Essenza In San Miniato - La Scala

Delicious food. Very generous portions, and free snacks. Friendly staff. A very lovely evening.

0 stars, not 1 I always read reviews like this and wonder if people are exaggerating, but for the first time I have experienced first hand the most unbelievably rude behaviour by staff in a Cafe. If you want to be cursed in Italian (because the staff assume you don't understand Italian) then this is the place for you! A shame that staff ruin the reputation of the business, before any opportunity for service. I walked in with two fluent Italian speakers (one due to heritage and the other with university level education in the language) and we were treated as if we were ... I can't even think of a word to describe it! A tall female staff member making coffee was cursing us as we walked in under her breath, ignored us, and continued to curse us as my friends enquired about a table for breakfast with another male staff member (who had helped us check in, as we are staying at the hotel associated with this cafe). My two friends were speaking to the staff in Italian out of respect for the country we are visiting. It is unbelieveable how we were treated in a short interaction, simply asking for service in a Cafe. I would suggest the owners and staff look into their behaviour regarding customer service in a service industry. There is absolutely no need for anyone to treat anyone with this attitude.

We were seated next to the toillet,2 families with 4 little kids who were charged for the fork and spoon even though they were fed and they didn’t use them.The food was too expensive for what it tasted and looked! The pasta were average and the chicken filled with some kind of sausage was terrible,I couldn’t eat it.Definitely would not try it again and definitely not recommended!! For that kind of money there are many other restaurants who serve better food

Staff very kindly made us a meat, cheese, bread etc platter as we were too early for dinner, chef not due to arrive for an hour or so. Very much appreciated as we had just arrived from Australia, a very long trip for those who don’t know, and we’re exhausted but trying not to go to bed far too early. Enjoyed this lovely platter, a couple of glasses of wine, a spritz and beer, not in that order. Would have been five stars but felt while delicious and appreciated the cost was higher than expected for Italy.

I stopped by to grab my family some lunch to go and we liked it so much we went back for dinner. Dinner was amazing with a nice liter of wine, more meatballs…..me and my wife went the seafood route and it was all very lovely. The staff are also great. I recommend!! The only thing I would say is they have a “simple menu” if you just are walking by, but please realize they have a much larger and beautiful menu….very good. Thanks everyone