Perseus
- January 29, 2007
- Rated 1 of 5 by
Hully Hully from Mountianside, New Jersey
This was my secound visit, but the first as a solo diner without an Italian companion. I wanted to return as the steak was fantastic the first time. This time however, while the food did not disappoint, the owner did. I had been there for 1½ hours when he sent the waiter over to ask me to finish and leave beause he wanted the table. He actually indicated that I had taken too long and requested that I leave! This occured after I had ordered a steak for two (because that is the smallest portion offered for their Florentine Steak) and a whole bottle of wine just for myself. I was relaxing and taking my time as I was now "eating for two," but apparently 1½ hours was too long for me to sit quietly and enjoy this meal. The waiter was sent over and said as nicely as he could that the owner wanted me to finish up and leave. They did not ask first if I was through. They did not ask if I wanted coffee. They did not ask if I wanted dessert or even bring the cart. As an experienced world diner, I would have understood this and ordered or taken it as a hint in good stride. The waiter simply stated that the owner wanted me to finish now so he could have the table.
This is the the most disrespectful and arrogant behavior I have ever experienced. I travel to Florence twice a year. I have lived abroad in several different countries and I have traveled and dined extensively in all the major cities of the world. I have eaten in fine places and dives, but I have never, ever been treated like this. Just to make sure that I wasn't losing something in the translation, I checked, not only with my waiter, but with another one who spoke English just to make sure I was hearing this correctly. I was, and I will now learn Italian so that when I return to wonderful Florence I can make a trip back to this restaurant to insult the owner in a language he will understand! If you have read this far please know that Florence is without a doubt one of the finest cities and the people are wonderful, open, and friendly. You can never have a bad meal in Florence. It will be the first place that I bring my childern this summer to learn about the world outside of the US. You can, however, have a bad, arrogent resaurant owner even in Florence and it goes without saying that we will never, ever, ever return Perseus!
From journal Florence Trip