Food? It's very important! Where can you find the best food in Florence?

When I travel in different countries, what I most like is eating what the locals eat and going where the locals would go. Florence is a small city but you can find a lot of places that are small and very very good.

Typical of Florence is the so called "Trattoria" or "Osteria", both names have the same meaning: a small restaurant, where there is a small menu, the price are not so expensive and you can eat what is typical from Florence.

The part of the city where the florentine use to go at night is the "Oltrarno" that is the other side of the Arno river, one of the most authentic part of Florence. In Santo Spirito square you can find a lot of places where you can have an aperitivo or you can eat well.

A very good and old Trattoria is "La Casalinga" where you can find a delicious Fiorentina, the typical T-Bone steak. But if you don't like cow meat then you can have also pasta or a soup, typical in Florence is the so called "Pappa al pomodoro" or the "Ribollita" and a lot of desserts. The pappa al pomodoro is a tomato soup with bread that is cooked in the tomato for a long time and dressed with olive oil and basil. It's delicious!

An other place that is in a very small square, with a very good atmosphere is "I 4 Leoni". The place is already very famous because the trattoria is very old. It is delicious for the meat and it is in Piazza della Passera, a tiny square, near to Pitti Palace and in the summer times you can find sometimes also small concerts, a small bar and a small gelateria.

If you want Pizza, the best pizzeria in the Oltrarno is "Gustapizza", a place for easy going people, you don't find a large variety of Pizza but you can have the typical Neapolitan pizza with a high dough.

In San Lorenzo district, very close to the leather market and also to Dome square, you can find few trattorias that are very old and good. If you plan to have lunch, you can go to "Trattoria Mario" that is open just at lunch. It is not possible to reserve a table, but if you go directly, you'll find the small typical restaurant where the local go for their lunch break. The menu is different every day. Always in San Lorenzo you can visit the "Food market" where you can eat something fast and easy and you can buy also good wine, extravergine olive oil, prosciutto and more. In the market you can find "Nerbone", a delicious place. There you can also try the "Lampredotto", the last part of the cow intestines, cooked in the tomato sauce and you can eat it also in a sandwich. Always in

San Lorenzo you have the "Osteria Palle D'oro", very good for the "tagliatelle al cinghiale". It's pasta similar to the bolognese but with bore meat.

La Giostra

In Borgo Pinti area you can find osteria "La Giostra". In this small restaurant you feel like at home. It's a very old restaurant and it's very famous for the T-Bone steak, you can also try a variety of dishes, the desserts are very good, like the cheesecake. The place is a little bit more expensive but it's worthy!

If you want to go a more simple place, also at lunch, in San Frediano district you can find "I' Brindellone", a small, typical trattoria, with few dishes, good prices and a very good T-bone steak. I suggest you to reserve before going. Delicious side dishes like fried vegetables.

I' Brindellone

If you are near Santa Croce square, one of the best places to eat is "Baldovino", very good food and you can find also different dishes, for example codfish, the baccalà. But you have also meat and the antipasti are very good, like cheese or Tuscan prosciutto, that is aged more than the Parma ham.

If you’d like to explore Florence like a local and discover places you wouldn’t find on your own, feel free to contact me to plan your private tour.