Osteria Il Gatto E La Volpe

Nice appetizer, pear & pecorino with honey. Stay away from the osso buco. All osso (bone) and no meat. The pasta dish was misrepresented; ravioli w/​fungi became tortellini w/​ricotta. Waiter argued that this was menu item. Not. Should have sent both back. This trattoria seems to do a volume business; big groups, family style. Quality suffers.

One of my favorite spots in Florence. Food is terrific and they’ve always been accommodating to our large parties. If you have a big group, I’d recommend doing the family style dinner – for 20 euros they bring out tons of food, plus unlimited red & white wine. Can’t beat it!

Came here for dinner with a small group and it was a perfect place. Our table was tucked in the back of the restaurant (the place is huge!) so it was nice and quiet. I got gnocchi with fresh pesto and it was delicious. The pasta was just salty enough and full of fresh basil flavor. We also shared a bottle of wine that was inexpensive and yummy. The bread to start was also very good. Another good, inexpensive option for all around good Italian food.

AHMAZING! My study abroad school advisor recommended this place to us: He said this was his favorite restaurant in Florence and boy he wasn’t lying. This place was really good. I ordered the Nonna Rosa pasta dish for lunch and it was so so so good. After eating a ton of cream based sauces with my pasta I decided to go for a more tomato sauce. Although the Nonna Rosa does have a bit of cream in the sauce, there was more tomato. I loved every bite of the dish from the beginning til’ the end and for the price? It can’t be beat. Other pastas to try here are the four cheese gnocchi and the boar ragu pasta of which my friends had tried with me during the same meal. Good eats. I’ll be back at least once before my departure to try some other dishes out. For sure. Oh the menu is in Italian and I’m not sure if they have an english menu but our waiter John was there to gladly help us with any questions that we had. bellissimo!

Excellent pasta and great house wine at an affordable price!
The balsamic vinegar is hearty and delicious — a perfect pairing for the bread.
I will definitely return on our next visit to Florence!

My roommates and I decided to try this restaurant out yesterday evening per a recommendation of my friend. It was delicious and one of the best meals I’ve had in Florence.
First off, the bread is out of this world. Hands down the best bread I’ve had since being in Italy and one of my favorites to date. We started off with two appetizers: prosciutto with melon and buffalo mozzarella. While I am not usually a fan of buffalo mozzarella, this one was delicious and creamy. For our main dish, we all ordered the homemade pasta with their ragu meat sauce. It was very tasty! We decided to go elsewhere for dessert.
Our server, whose name I do not remember, was very helpful and explained the menu to us and answered any questions we had since the menu was not in English. The prices were also very affordable.
We will most certainly be back soon and are looking forward to trying the family style option!

Alright, so I am pretty convinced that there is no such thing as bad food in Florence. This place is further proof as it is pretty excellent!
The bread and balsamic to start with is the greatest. Because it is so good, I’ll mention the balsamic again… it is SO good. For foods, I went with the ravioli stuffed with meat sauce and it was delicious. Portions were pretty large and the pasta was very fresh.
Downsides to this place: no free tap water and you have to pay a sitting fee (although both of these are fairly common throughout Europe)

Food was great; ordered a few pasta dishes and a pizza. Service was not. We (family of 2+2 children) sat next to «high roller» table that ordered wines and steaks and we felt like red-​headed step children. After we ordered, although we saw the waiter for 10 minutes at a time at the table next to us, never once a «hello» or «anything else you need?» We had to fish check from waiters-​assistant and pay at cash. Would have been a great meal of the service was good.

Me and my boyfriend absolutely LOVED this more traditional establishment in Florence! We went twice during his visit and I actually dreamt about their pasta the other night. LOL. They do take-​away which is nice as well and harder to find in this city.
The service is great and the Moscato we had with our dinner was just divine. The prices are extremely reasonable and the portions are plenty. I ordered the penne a la vodka and my boyfriend ordered the spaghetti a la volpe and both were amazing. This is truly the best pasta I’ve had in all of Florence while living here for 6 weeks. My dish was so flavorful and actually had onions in the vodka sauce which was a pleasant surprise — being something I’d never seen before.
They even give you complimentary fresh tomato foccacia bread as a starter and they have amazing balsamic and olive oil to dip it in that you can just tell is great quality. Overall, everything about this restaurant is just great. I went back last night and ordered two penne a la vodka’s to take away, along with a water. They even gave me the fresh bread and the total only came out to 15 euros! I absolutely love this place and haven’t had better food here in Florence. Especially not under 20 euros.
Also — if you’ve eaten in Florence you know to appreciate good bread when being served at a restaurant as this often tends to be impossible to find. I don’t know what it is but I almost always get hard, stale, or tasteless bread so this was an amazing change from my usual dining experience.

Another gem in Florence for lunch or dinner. Prices are reasonable (6 Euros for a nice big portion of pasta). Had the spaghetti ‘à la Volpe’ style and it was very good (had a nice kick to it). The tagliatelle pasta with truffle was also delicious. If your around the area and are hungry, def stop here.

Our first choice for lunch in Florence was closed on Sunday’s, so my sister recommended this spot. She had been here before and felt like the food was so-​so.
We walked in and caught 100 Koreans unaware. They were eating family style with their tour group and it was such a large group that we were scared we wouldn’t get seated. They saw 4 unaccompanied Asians and seemed confused.
We were led to the back which was much quieter and less crowded. The server was very friendly and helpful as we made our order. He brought us some deliciously warm complimentary bread, which went well with the vinegar and the olive oil that were provided.
I ordered the Funghi and tartufo risotto, per the server’s recommendation, and it was quite good. I’m a huge mushroom lover and I can never turn down risotto. The rice was cooked perfectly (I’m glad they didn’t make it al dente as tends to be the trend). My mother ordered a ribolta, which is a bread and soup mixture that she said was delicious, although the consistency looked fishy to me. Give it a try if you’re brave!
The tiramisu we ordered afterward was moist and creamy. Definitely a step up from the late night tiramisu we stumbled upon in Rome the night before.
The meal was perfect for our purposes. Great presentation and flavorful pastas. It was a delicious last Italian lunch in Florence. Although not the highest rated, it satisfied our carb cravings.

Fun atmosphere and great food! The vodka pasta is delicious and the pizza is very good! Waitstaff was very friendly and gave us complimentary limoncello after our meal. Great place for groups!

Good and cheap!
This is a casual, fun place that offers exceptionally delicious pasta. We ordered the penne alla vodka and the tortellini with gorgonzola. The tortellini was creamy and you could really taste the gorgonzola, but it was not over powering. My husband who hates cream sauces also loved this dish. The Penne, was just what a it should be– a little cream, a little tomato, and a lot of delicious!
We also ordered mushroom pizza and a ham and cheese calzone, both were average/​good.
The house wine, was really cheap and just right.
There was a lot of big parties so it was a bit noisy, but a lot of fun.

Traveling abroad with 7 to 11 people can be difficult when finding places to eat, but Il Gatto E La Volpe was perfect for our situation! We went 2 times with large groups in our 2 week stay, and had the family style menu (DEFINITELY do this if you have a large group). The family style was about 15 euros per person which included unlimited white red wine, 1 large antipasto plate, 1 large bruschetta & mushroom bruschetta plate & then 3 very large pasta dishes (which change based on what they are making that day) to share with everyone. It was more than enough and it was great not having to worry about what to order and understanding the menu properly. It was the easiest and most delicious way to enjoy a meal with that many people!

Publikum zwischen 18 – 24, internationale Studenten, dominierend US.
Ich vergebe nur zwei Sterne, weil der Service mehr mit Fußball und amerikanischen Mädels beschäftigt war. Zudem war die Pasta mit Trüffel einfach nur Instant-​Trüffelöl.
Ich war einfach am falschen Ort und hätte es schon früher erkennen müssen, dass ich nicht mehr in die Zielgruppe passé. Wer gut Essen möchte sollte andere schöné Restaurants in Florenz aufsuchen.

Very busy place. A lot of seating inside. The smell was delicious when I walked in. Ordered two pasta dishes into large salads for Takeaway. The price was very reasonable and the food was excellent. They had it packaged and ready to go in less than 10 minutes. Would definitely order from there again

I came here many times solely for the fettuccine alfredo which isn’t typical tuscan fare much less typical italian but my mother makes it and so it’s one of my favorites. I can tell you right now that if you come in with a bunch of other under 25 year old girls who are showing enough skin you’ll get much better service. The waiters are nicer to you and you’ll get a table much faster. Sad, but true. The food is just slightly more expensive than the cheapest italian food and pretty decent. The real draw for me, apart from the alfredo, was the interior. I liked the ambience and the actual interior decorating of the restaurant. But as far as italian food in Florence goes it’s average and unless you look rich or sexy or the four seasons hotel booked you a reservation expect to have slightly curt service and be seated slowly if at all.

Review #1100
Our second Contiki group dinner was held at Osteria Il Gatto La Volpe on New Years’ Eve. The restaurant is located on Ghibellina which is one of the main streets through Florence. It’s a cozy restaurant and we were served a very basic Tuscan meal. The first course was a basic salad and for the second, we had spaghetti & meatballs. The wine was flowing and we were having a good time. They even brought us a champagne toast which was probably prosecco. The dessert was a piece of cake with a cream sauce. It was pretty good considering. Service was ok. They didn’t refill our water and we had to request it a few times. It was a holiday and a busy evening for them. We were a rather large group and they accommodated us well. The waiters were pretty good looking too. They even tolerated our group’s singing when our tour manager toasted to the new year. It was a nice way to finish off 2013.

Extraordinary food coupled with wonderful hospitality. Both hard things to find in a big city and even harder in Florence. Have eaten here twice in 24 hours. Everything down to the bread and oil is delicious. Highly recommend! Perfect Prices for a perfect meal!

This place is One of my favorites!
have been here so many times, cozy familiar and friendly!
if you are a student this is the place to be almost everyday!
enjoy!

This place appears to be a family-​run business run by all young men who frequently allow their friends to come in for freebies. Kind of a twenty-​something place. Food didn’t taste homemade. Nothing to rave about.

Très bien place, très bon, Cuisine italienne et vinaigre balsamic maison a gouter absolument avec le pain, prix très abordables.