Dining at the Florentine Hotel in Germantown Ohio
The Florentine Hotel is no longer a hotel. However, it has been a known restaurant for quite a long time. The brick section of the "Florentine Hotel" was built sometime in 1816 and housed the original Inn. The Florentine is considered the second oldest inn in Ohio, the first being the Golden Lamb in Lebanon.
We had driven by this great, impressive historic landmark for a long time and we finally found the time to visit the restaurant. Upon entering the restaurant you will notice that there seem to be two worlds: On the left side is a bar and smoking is allowed . . . vs. the right side which offers no smoking. As our very nice and polite waitress introduced herself, we couldn't help to hear "J." (another waitress) complaining that the guests who she had been waiting on and just left . . . did not leave enough of a tip. "I worked so hard for these people" . . . and she went stomping by our table. As we received our dinner (full slab of ribs) we can say that the dinner was plenty and mighty good.
We engaged our waitress in a conversation and she told us all about the history of the hotel, she even showed us the upstairs.
In talking to others in the restaurant it became clear that the "Golden Years" of this historic restaurant are gone, for whatever reason! Maybe it is because of the dress code of the waiters (blue jeans/shorts), maybe of the unprofessional remarks (which may not be the first one).
The new owner just bought the "place" about a year ago. We say:" Lots' of potential, great village, great food . . . but watch your style and know who you are.
Food quality and value: ●●●
Location: ●●●●●
Service: ●●●
Atmosphere: ●●●●
Our Rating: ●●●3/4
The inn was first owned by Philip Gunckle, the founder of Germantown. In 1832 it was sold to William Schaeffer. William Leighty bought the inn in 1862 and owned "The Flo" during the Civil War. It was known as the Leighty House.
Many famous Americans stayed in the hotel. Two are Henry Clay and Clement Vallandingham, a notorious Southern sympathizer. Both are said to have addressed enthusiastic crowds from the iron balcony on the front of the building. This ornate balcony of acorns and oak leaves woven together was fabricated at the ironworks in the Old Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio. By the early 1970s, "The Flo" was in bad shape and facing demolition. Two local couples rescued the old building and restored the interior and exterior. Then the Dale Zink Family managed the restaurant.
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Sunday, December 02, 2007 9:06:00 PMThe Florentine in Germantown Ohio used to be a great place to eat and had nice respectable owners - we ate there on Mothers Day and all 3 of us got food poisoning - we decided that maybe it was a one time deal and we went back tonight - we were treated very RUDELY by the staff and then when we got home and received our credit card bill they had overcharged us an extra 20% - I called to resolve this issue and the owners were very disrespectful and very rude to me - I am having to file a dispute with my credit card company to get my money back and am filing a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General for their deceptive business practices - don't waste your time going there - it is worth the drive to Waynesville or Lebanon to get a good meal with good service and respect instead of the unprofessional scam that is obviously going on at the Florentine - I am sure the past owners are probably heartsick that they sold a great place to jerks who have now ruined a good thing.
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