Cantina Sabrosa

Via dell' Agnolo 91r

Florence, Italy

055 242 645

Type: Latin Fusion

Food: C+

Hit or miss.  Some of the meat dishes were right on: well salted, tender with a good combination of spices.  In some of the dishes, they forgot to add flavor.  Stick with  the more basic meat selections: mixed grill, burritos, tacos.  Stay away from the vegetarian dishes and nachos (also forgot the flavor ticket).  Ask for salt up front, remind them not to be stingy on the spice and keep drinking- it'll help wash the lack of flavor down.  

Service: B-

They tried, they really did.  But they appeared understaffed and scattered.  The waitress confused 2/6 orders and forgot to bring one dish all together.  They were extremely friendly and polite, but unfortunately, that doesn't  make up for food not being in our bellies.  

Ambiance: B- 

You could tell they were going for bright and lively latin: Mexican fiesta meets Spanish tapas bar type of feel.  But what they got was too much light, uncomfortable seating and  lack of distinction.  We appreciated the colors and festive latin music, but pull back a little: turn down the light and ease up on the background noise.  

Booze: C+ 

Strong drinks, great selection, lots of ice, delicious Sangria, but they don't know how to do a margarita.  How can a primarily Mexican food restaurant not know how to do a very basic margarita on the rocks?  Margarita martini?  Uh, no.  Mojito with dark rum?  Not so much.    

Overall, great concept in Florence and we appreciated the diversity of the meal (not always easy to find decent Italian food alternatives), but didn't hit any of the categories on the nose.