Reid's Recommended Florence restaurants

The best ristoranti, trattorie, osterie, pizzerie, gelaterie, and fiaschetterie in the city

Favorite dining experiences in Florence
• The three-hour feast at Il Latini
• A bistecca fiorentina at Le Mossacce
• A panino e vino on the sidewalk at I Fratellini
• A gourmet meal at La Giostra
• A tasting platter at Acqua Al 2
• A lunch by the marketplace at Da Mario
• A full meal for an amazing price at Trattoria Antichi Cancelli
• A tripe sandwich at Da Nerbone
• A picnic fit for a Medici
• One word: Gelato

Culinary tours, cooking classes, and wine tastings

Walks & Seminars
• Florence Food Experiences
• Florence Market Walk
• La Dolce VIta: Tuscan Chocolate Walk
• Small-Group Florence Food Walking Tour

Cooking classes
• Small-Group Italian Cooking Class in Florence
• Florence Cooking Course and Local Market Visit
• Handmade Italian Pasta Cooking Course in Florence
• Tuscan Cooking Class and Dinner in Florence
• Florence Cooking Class: Learn How to Make Gelato and Pizza

Special meals
• Florence Concert and Dinner

Wine tastings
• Sense of Tusany Wine Tasting
• Florence Cheese and Wine Tasting
• Chianti Region Wine Tasting Half-Day Trip from Florence
• Chianti Region Wine-Tasting and Dinner Half-Day Trip from Florence
• Small Group Chianti Wine Region Day Trip from Florence
• Private Tour: Chianti Region Wine Tasting
• Small-Group Tuscany Wine-Tasting Tour from Florence

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Dining under hanging hamhocks at Il Latini.These are my favorite places to eat in Florence.

These dining spots cover a wide range. There are the osterie and trattorie where latter-day laborers, market workers, and farmers in town to sell their harvest find inexpensive, filling meals of traditional fare.

There are also some special ristoranti where you can splash out on a truly memorable dinner that lasts four hours and covers five courses (minimum).

That doesn't mean you need to take all your meals sitting down at a restaurant. Don't ignore the local snack shacks called fiaschetterie for Florentine fast food, Renaissance-style; or the allure of a picnic fit for a Medici.

Oh, and gelato. Mustn't forget the gelato.

Restaurants between the Duomo & the Uffizi

Le Mossacce [meal] - The best Italian meals are usually had in a simple, tiny trattoria such as this one, where there's a line out the door of businessmen, farmers, and a few knowledgeable tourists all waiting for their turn at the hearty Tuscan dishes. Its ribollita (a classic soup of Tuscan beans, tomatoes, and day-old bread) is bested only by the crespelle (pasta crepes wrapped around ricotta cheese)—you can even get a bistecca fiorentina without busting your budget... Via del Proconsolo 55r; tel. +39-055-294-361, www.trattorialemossacce.it; Closed Sat–Sun.

I Fratellini [snack] - Just off the busiest tourist thoroughfare in the city, halfway between the Duomo and the Uffizi, lies one of the last of a dying breed: a true fiaschetteria (derived from fiasco, Italian for a flask—i.e. of wine). It is the proverbial hole-in-the-wall, a doorway about six feet deep with rows of wine bottles against the back wall behind the counter and two extraordinarily busy people fixing sandwiches and pouring glasses of wine up to the brim... Via dei Cimatori, 38r (two blocks north of Piazza della Signoria, just off Via Calzaiuoli across from the Orsanmichele); tel. +39-055-239-6096, www.iduefratellini.com; Closed Sun.

Alle Murate [meal] - Florence’s fanciest cucina nuova (nouvelle cooking) in a highly original space that combines post-modern decor with the recently uncovered medieval frescoes on the walls and ceiling vaults (including the earliest known portraits of Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch)... Via del Proconsolo 16r; tel. +39-055-240-618, www.allemurate.it; Open dinner only, Closed Mon.

Casa di Dante (Il Pennello) [meal] - Best antipasto (appetizers) spread in town, plus good traditional dishes in a restaurant founded by a 16th century painter... Via Dante Alighieri 4r; tel. +39-055-294-848, www.ristoranteilpennello.it; Closed Sun dinner, Mon.

Restaurants north of the Duomo

La Mescita [light meal] - Mauro's tiny one-room joint is a happy compromise between fiaschetteria and a trattoria. You set your own table and retrieve your own dishes from the high glass counter of the bar. It's open for wine by the glass and panini (sandwiches) from 8am, but doesn't start serving hot dishes until 11am... Via degli Alfani 70r; tel. +39-055-239-6400 or 347-795-1604; Closed dinner and Sun; No credit cards.

Restaurants south of Santa Maria Novella

Il Latini [meal] - If you are looking for that archetypal Tuscan feast, the one that lasts for hours and has more courses than you can count, this is place the to make a reservation. That said, even if you book ahead (and you should to ensure you get a table) you'll have to join the scrum around the front door at 7:30pm and wait until Narciso finds an empty space to squeeze you in at a sturdy communal table under the ceiling's wood beams from which hang ranks of prosciuttos... Via del Palchetti 6r (off Via della Vigna Nuova); tel. +39-055-210-916, www.illatini.com; Closed Mon.

Cantinetta Antinori [light meal] - Classy wine bar on Florence’s toniest shopping street. Light dishes and other nosh in the early Renaissance family palazzo belonging one of Tuscany’s top vintner families for 29 generations and counting... Piazza Antinori 3 at top of Via dei Tornabuoni; tel. +39-055-292-234, www.cantinetta-antinori.com; Closed Sat–Sun.

Coco Lezzone [meal] - Cracked-tile-type joint where movie stars and the Florentine soccer team chows down. Great ribollita (bready, veggie stew/soup) and involtini (veal rolls)...Via del Parioncino 26r; tel. +39-055-287-178, www.cocolezzone.it; Closed Tues dinner, Sun; No credit cards.

Restaurants around the train station & San Lorenzo market

Da Mario [meal] - Tucked into a side street behind several slightly pricier trattorie surrounding Florence's central food market, this unabashedly old-school tratt doesn't seem to have changed one iota since Mario Colzi opened it in 1953. The menu is hand-printed at the door and on the wall, and even if you order the most expensive first and second courses here and have wine, you still ring in under €20... Via Rosina 2; tel. +39-055-218-550, www.trattoria-mario.com; Closed dinners & Sun.

Da Nerbone [quick] - A panino con bollito (boiled meat sandwich that's bagnato, dipped quickly into the bubbling vat before being handed over), or plate of tripe or sausages at Nerbone is something of a rite of passage into true Florentine dining. Since 1874, Nerbone has occupied the corner stall inside the Mercato Centrale food market (itself a limitless supply of picnic goodies). Many market workers and other regulars wolf their food down standing at the bar; those without a stall to return to often stand there for an hour, nursing a small beer... In the Mercato Centrale; tel. +39-055-219-949; Closed dinner and Sun; No credit cards.

Trattoria Zà-Zà - Serving Tuscan favorites at reasonable prices amid a cheerful clatter, this trattoria across from the central market is a good spot to try the fabled bistecca fiorentina without losing your shirt. The walls are lined with Chianti bottles and photos of old movie stars and not-so-famous patrons, the long wooden tables crowded with visitors and locals (sit down in the old brick cantina downstairs for a bit quieter meal)... Piazza del Mercato Centrale 26r; tel. +39-055-215-411, www.trattoriazaza.it; Open daily.

Trattoria Antichi Cancelli [meal] - A barrel-vaulted ceiling of hand-cast bricks and spinning fans arches over this endlessly popular trattoria nestled amid the cheap hotels near the train station. Ancient wine bottles, garlands of garlic, frankly frightening old farm implements, and framed place mats with artistic doodles line the walls above the marble-topped tables and straw-bottomed chairs... Via Faenza 73r; tel. +39-055-218-927; Closed Mon.

Ice Cream Alert
Florence makes some of the world's best ice cream, called gelato, and no visit is complete without indulging. The city's most renowned temple of the cool, creamy snack is Vivoli (tel. 055-292-334) at Via Isole delle Stinche 7r, off Via Ghibellina east of Santa Croce. Other ice cream parlors around town are good, too; just look for a sign proclaiming produzione propria (homemade). There are others...

Restaurants near Santa Croce

La Giostra [meal] - Inventive Italian dishes with an Austrian twist in a restaurant run by a bona-fide Hapsburg/Lorraine/Medici Prince (the Sachertorte is divine). Sadly, the original owner has passed on, but it remains in the capable hands of his son Soldano. Reserve ahead. Pricey, but well worth it. One of the few places I splurge on regularly (I've even celebrated birthdays here)... Borgo Pinti 12r; tel. +39-055-241-341, www.ristorantelagiostra.com; Open daily.

Il Cibrèo [meal] - One of top restaurants in town remains the pricey restaurant of choice in Florence for artsy intelligentsia types, both international and Florentine (hint: get the same food at half the price at Trattoria Cibrèo around the corner). Fabio Picchi's cooking is superb, but a bit quirky—there are no steaks to be found, and even more oddly, no pasta. Yet all dishes are absolutely genuine, based on truly ancient Florentine recipes... Via Andrea del Verrocchio 8r, off Via dei Macchi; tel. +39-055-234-1100, www.edizioniteatrodelsalecibreofirenze.it; Closed Sun–Mon.

Pizzeria Il Pizzaiuolo - Florentines can't cook a decent pizza (sorry; it's true), but the pizzaiuolo here is from Naples, and this still reigns as the most popular pizza joint in town. As a result, there's always a wait. It's filled with mostly young locals and other trendoids, but it's still cheap (relatively) and unpretentious... Via de' Macchi 113r; tel. +39-055-241-171, www.ilpizzaiuolo.it; Closed Sun and Aug.

Acqua Al 2 [meal] - If you want a sampling of some of Florence's best pastas, duck under the barrel-vaulted ceilings of this popular trattoria just behind the Bargello for its assaggio dei primi, a tasting platter of five flavorful first courses... Via della Vigna Vecchia 40r; tel. +39-055-284-170, www.acquaal2.it; Closed lunch.

Trattoria I Cche' c'è c'è [meal] - Hearty, authentic food in an unpretentious setting with common seating at a long table (and fairly low prices to match). What more could you ask?... Via Magalotti 11r; tel. +39-055-216-589; Closed Mon.

Ristorante Vecchia Firenze [meal] - Warren of stony rooms around an open kitchen cooking up excellent Italian food, from pizza to bistecca fiorentina. For what it's worth, this was my favorite restaurant in Florence when I was 12 years old (family had many a fantastic meal here)... Borgo degli Albizi 76-78r; tel. +39-055-234-0361, www.vecchiafirenze.eu; Closed Mon.

Antico Noè [snack] - This classic fiaschetteria is named for the infamous "Drunkenness of Noah" scene from the Old Testament, an event reenacted daily by the winos who hang around this passageway in a slightly disreputable corner of town near Santa Croce. Still, the grub is good... Volta di San Pietro 6r; tel. +39-055-234-0838, www.lanticonoe.com; Closed Sun (sometimes).

Restaurants in the Oltrarno

La Casalinga [meal] - One sign of an otherwise unremarkable trattoria truly favored by the locals: people actually lining up to wait for it to open. The old tall, vaulted rooms of La Casalinga open into blandly modern ones, heritage of an expansion several years back that sucked the spirit out of the place (though the food's still both cheap and good). It's tough to spend more than $15 here—though if you order both a steak secondo and wine, you might be pushing $20... Via Michelozzi 9; tel. +39-055-218-624, www.trattorialacasalinga.it; Closed Sun.

EnotecaBar Fuori Porta [snack/light meal] - Few tourists bother hunting down this locals' favorite fiaschetteria, whose very name means "Wine Bar outside the City Gate." This is a shame, because they're missing one of Florence's best by-the-glass wine selections and the broadest menu of any fiaschetteria, in a delightful country-style nook hidden along the last remnants of the city's medieval brick walls, halfway up the hill rising to panoramic viewpoint Piazzale Michelangiolo... Via Monte alle Croci 10r; tel. +39-055-234-2483, www.fuoriporta.it; Open daily.

Alla Vecchia Bettola [meal] - This place is True Florentine, all the way. Few tourists ever find there way over here. It is, however, an experience—and one of the best places to get true, unreformed, traditional Florentine dishes... Via Luigi Ariosto 34r/Viale Vasco Pratolini (at Piazza Tasso), tel. +39-055-224-158, www.allavecchiabettola.com; Closed Sun–Mon.

Le Volpe e L'Uva [snack] - "The Wolves and the Grape" is newer and more modern than most Florentine wine bars, but the wines are carefully hand-selected by the owner, who also serves up good cheese and prosciutto platters and teeny panini at a long modern counter lined with tall stools. Great value; quick lunch stop... Piazza de' Rossi 1, just off Via Guicciardini; tel. +39-055-239-8132, www.levolpieluva.com; Closed Sun.

Il Cantinone del Gallo Nero [meal] - Prices continue to creep up at this convivial wine-cellar restaurant in the Oltrarno, but they still do great crostini (in addition to fancier dishes), and it's a fantastic place to sample some fine wines at reasonable prices, including many meals where each course is paired with a different glass... Via S. Spirito 6r; tel. +39-055-218-898, www.ilcantinonedifirenze.it; Closed Mon.

Restaurants beyond the walls

Trattoria Le Cave di Maiano [meal] - Come for Tuscan classics and that indulgent, la Dolce Vita feel of dining on an outdoor terrace high above the bustle of the city—in the hamlet of Maiano, halfway between Florence and Fiesole—with a vista of the green hills all around you... Via Cave di Maiano 16, Fiesole; tel. +39-055-59-133, www.trattoriacavedimaiano.it; Open daily.

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This material was last updated January 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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