The fishing lab which sounds like something out of SpongeBob Squarepants is, in my opinion, a simplistic restaurant. Where fine dining meets street food. In their own words, it is a “carefree museum” and I completely agree. The Alle Murate, which is one of the two locations, although elegant and well thought out, has a “no fuss” vibe.

I’ve always thought it to be risky to eat seafood at a restaurant new to me, especially the uncooked (cured) stuff. However, after enjoying every bite, I was not disappointed. And if you’re still wondering about SpongeBob Squarepants, I was referring to the character “Sandy Cheeks”, the scientist. The fishing lab is a great place to enjoy quality seafood within a rustic ambience and at a decent price.

The Florence location is at the Palazzo known to overlook the Piazza Della Signoria with its copy of Michelangelo’s David statue. I went for a late lunch with a friend and we enjoyed the ‘three for you’ menu that highlights ‘Raw Fish’, their ‘Special Cooking’ method and ‘Street Food’.

From the Raw Fish menu, we shared a platter of fresh oysters, tiger shrimp and red shrimp. We savoured the fresh taste of the oysters with a hint of lemon, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper; cost: €5.80. The meals made with Special Cooking methods were of a variety of authentic and unusually tasty dishes. Our mains were Cod with Creamy Chickpeas and Rosemary for me and the other a Seafood Risotto; The Cost for both meals: €24.00

Where street food meets fine dining!

Fries, Chips and Burgers come to mind when I think of Street foods. The meals on this menu were fully street-cheek and very tasty. The vegetarian burger which I had, was flavorful altogether with the avocado and cream. The chips were just how I like mine, crispy outside and fluffy inside. We were also very pleased with the choice of deep-fried octopus wrapped in brown bread and served with salted crisps. Cost for both meals: €19.00

All this was accompanied by some sparkling water. We decided not to have drinks because we had a girls’ night out planned; we also didn’t eat any dessert. The Fishing lab provides options of ‘half course’ or ‘full course’ and the meals we ordered were half courses. Aside from the food, the restaurant has a simple and exquisite setting. We were so engrossed in our meals, that we forgot to capture our surroundings.

The staffs were polite and greeted us as we walked in. Tables were readily available for us and the service was on time, although they might have been in too much of a haste to serve. Both our second and third course was served at the same time, which meant one meal was getting cold whilst we ate the other. As I mentioned earlier, we were there for a late lunch; So they were ending their lunch service and preparing for dinner. Overall, I would say it was a pleasant experience. I hope to visit there again and I look forward to trying their dessert menu.

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