BORDERLINE, Florence – Santa Maria Novella – Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews – Tripadvisor

When I write a review that is not glowing, I try to sit on it awhile and reflect if I’m being biased or emotional because I know it’s important to the owner. So, after sitting on this a bit…
Dinner at this restaurant was a…bit of a conundrum. Some things were great. Other things were not so much.
When we arrived at 7:15pm and asked for a table, the owner stated « you want to eat? Already? ». I suggested maybe we come back if it was too early and he responded « no, you can have that table but you have to be gone by 9 ». Um, ok.
The beer selection was 1. One craft beer. Which was okay. Nothing stellar. But it was cold and wet and I appreciated it at that moment. When we asked for a wine list, we were told the wine list was a guy. He knew all the wines and so based on what we wanted, he would bring a wine accordingly. Again, ok… but sometimes you want to see what, from where, the cost etc, you are buying. We told wine guy our criteria. White wine. Crisp, light. He brought us a great wine…. But it was warm. Hmmmmm.
Our dishes: the tuna was over cooked and a bit hohum. Nothing special. Salty paired with cooked spinach. Underwhelming. The beef, we asked for “rare” was presented medium – medium rare. Still tasted ok but not amazing. We were not offered dessert as our time was almost up but “because we had a few minutes left” the owner brought over their limoncello. I don’t know anything about it so I can’t comment on the taste but it was not icy cold. The owner had a shot with us which I thought was a nice gesture except he poured quickly, drank and was gone before we picked up our glasses. He left, and left the bottle at our table. We’re we supposed to help ourselves? Not sure
All in all, I was a bit disappointed with our Experience. Too bad as the hype of this place from previous reviews was so positive.