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“A Real Shame: Decent Food ruined by Condescending and Rude Owner”
Review of Zeb

Zeb
Ranked #557 of 2,713 Restaurants in Florence
Cuisines: Italian
More restaurant details
Restaurant details
Good for: Local cuisine
Dining options: Late Night, Lunch, Breakfast, Dinner, Reservations, Takeout
Neighborhood: San Niccolo
Description: Zeb Gastronomia, Florence’s unique bistro and gastonomia situated inside the old city wall in San Niccolò, is the innovation of owner Alberto Navari, who you will find dashing around the galley while his mother, Giuseppina, works her magic in the kitchen, bringing the best of Italian culinary tradition to Zeb’s seasonal menu.The gastronomia features an excellent selection of wines, pastas, pastries, chocolate, olive oil, cured meats and a sophisticated assortment of cheeses.
Reviewed June 28, 2014

We had read some good reviews and were excited to celebrate our last night in Florence here. We were not disappointed in the quality of the food. Unfortunately, the prior reviews of the owner being rude and condescending were all true. We arrived at an empty restaurant at 9 pm and ordered our first course of pasta. When I reached over to try some of my wife's pasta, the owner snickered and told some sort of a joke to the incoming Italian patrons, after which they laughed at us. We then tried to order our second course, to which the owner refused to take the order, instructing us to "slow down" in a condescending tone. When he finally did come back to take our order (20 minutes later), he acted as if he was doing us a favour in taking our order. After dinner, I tried to order a coffee with my dessert. The response? You guessed it: "SLOW DOWN!" This time, even more condescending than the last. To boot, he came out with two coffees, and then had the gall to turn his eyes up when I explained to him that I had only ordered one.

It is a pity that the owner's ego is the only thing ruining what could be a top 10 restaurant in Florence otherwise. A real shame.

Date of visit: June 2014
    • Value
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Thank dargonbutterfly
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviews (1,046)
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369 - 373 of 1,046 reviews

Reviewed June 28, 2014

We arrived to find we had to wait 15 min although we had booked. High stools wrapped around bench not great for conversation. But food interesting and pleasant. Not great value or terrific service.

Date of visit: June 2014
    • Value
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Thank Lyndy3187
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed June 27, 2014

Wonderful place and amazing food and atmosphere but when I paid the bill a few weeks ago they made a great show of having made a mistake with running my card through the machine and assured me that I had, nevertheless, only paid once.
When I got back to the UK I noticed my account had been charged three times (all the same amount). I protested to my bank who reversed the charges but since then my bank has come back saying that Zeb have claimed TWO of the charges were valid. One for "food and wine" and one (exactly the same sum of course) for "local products".
This is 100% A TOTAL AND UTTER LIE. SUCH A MASSIVE SHAME for somewhere I loved and somewhere I previously enthused about to everyone and leaves such a bad taste in the mouth that somewhere in Florence would still practice that sort of flagrant and dishonest tourist rip off in this day and age. Really annoying.

Date of visit: May 2014
3  Thank UncleTravlinMac
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
zebgastronomia, Proprietario at Zeb, responded to this reviewResponded June 28, 2014

Dear Mr. TravlinMac,

There is absolutely a misunderstanding on your part about the unfortunate technical error. We had processed your card only once and I do not know why the charge resulted three times. As soon as we were signaled by Visa, we immediately sent Visa a fax indicating that only one of the charges was valid and the two charges were to be reimbursed. Should you write us at mangia@zebgastronomia.com I would be happy to send you a pdf copy of the same fax we sent to Visa for your copy. We are very disappointed that this situation has occurred but we in no way are responsible and we have taken measures to reimburse you immediately. We are further disappointed and there is no record of you trying to contact us regarding the matter. It is unfortunate that you had not contacted us directly as we would have taken care of the matter immediately. We do not find it appropriate that you have taken the liberty to defame us online unjustly. I hope to hear from you and it would be our pleasure to send you the copy for your records and we would like to know when you do receive your reimbursement.

Thank you kindly and we are just as sorry for this experience as you.

Best regards,

Alberto Navari

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Reviewed June 15, 2014

This is the most gorgeous gem of a place. Everything is perfect and beautiful and you want to try it all. The food was delicious, it is a little off the well beaten tourist path...I would highly recommend. We shared meats and cheeses to begin and then shared a pasta...were too stuffed after that to have anything else, but I wanted so much more. And it is very reasonable. I think it was 38 euros for four (for lunch).

The problem was minor but I must mention it. The menu is spoken by the owner/ chef. Though he speaks it in English it is hard to catch everything (or most). I asked if he could helps us choose things to share. He frowned sort of suggesting how could he decide, everything is delicious. So then I ordered, which disappointed him even more. (Problem could have been avoided if he had made suggestions!) The body language of annoyance was front and center. I had to laugh to myself because he berated some other guests prior to us. My suggestion—hire a server who is good with the public and leave the cooking to the chef who really cannot tolerate the public.

Date of visit: May 2014
    • Value
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Thank cmr2019va
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed June 14, 2014

I booked this restaurant upon recommendation from a friend who has been living in Florence for a few months.
Upon arrival I asked the waiter whether they had any tables, as we only saw a bar. I don't have a problem with sitting at the bar, but as we had made a reservation I just wanted to know whether we could sit at a table, particularly as there were 4 of us and it's easier to socialise that way!
From that moment on, it was clear the waiter had a big problem with us. He told us there were no tables, and so of course we sat at the bar.
He had a bad attitude. He didn't bring us any bread through the course of our meal despite every other patron having bread, nor did he offer us a wine list or even some advice on the wines.
When we were in the middle of asking questions about the menu, he left mid-conversation to clear another couple's plates. Finally, he practically pushed us out the door as soon as we finished our last sip of wine - like he couldn't wait to get rid of us.
As it's such a tiny restaurant and everyone sits around the bar, with the waiter and waitress (who I believe are the owners) in the middle, it was impossible to ignore his bad attitude - it really put a huge dampen on the whole experience! As he cleared the plates he made a snide comment about how 'it doesn't matter that they don't have tables'....just inappropriate and unprofessional.

It was a real shame that this man couldn't get over himself and put his bad attitude aside, as the food was truly incredible. Highlights were the truffle pasta and the buffalo mozzarella with truffle.

Date of visit: June 2014
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Thank Sophie S
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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