La Buona Novella

Please ignore bad reviews. Try for yourself. You'll be glad you did. I travel a lot, and I've eaten in all kinds of restaurants. The food here is exceptional! As well as service and the view of the square and the people. Fulll 5 stars!

Memorable evening in this restaurant. All you order will be delivered with the highest quality of ingredients and presentation. Friendly and attentive staff will make your evening unforgettable!

Booked after reading lots of positive reviews. When we entered there was a very strong smell of drains. Restaurant had zero atmosphere. Hated the decor. Read the menus - again really weird. Only starters were soup. Over priced margarita pizza for 25 euro plus another 10 euros if you wanted a topping. Never ever do this but we decided to leave after being seated and ordering water. I said to the server can’t you smell the drains? - he said that he had a problem with his nose and couldn’t smell anything. Was so relieved to get back out onto the street.

First off: most of the low ratings are from people that didn’t even eat at the restaurant, dining at this restaurant is a five star experience! We stayed at the hotel and ate dinner, snacks, and desserts at this restaurant. The food was amazing, portions are more on the “high class” style, so smaller but so tasty! We were served several times by Cristina, who remembered us each time and always had a smile on her face and was so friendly and kind! If the apple cake is ever the cake of the day you should definitely get it! So moist and delicious!

Honestly, I didn't want to go there because of some bad reviews. However, my wife insisted we eat there, and I know that my wife has a 6th sense for good restaurants. As always, she was right. I had one of the best pastas in my life, chicken liver pate and burrata with truffles. The service was impeccable, the wine list was long and diverse. We thoroughly enjoyed every dish and will be back for desserts. Thank you La Buona team for making our evening so special!

So delicious and the staff was very friendly! We wanted to have a leisurely dinner and they made it happen. The florentine steak was superb!

Extremely disappointed in this establishment. If I could give 0 stars and review I would. My family and I, 1 toddler, 1 infant, and 3 adults arrived a half hour early for dinner. We were told the table was not ready but we could wait on the couch until it was. Not one time did any staff come greet us, check on us offer water or drinks, which would be fine. However as other guests arrived they were told the same about tables not being ready, the difference was as each group sat in the lobby/cocktail area they were greeted by the staff, given menus, asked if the wanted drinks (for purchase) and brought snacks (chips and nuts). The staff acted surprised when we told them, but when we arrived the lobby was empty, maybe 1-2 groups. When we left without eating because of the lack of decency all 6-7 groups except ours had drinks and snacks. We certainly didn’t want to spend our money on a place that didn’t even ask if we needed water. Avoid.

Location and service was nice, but the food is very disapponting especially for the price ! We tried the degustazione Menu for 80€ and we get pasta, salad and chicken...nothing that explain the price + everything was super salty and not very good. I don't recommand, with a 80€ menu you expect good products like meat, fish, fresh fruits,.. Not only pasta in sauce and frozen fruits on the dessert !

Good food, centrally located. We got a singing pizza chef which made the experience memorable. Great for families.

Aloha. My husband & I are visiting from Hawaii. We have visited Firenze several times over the years, and we have rented a lovely apartment for a month's stay near the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella this Spring ... to study Italian and explore the area. We have both favorite dishes and favorite local restaurants for those dishes. We generally avoid strictly touristy areas, but we ventured out to the Piazza just for a cocktail ... seeking a nostalgic "White Russian" drink which we'd not had in a number of years. We hesitated stopping at La Buona Novella because just a single family was dining on its lovely outdoor terrace. However, because we liked both the nearby piazza singer & his song choices, along with the fact we were assured the restaurant offered a good White Russian, we stayed. We ordered two drinks ... stunned when receiving a bill of 36 EUR (presently equivalent to 39.20 USD). Also, we've since learned that every other restaurant & bar there at the Piazza sells a White Russian drink for 9 EUR; i.e., half the price! When we complained about the 36 EUR cost of the two drinks, the server stated the price is exorbitant because the Grand Hotel Minerva is a 4-star hotel and, thus, can demand high prices. He further stated, "I don't set the prices!" Perhaps management will be less flippant in responding to our complaint ... and may, at least, have input on needed (downward!) adjustments to the restaurant's current drink prices. Charging 18 EUR for a single White Russian cocktail is simply too much! Price adjustments may very well result in increased business.