LUNCH |
Caffe' Italiano
Via Condotta # 56R
Phone #: 055 - 29 10 82
Small, old-style cafe'. Downstairs you can have espresso "Italian Style" (standing) and good small pastries and sandwiches. Upstairs, you sit down and may get wine by the glass (rare in Florence) and a selection of two pasta dishes and/or a dish of three different samples of vegetable casseroles. Good selection of homemade desserts. Magazines, books and newspapers available. One dish and a glass of wine are about 12-15 Euro. |
Cantinetta di Verrazzano
Via dei Tavolini 18R
Phone #: 055 - 26 85 90
This place is a combination of bakery- winery-cafe'. You can just buy your bread and eat it outside or sit down in the back room. Good selection of crostini, salami (including boar-prosciutto) and cheeses. Wine served by glass. One dish and a glass of average wine averages about 15-20 Euros. |
Enoteca
Via dei Giraldi, 4R
Phone #: 055 - 21 65 18
Brand new. Enoteca's are not allowed to serve hot meals, so here you can get a variety of Tuscan salami (cold cuts) served on a wooden board with pecorino cheese & schiacciata (flat bread) Specialty: Lardo di Colonnata, a very rare delicacy (pork fat). Good crostini (slices of toasted bread with different toppings) Around 15 Euros. |
Cantinetta Antinori
Palazzo Antinori - Piazza Antinori 3
Phone #: 055 - 29 22 34
This is the cellar of the Antinori family winery. Very refined and glamorous atmosphere. High quality food with a spectacular wine list. You can have a light lunch in there with a glass of wine (try the Tignanello, one of the best Antinori wines) for 40 Euros. |
Belledonne
Via delle Belle Donne # 16R
A small trattoria (watch for the entrance: no sign outside, only a tiny door!) where you can pick the dish of the day from a blackboard, sit next to a lot of Florentine VIPs, or have a huge wonderful salad from the counter. Buon appetito! 20 Euros. |
Vinaio
Via Alfani # 70R
They serve pasta (only a couple of sauces) and there is a wide selection of affettati (cold cuts) and vegetables. Wine served by the glass and it's cheap! |
Centro Culturale Canapone
Via Mazzetta # 5a
A gastronomic club which serves, besides regular wonderful meals, an extraordinary brunch on Sunday mornings. About 20 Euros. |
Capocaccia
Lungarno Corsini 12R
Phone #: 055 - 21 07 51
Very young and trendy atmosphere. Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays. Nice salads and sandwiches. Cost about 20 Euros. |
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DINNER |
Enoteca Pinchiorri
Via Ghibellina 87
Phone #: 055 - 24 27 57
The TOP. Very expensive. The Chef, Annie Feolde is French and she gives her interpretation of Tuscan food. Wide selection of wines. Menu at fixed price about 100 Euros. A la carte about 150 Euros depending on the wine you select. |
I' Garga
Via del Moro 49R
Phone #: 055 - 239 88 98
Garga, the owner is in the kitchen and he gives you a very personal, sophisticated interpretation of the Tuscan food tradition. Try the spaghetti with raw artichokes and shaves of parmigiano, or the penne with gorgonzola sauce and julienne of raw zucchini. Because of its recent popularity with tourists, it's hard to find Italians eating there, although the food quality if still very high. |
Cibreo
Via dei Macci # 118R
Phone #: 055 - 234 11 01
This restaurant has two different versions depending on how much you want to spend: the Cibreo and Cibreino, right round the corner. The kitchen is the same, but the Cibreino offers just a few first courses and a few main courses. Typical Tuscan food. Fabio Picchi, the owner, gives a very strong and personal interpretation of Tuscan food. Cibreo 50-60 Euros. Cibreino 20-25 Euros. |
Caffe' Concerto
Lungarno Colombo # 7
Phone #: 055- 67 73 77
Charming restaurant right on the banks of the river. Very good Florentine beefsteak (T-bone). Romantic atmosphere and very good selection of desserts.
Approx. 60-70 Euros. |
Taverna del Bronzino
Via delle Ruote #25R
Phone #: 055 49 52 20
Nice atmosphere, good selection of wine, good fish. The dessert comes directly from "Dolci & Dolcezze" (Piazza Beccaria) one of the best known Pasticcerie in Florence. 50-60 Euros. |
Alle Murate
Via Ghibellina 52R
Phone #: 055 - 24 06 18
Very nice selection of wine. Very nice selection of wine. Try the soffiata di caponata, a very light vegetable soup. Good desserts. 50-60 Euros. |
Cavolo Nero
Via dell'Ardiglione 22
Phone #: 055 - 29 47 44
They had a full page article in Bon Apetit (May 2000 issue). Garden in Summer. Andrea in the kitchen gives a very nice interpretation of local dishes.
The best pasta alla Bottarga in town (pasta with fish-roe sauce). Great wine list, ask Massimo (restaurant Manager) for advice. Reservations on Friday and Saturdays. Approx. 40-50 Euros. |
Zibibbo
Via del Terzollina 3R
Phone #: 055 - 43 33 83
Benedetta Vitali (author of the Cookbook Soffritto) gives this place a special touch. She comes from years of experience at Cibreo and she composes the menu paying attention to the local cuisine and recipes. Very nice atmosphere at this nice retreat nestled on the Careggi hills. Approx. 40-50 Euros. |
Pandemonio
Via del Leone 50R
Phone #: 055 - 22 40 02
Very friendly atmosphere in the heart of Oltrarno-Santo Spirito area. Nice menu and good wine list. Local dishes along with new recipes. Try Pasta di Cecco, with fresh artichokes. Special desserts, all homemade. They also serve Dai-Dai gelatto, special double cream ice cream with pine nuts. They also offer, from the same brand, nice bite size ice creams with your coffee. They recently had a full page article in the New York Times. Approx. 50-60 Euros. |
Acqua al 2
Via della Vigna Vecchia 40R
Phone #: 055 - 28 41 70
Right behind the Bargello Museum. The specialty is a selection of 5 different types of pasta (assaggio di pasta). Very informal atmosphere . Average cost for a full meal (but you can have just the pasta) about 20 Euro. |
Beccofino
Piazza degli Scarlatti 1R (Lungarno Guicciardini)
Phone #: 055 - 29 00 76
Restaurant and Wine bar. Very nicely designed and decorated, their menu doesn't recall Tuscan cuisine, but the food is really good and very well presented. If you are looking for an old-type Tuscan trattoria, don't go there. Very young and trendy atmosphere, very nice attention to all the details. The location is beautiful, facing Palazzo Corsini from the other side of the river. In the Summer you can sit outside with a gorgeous view. Approx. 50-60 Euros. |
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WHERE TO BUY GOOD WINE |
Zanobini
Via Sant'Antonino 47R
In the heart of the San Lorenzo Market one of the oldest "vinai" in Florence. Good selection of national wines. Try a white Vermentino Sardo or Cervaro della Sala. Red: Tignanello, Brunello di Montalcino. A good inexpensive Chianti is Santa Cristina. |
Alessi
Via delle Oche 27R
Right behind the Duomo, they have a cellar with all the most famous regional wines. Grappa and Limoncello are also available. They ship overseas. |
CHOCOLATE |
Rivoire
Piazza della Signoria
Rivoire is famous for its special chocolate, a semi-sweet type made in its own pasticceria. You can sit in the beautiful tea-room inside in winter or, in the warm season, outside in the tables facing Palazzo Vecchio. The specialty is "cioccolata con panna", hot chocolate with whipped cream, but you can also buy beautiful boxes of chocolates or at Easter time, some very beautiful chocolate eggs. |
Hemingway
Piazza Piattellina 9R
You'll go crazy in this all-chocolate place! Brunch available on Sundays. Tearoom open until 2:00AM. All the different types of chocolate, with fruit, with jam, melted in a cup, etc. Good selection of teas. |
GELATO |
CAVINI
Piazza delle Cure
Get the best gelato or for a real treat, a "Millefoglie ripieno di gelato" (a dessert which doesn't come in individual portions with layers of puff pastry and vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips- it's a gelato, so it must be kept in a freezer!). |
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PASTICCERIE |
Pasticcerrie
Robiglio via dei Servi #112R
Closed on Sundays. One of the best Pasticcerie in Florence. Try a bombolone (doughnut filled with pasty cream) or a Fedora (pastry with a bottom of puff pastry, two layers of angel food cake with whipped cream in between and topped with chocolate curls) or any other pasty of their wide and wonderful selection. |
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FOOD & GROCERY |
Pegna
Via dello Studio 8
The best grocery store in Florence. Anything you need for cooking, in addition to the best brands of wine, olive oil, pasta. etc. |
Via del Melarancio
International food. Chinese, Mexican, Thai, etc. |
Via Panicale
African food: Cous-Cous, etc. |
Mercato San Lorenzo
Piazza del Mercato Centrale. Open from 7AM to 2PM. Monday through Saturday. First floor: Meat, Fish, Grocery. Second Floor: Vegetables and Fruit. |
Mercato Sant'Ambrogio
Piazza Sant'Ambrogio. Less touristy than San Lorenzo. Fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. |
Standa
Via Pietrapiana 42/44
Open Monday 3:30 - 8:30 PM Tuesday through Saturday 8AM - 8:30PM. This supermarket is open on Wednesday afternoon when all other grocery stores are closed. |
KITCHEN EQUIPMENT |
Bartolini
Via dei Servi 30R
The widest selection of kitchenware, tools, pots, etc. |
Coin
Via dei Calzaiuoli 56R
The kitchenware is located in the basement. Good quality for a good price. |
| Tip for finding addresses: Florence uses black and blue numbers for private residences and red(R) numbers for commercial premises, so the addresses often don't seem to be in sequential order. |
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