Florence, Italy: Golden View

One of Florence's main sights is the Ponte Vecchio, though other than having houses and shops built on it I have to admit that I don't see much "star quality" in this old bridge. Still, tourists seem to be somewhat drawn to this over-rated structure, and I'm guessing it probably has something to do with their over-reliance on misleading guidebooks. As a tidbit, the Ponte Vecchio is a Medieval bridge over one of Italy's most important rivers, the Arno River.


Golden View Open Bar was a recommendation from our hotel manager, who confessed that he has never personally dined here before but has heard many good things about it from his hotel patrons. He made a reservation for us with a request for a table with a view, and so we got a nice look at the famed Ponte Vecchio throughout dinner. In case you're wondering, the very first picture above was taken right from my seat.


Champagne here is cheap, because it's included in Golden View's service and cover charges which only comes up to €3.50. Light but refreshing, this set our appetites racing.

Complimentary Bread


The Complimentary Bread basket was a disappointment, as with most bread baskets in Italy seemed to turn out. The bread was cold and tough, and lacked flavour. I really wonder how the elderly cope with such... demanding chewing.

Chitarra All'astice
Chitarra spaghetti with fresh lobster and tomato sauce


I have yet to try Otto Ristorante's Boston Lobster Pasta in Singapore, so I will have to make do with something from Italy (haha...) The Chitarra All'astice was quite good, and the unique (at least to me) chitarra spaghetti was an interesting alternative to the typical spaghetti. What shone was the thick and aromatic tomato sauce as well as the wonderfully fresh lobster.

Chitarra Amiata Carne di Manzo e Vitella Con Piselli, Porcini e Pinoli
Chitarra spaghetti with beef and veal ragout, porcini mushrooms and pine nuts


If you like your beef, you would like this too. The travel buddy definitely enjoyed his pasta, but he did remark that it could get a bit too salty at times.

Petto D'anatra All'arancia
Duck breast with orange sauce


Some European countries, like Italy in this case, have this norm of a second main course. We don't usually keep to this norm, if at all, but this time round we both decided to order the grilled duck breast. I'm glad we did. The duck was tender and well-grilled, and the sweet orange sauce complemented it perfectly.

Crème Brûlée


And of course, there's always time and room for dessert. The Crème Brûlée scored well with us, with a good balance of a smooth custard base and a crisp caramel layer. It's not necessarily mind-blowing, but at least it wrapped up the meal wonderfully. Travel buddy was especially pleased.

Service
Very good.

Price
€22 for the Chitarra All'astice
€16 for the Chitarra Amiata Carne di Manzo e Vitella Con Piselli
€24 for the Petto D'anatra All'arancia
€9 for the Crème Brûlée
€3.50 for service and cover charge
€3.50 for a bottle of mineral water

Place
Via De' Bardi, 58,
At the intersection of Lungarno Torrigiani and Via De Guicciardini,
Florence, Italy.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.