Other reviews comment on the spectacular view. This is about food and service. We had supper the previous night at the bar of the Westin Excelsior so we decided to try the restaurant. Reservations required. We show up at the appointed time and are seated. Menu is embarrassingly small. Prices quite large. We each ordered one course. Wife asked for the filet. I requested spaghetti in clam sauce. Filet turned out pretty well. Took 45 minutes. Now imagine a can of clams well past their sell-by date. Make chowder. Submerge a bit of spaghetti in it. That was my dinner. Nasty! Sent back. Order tortellini stuffed with veal. After another 30 mins it comes: 8 tiny roll ups with ground veal inside. Tastes OK. Bill came to 140 euros. Anyway save time and euros. Dine elsewhere.
Stephanie C.
Place rating: 1 Baltimore, MD
My friend and I came here on a recommendation, and unfortunately, this was by far our worst experience in all of Italy. The wine was expensive, the view was OK(nothing compared to the Cupola at the Duomo), but the service was inexcusable. The manager asked us to move from the six-top seating area because there was only two of us. We complied, as we’re accommodating people, but the group sitting there before us was only two and the group that sat down immediately after we relocated was only two as well. When we asked him about it later, he just restated again that we were only two people and the area is for six. We didn’t get an apology or anything. For 14 Euro a glass, I would expect better customer service. Actually, for 14 Euro a glass, we were just being crazy. The local restaurants are hands down better and cheaper. Don’t waste your time here.
Brandon M.
Place rating: 2 Stuyvesant Town, Manhattan, NY
Great view and that’s it. Extremely overrated and for a top notch hotel, the service was very poor. The food was very bland and the atmosphere was pretentious. Much better places in Florence to explore for apperitivio!
Dara M.
Place rating: 4 Thousand Oaks, CA
Pros: Drinks are delicious View is outrageous Cons: Service is terrible Prices are steep You really can’t beat the view of Se-Sto…right next to the Arno, with views of all of Florence, plus the hills beyond. Located on the top floor of the Westin Excelsior, this is a great place to spend a bit of time, sipping a cocktail and taking in the sights, but you’ll pay for it… cocktails cost, on average, € 15, but they go up to a minimum of € 18 from 7:00 — 9:00pm. Because they can, I suppose! On the bright side, the drinks are really well made. The Wonderland(aperol, ginger syrup, mandarin vodka, St. Germain, and fresh mint, garnished with blueberries) was the table favorite, but the traditional spritz was also fantastic – probably the best we had in Italy(and we certainly tried a good many!). They serve potato chips and peanuts with the drinks as well. The service is snotty, but whatever.
Rachel k.
Place rating: 1 Walnut Creek, CA
Awful, rude staff. Avoid. Went here for a sunset drink pre dinner reservation. They would not allow us to get drinks at the bar or stand on the patio and said that its a 40 min wait for a table. As we have reservations elsewhere I said sorry, next time, well just check out the view and leave, at which point I was literally treated like a street rat, physically not allowed to step one foot beyond the host stand. I am a lady in a dress and heels with my husband, and the man not only prevents us from looking out the window but calls over his old man boss to tell me again(even though I did not ask) that we are not permitted to enter without a table. You know the«you see this watch» scene in Glengarry Glen ross? I was so close to recreating that speech to this ahole. Its a god damn roof bar at a hotel, where people are paying upwards of $ 500 to stay. I will NEVER return and look forward to reviewing the entire hotel poorly due to this one employees awful head up his own ass behavior.
Stef B.
Place rating: 1 Walnut Creek, CA
Service is atrocious and they are condescending as well. Maybe they should check their attitude when they don their uniform. I’m fine with Hotels, Restaurants and Bars maintaining a certain level standards, but don’t treat your high paying customers like they’re an inconvenient turd you stepped in. There are many fine establishments in Firenzi who are more deserving of your patronage.
Jason N.
Place rating: 1 Union Square, San Francisco, CA
Heard about the bar on top of the Westin, and thought we’d give it a try. Service was horrible. Waited for nearly 30 minutes just to be talked to. As we were about to leave the server stopped by and we ordered. I really wish we would have just left. Mediocre food and drinks and very over priced. View is OK, but there are better views in the city for sure. We waited another 30 minutes to try and get our check, and when it never arrived, we had to go up to the welcome desk to pay. I would never recommend this to anyone.
Wing C.
Place rating: 1 Manhattan, NY
With our cab driver and concierge’s recommendation, my husband surprised me with a dinner reservation to celebrate our first honeymoon night in Florence and 26th birthday. The restaurant just as everyone has described it — chic and trendy. The view was spectacular — even if not seated by the window or on the balcony — the floor to ceiling windows allowed for the most gorgeous sunset one can find in the city. Service started off very professionally — bread basket, drinks, explanation of menu/specials. After placing our orders however, we were simply forgotten. Perhaps because we didn’t order their fine wine? Or didn’t go with their 5 course tastings? Honestly, we felt as we were treated second class citizens — definitely not how I wanted to remember my honeymoon/birthday. Aside from being ignored, the food was atrocious. I’d almost never sent food back to the kitchen but I did twice on this single dining experience. I actually spit out my ravioli. After addressing my server that my dish was inedible(beyond salty and unbelievably fishy), a new«remade» was brought out. Unfortunately, It tasted exactly the same. Not wanting to make things more difficult, my husband offered to swap his dish with mine. Yet again, I was disappointed — his pasta was bland and tasteless. The pesto was this green watery sauce. I took one bite and I knew this dinner was done. My husband felt so guilty for choosing this restaurant as our first meal in the city. We simply wanted to get out of there as soon as possible — We didn’t even bother staying for the sunset or the view. What an unforgettable, wasteful meal…
Carlotta C.
Place rating: 3 London, United Kingdom
I came here one night with my mother, we got two glasses of wine, two appetizers, two mains, and I also got a dessert. Pretty small portions but understandable, The quality of the products was good but the dishes were nothing special. The place itself is quite«trendy», although I think they could have done something more special; the view is absolutely spectacular. The staff is extremely professional but also friendly. I noticed the place is manly frequented by businessmen/women. All in all, we spent about two hundred euros. It’s a nice place to see Florence from a different perspective but I’m not going back.
Barisa J.
Place rating: 4 New York, NY
Nice view and great service. The cucumber martini was delicious — it had a lot of basil in it but still had a fresh cucumber flavor. The manhattan was also prepared well. They give out plenty of free snacks and the service was really attentive. A little pricey, though but that’s what you get at hotel bars.
Kim S.
Place rating: 4 Charlotte, NC
Always looking for a great view in Firenze and one with beverage service gets extra stars. I must say this was perfect. A warm day, I was walking around town and thought, why not. I sat on the right side of the building, along the Arno looking toward Ponte Vecchio to avoid the sun in my eyes, but the sunset view would have been perfect. I left before sunset. I enjoyed an orange & raspberry mojito… very refreshing on this sunny day. The spritz was also very refreshing & I highly recommend trying it during a trip to Italy. Drinks are very expensive, so not something to do often, but considering the view it was a nice treat. Enter through the Westin hotel lobby and head to the 6th floor on the elevator. They offered a bowl of chips & nuts at the table for snacking, which I appreciated.
John G.
Place rating: 4 Greenwich, CT
Beautiful place for a view. If you sit on the right side of the restaurant(looking away from Ponte Vecchio you get sunset views over Tuscany. Best view on the Arno from any seat. Went just for drinks but the food looked good.
David O.
Place rating: 2 Jersey City, NJ
After hearing such great things about this new restaurant, I decided to give it a try. I was fairly disappointed. The menu was incredibly weird, and had no authentic Italian food whatsoever. It featured strange exotics such as octopus, and things I had never even heard of before. All of this is given a purely outrageous price 20 euro for a 1st course, which is upsetting since the restaurant is only slightly upscale. To make matters worse the service is incredibly slow, it took me about 30 minuets to flag down a waitress to give me my check. The restaurant had a mixed crowd of obnoxious and loud American tourists and some local Italians here and there. The only saving grace about this place is that it has a fantastic view of Florence. By walking around the restaurant you can get the entire panorama of Florence. Perhaps I will come back, but only to have a drink at the bar and have a view. Otherwise, I can get MUCH better value and elegance for my money elsewhere.
Hiro S.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
They opened this modern/comtemporary bar/restaurant on the rooftop only a few months ago. Since a couple of people I encountered highly recommended this, I went up one night for after dinner drinks. There are dining tables where you can have meal, or bar where you can just have drinks. It looked to be filled with both tourists and locals. It is a nice/upscale bar/restaurant, so guests were behaving well(looked to be), and no crazy party kids were around. :p It is actually good contrast to the rest of the hotel which is very historic. The night views were really nice. The bartender was an old gentleman who said he’s been working there for 20+ years. Had a nice glass of Chianti recommended by him.