Slowly

New Management! Slowly changed hands at the end of 2015, so if you’re looking at reviews about the food before then, ignore it. It’s now managed by the people from H’ (accafirenze, via Pisana) who are from Naples.
I found out about the new Lunch menu through a Unilocal event, and liked the food — but waited to write my review after I’d paid for a lunch myself. I returned today and i can say I’m totally satisfied (and I’m very picky!). They offer a well priced lunch combo menu — your choice amongst 3 primi or 3 secondi, desserts, water and coffee priced 8−10−12−14 euro. I had a primo and dessert for 10 euros all in. I’ve tasted just about everything on the menu, from the risotto to the fish (and my friends tried the meat which they said was excellent too). They are also really accommodating to vegetarians and people with allergies.
They’re launching a dinner menu soon too, I assume the food will be the same quality — though even more upscale — but don’t know the prices. The atmosphere is a bit odd, because they have kept the aperitivo/​bar/​disco look of the previous management intact. During the day they could possibly do away with the weird blue lighting to make it more… lunch! Aperitivo time and late night bar are still part of their offering, but add to that the new availability of good food, all day (pretty much).

When I tried to find a spot for an aperitivo at 9pm on a Friday night, all the places seemed full, you couldn’t even get a reservation!
Then I stepped in here, I recall they had a nice happy hour and this was confirmed instantly the minute we decided to stay.
First, the place wasn’t uncomfortably crowded, the music was pleasant leaving the opportunity to chat without screaming.
The ambiance is quite dark, all black based and the bar itself is big enough to host a lot of people.
There’s also a tiny space in front of the doors where you can sit and have a smoke.
You can eat from a quite wide choice of dishes, mostly vegetarian for that night, but everyday is a different story.
The food is a nice quality, of course it’s not like eating at your mum’s, but it was satisfying.
10 Euros, you get out full belly and with a cocktail!

Great drinks and okay food.
BUT Beware of their false advertisement, they have a sign in the front entrance that said «unlimited food and drink for 10 euro» but when you go in the first drink is free ONLY. I went in thinking the food and all my drinks was going to be 10 euro but I was mistaken only the first drink was free, you will be charged after the first drink.

On our trip to Florence, we found that this was one of the only places with more of a club feel that’s open early. Most «clubs» open super late (like midnight or after), which I guess is the European way. Maybe I’m getting to old and stuffy, but that’s just not my thing any more. Slowly, on the other hand, is open starting at ~7p for apertivo (appetizers) and drinks and turns into more of a nightclub as the night progresses. This is a plus for sure if you’re not someone who wants to party until the wee hours but still wants to have a bit of fun.
The drinks at Slowly are more along the lines of what you’d find in the U.S. Sure, they have Negronis and other regional cocktails, but they also have specialty cocktails with origins in pre-​prohibition America (Manhattan, Side Car, etc.). Prices for drinks are a little steep compared to most places we went in Florence (they were more «like New York prices» we would say), but the atmosphere and DELICIOUS apertivo buffet made up for that.
Note that if you’re not from Italy and are unfamiliar with Apertivo, it’s a pre-​supper ritual in Italy where you go and snack a bit and drink a bit to stimulate appetite. Many places in Italy have this, and I completely loved going out for apertivo before dinner each night of our trip. Apertivo at Slowly is a buffet format and quite tasty!

This place has great atmosphere and seems like a hotspot for locals. The drinks are delicious, if a little expensive for students. The food is great, we’re in Italy after all, but not as substantial as some other aperitivi places I’ve been to. Definitely worth visiting, probably not worth making a regular habit.

Just spent 2 weeks in Rome and Florence and this was our favorite spot for cocktails before and after dinner. Great vibe, very convenient location near Ponte Vecchio. Everyone who works there was cheerful, helpful and pleasant. Even remembered the way we liked our martinis. Gabrielle is a first class bartender. Chloe is a delightful host. And one of the owners, Tomasso, stopped by to say hi on our last visit, and then recommended an excellent out of the way restaurant to us. We will be sure to go back there on our next visit. David and Cindy.

The girls and I were looking for a place for cocktails and dancing, and this place came on high recommendation from Luigi, our cute and flirty pizza instructor (as if there’s any other kind of pizza instructor). Caffe’ Slowly is an interesting and hilarious spot without meaning to be so. The clientele are the typical Euro clubbing crowd. The music is the normal mix of dance-​ready pop remixes, 80’s and 90’s party classics, as well as electronica. The projection screens and baby screens in the walls were playing episodes of «Happy Days» on loop.
We were first seated at a table up top with a private bar overlooking the main dining room. The main dining room had a round table buffet of chicken fried rice, cole slaw, pasta, chickpeas, and other randoms. After seating us, they promptly placed a large bowl of Lay’s potato chips on the table. We hung out for a while and enjoyed wine and cocktails before asking to be brought downstairs where the action was. There was this big cube the size of a medium-​sized park fountain in the middle of the dance floor — perhaps it was for ambience or perhaps it was a crutch for dancing. We enjoyed some more drinks, danced a bit, then headed out for a proper club.
Not quite what I was expecting, but I will thank Luigi for pointing us in this direction.

If you are looking for a bar in Florence that serves high-​quality cocktails than Slowly is the place you are looking. While the nightlife scene in the city is quite nice, it’s actually quite difficult to find a place that serves really good cocktails, not just wine and long drinks.
The drinks are not cheap — Its 10 euros a cocktail but what you get is fresh ginger and lime, chocolate and peperoncino, artistic cocktails that taste really good. Plus it’s location on via porta rossa is great. They also have aperitivo and live music/​dj. i would say the average age is 30+.
Some of my favorite cocktails include: Moscow Mojito & black mojito (with fresh berries) and anything with chocolate. They also have one made with passion fruit but I can’t remember the name.

I’ve visited Slowly on various occasions in the last 3 years. When I first walked into this bar 3 years back, it was the go to place with fantastic music and a helpful staff. (Ciao Reggie!)
I just recently visited Slowly again and some of my local friends told me that it wasn’t what it used to be. I walked in around midnight and the place was packed from the front of the bar to the back of the room, where you could dance in the middle of the booths. As I checked out the crowd, it was a good mix of tourists and locals. I’m still a BIG fan of Slowly.
And to top it all off, they have a fabulous lunch for around 10E. Where the salad bar in the middle and dessert come with any of the main dishes you order. Last time I had the shrimp curry ladled over a bed of steaming white rice with a glass of house white wine. If everyone in the restaurant was eating that particular dish, I had to order it, and good thing I did. It was amazing! Buono! Usually the locals come here to eat for lunch, as do tourists, whom a whole group of lovely older ladies sat next to me and my friend and the owner of Slowly turned on the jams of Michael Buble and other songs drunk women would sing too. We sang, ate and laughed. What else would you do in Italy?