Da Antonio

Our experience at Antonio’s was spectacular. The waiter we had was extremely helpful and suggested a nice Chianti, we had a great pasta with wild boar. Antonio was extremely graceful to our party and took the time to let us record his excellence behind the grill. And let me say our steak was the best I’ve ever had. Perfectly rare with a simple garnish of arugula and wedges of lemon. I would recommend Da Antonio’s to any one traveling to the Pisa area. A++

Our friends raved about Florentine steak from a former trip to Italy at a different restaurant, and had read about da Antonio, so they were excited to be sharing their culinary discovery with us. We entered a too-​bright room and were seated immediately, though we had no reservation and the place was fairly crowded. Despite the lighting, the room was very attractive and typically upscale Italian.
Prices for most items were fairly reasonable, but the famed Florentine steak was listed at 45 euro for two. Our waiter seemed always to be in a big rush, and kept urging us to order while we were still looking at the wine list.
My husband and I ordered a bottle of Asti. It was brought to the table and not poured. A moment later, the waiter deposited a tulip glass in front of me, but never brought one for my husband, who had to drink his wine from a water glass, since I could never seem to get the waiter’s attention as he rushed past. Since the wine bucket was on my side, I was charged with pouring it, and dripped water all over my side of the table. This is a fine restaurant?
After ordering our steaks, the brusque waiter appeared with two big slabs of meat for our approval. Our friends wanted the well-​marbled steak, and we didn’t, so no problem. But after the steaks were cooked, they were brought on a single huge platter, garnished with the sides we’d ordered (at additional cost), and cut into thick slices; they were presented as a single steak, only it seemed as if the steak we’d chosen was on our friends’ side of the table. This was borne out as we ate, when they feasted on all the meat on their side, and what we had amounted to a few bites, since all the rest was pure fat. We got nothing for what we thought was going to be 45 euro. Reality hit when we got the check, and the 45 became 60. This was our error: we didn’t realize that the menu said «45 euro PER KILO,» and our steaks were bigger than that. Deliberate?
I committed the cardinal sin by asking the waiter to bring butter for my bread. I had to ask three times until I finally got it. The steak knives were beyond dull, and it was difficult to cut the meat, er, fat. Have to say, though, that the roast potatoes and sauteed spinach were delicious, as was the fried polenta that was served as a complimentary appetizer and replenished on the steak platter. If we’d stopped at side dishes, I would have been happy. And richer.
I wouldn’t have minded the outrageous bill had our steak been edible and the service good, but neither of these two things were the case. As we look back, this was our most unfortunate dining experience in three provinces in Italy. Luckily, it was the first meal, and we didn’t attempt to have steak again!