Zen F.
Yelp
My Fiance and I were in Florence last summer traveling for a month, and our evening at Enoteca Pitti was by far and away the best dining experience of my our life.
Not of our trip, of our entire life.
Here's how it went down: we know our wines, but we're totally lost when it comes to Italian wines, so we asked a lot of questions and became fast friends with one of the three owners. They specialize in hard to find regional wines that often only get sold within Italy (small producers mostly). Then, before we knew it, glasses of wine worthy of a ten year anniversary began to appear, paired with food that can only be described as episodes of- "the meaning of the universe can be explained by this perfect bite".
Finally, we were sent off with a bottle of sparkling Rose (which would normally ignore, but by that time we were sold on our host's recommendations). We drank the bottle with our legs dangling off an outcropping of Florence's magnificently romantic bridge, drinking Florence into all our senses. The wine was dry, and the bubbles went to our head, in all the right ways. Absolutely exquisite.
Now, here's a quick bit of advice. Be nice, be curtious, be passionate, and be curious. The owners are allergic to snooty or inconsiderate guests- a well heeled man was smoking a cigar at the table next us, clearly unconcerned about how his actions affected others. He received service to match. However we, travelers with backpacks, were waited on hand and foot. I swear they cracked open bottles just to taste, that were worthy of royalty. I'd be surprised if they made any money on us even after we purchased a few bottle to take home, and they didn't seem to care- they were the perfect hosts.
So, how strongly do we recommend visiting Enoteca?
Let's put it this way- we've decided to get married in the countryside of Florence, and we're going to beg and plead to see if Enoteca will cater our intimate wedding.
We've signed up for the wine club, and we've just received our second shipment (hurray)!
And, we're going to sign up with dinner with the owners on our next visit.
I understand our visit might be unusual amazing, however there's a magic in this small wine bar, and if you let yourself be swept away, you many just find that Italy can indeed be distilled into a bottle and perfectly paired to food. Just bring someone beautiful with you, so you can enjoy the memory even after the bottle's empty.
Thank you for such a wonderful time to Zeno, and the wonderful staff.