Acqua al 2 for Dinner in Florence
by Janel on July 16, 2010 · 4 Comments
in Restaurants, Reviews, Uncategorized, Vacation | 
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On one of the two nights in Florence where we weren’t wined and dined in the Villa San Michele restaurant, Funk and I had plans to visit Acqua al 2, at the recommendation of Jaime and some twitter peeps who raved about it. We actually wanted to go there on our first night in Italy and had our driver (doesn’t that sound swanky?) take us there but with some major language barrier going on, we didn’t understand that Italian restaurants aren’t even open between 6-7:30pm. It was 5:45. We were jet-lagged, tired, and starving. So Acqua al 2 had to wait a few nights and we were so excited to see what all of the fuss was about. When we arrived (when doors opened at 7:29pm) we sat down at a table with a bottle of house red wine and asked the waiter about the multi-course meal we were supposed to order. He gave us some tips and we ordered a salad sampler, pasta sampler, and dessert sampler to share, all which came with bread and spread and the vino (all for very very cheap).
I was not a good blogger and don’t remember all the meal specifics, and can’t translate the Italian menu online. But we loved the salad sampler, especially this corn salad with olives. We also had some bread with a warm white bean spread to dip. The spread was so good I didn’t mind that we weren’t eating the Italian way with bread dipped in olive oil. Next up was our round of five pastas to sample and they came and went so fast, I didn’t even snap a picture! I do remember loving the gnocchi best – it must have been homemade.
We finished with a yummy dessert sampler that had a divine tiramisu somewhere on the plate. And right when we finished the last drop of red wine, the waiter brought us each some complementary lemoncello.
We think it was his way of saying sorry for bumping Funk in the head with a plate earlier in the evening, but it was worth it for the lemoncello, as I was dying for some since we arrived in Italy. Apparently this restaurant is also in San Fran and DC so I’ll be sure to look it up next time we’re in that area. But if you’re in Florence, go to Acqua al 2. I don’t care if it’s a tourist trap. It’s worth it.
Love reading your posts about Italy! I went to Acqua al 2 when I was studying abroad in Florence…twice.
And I wanted to let you know that the dessert wine that is served with biscotti is called Vin Santo – I fell in love with it while I was over there. I also fell in love with pecorino, who knew cheese made from the milk of sheep could be so delicious and unique?! I knew you’d be loving those white beans…I have recipe for rustic Tuscan white beans that I got from my cooking class in Florence if you’d like me to pass it along! And lucky for you, it’s once of the few recipes that comes out of that country that is vegan! Can’t wait to read more about your trip!
I am so jealous of your time in Italy (and the free trip). Congrats on earning it! I adore Italy. Your stories and pictures bring back memories. The white bean dip, olive oil, lemoncello sound so good. I’ll have to check out Acqua 2 near me in San Fran. Cheers!
What is that white bean dip? we loved it too and that’s how i came about your website-trying to find a recipe or description.
I have no idea how they made it! I’m guessing lots of garlic and white beans blended together with some salt. That was such a great restaurant.