time we came back to try the pasta sampler. My buddy and I each ordered our own pasta sampler, thinking that we would each get our own small plate of pasta; we are big guys and anticipated our own dishes. Boy, were we wrong. When the waiter brought out one little plate of pasta, we were confused. He told us that they combined two portions into one (would’ve been nice to know before we ordered). Also, none of the pastas in the sampler were that great to write about. I wouldn’t order the sampler again. 

Takeaways: While there are some great dishes here, I wouldn’t put this place at the top of your Florentine restaurant list. But if you are here for an extended period, you should try Acqua al Due once. Many people will tell you that this is one of their favorite restaurants in Florence, but there are so many other restaurants to try. If you want to go to Acqua al Due that badly, go to the ones in San Diego or Washington D.C. 

Score: 5.2/10