| Lunch |
|
Caffe'
Italiano
via Condotta # 56 R
Phone #: 055 - 29 10 82
Small, old-style caffe'. Downstairs you can have espresso "Italian
Style" standing and good small pastries and sandwiches. Upstairs,
you sit down and get wine by 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 18 R
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. They are not allowed to served hot meals, so you can get
all the 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 crostoni (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 # 16 R
A small trattoria (watch 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 # 70/r
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 12/r
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. |
| Back
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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 49 R
Phone #: 055 - 239 88 98
Garga, the owner is in the kitchen and he gives you a very personal
sophisticated interpretation of the Tuscan foodlore. Try the spaghetti
with raw artichokes and shaves of parmigiano, or the penne with
gorgonzola sauce and julienne of raw zucchini. Recently, it has
become too popular among the tourist population, and its hard to
find Italians eating there, although the food quality if still very
high.
|
Cibreo
via dei Macci # 118 R
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 you 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 #25 R
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 3/r
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 for this nice retreat nestled on the Careggi
hills. Approx. 40 - 50 Euros. |
Pandemonio
via del Leone 50/r
Phone #: 055 - 22 40 02
Very friendly atmosphere in the hear 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 40/r
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 1/r (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 47/r
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
cheap Chianti is Santa Cristina |
Alessi
via delle Oche 27/r
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 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, one of the most 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 your best gelato or, really a 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!). |
|
| PASTICCERIE |
Pasticcerrie
Robiglio via dei Servi #112/r
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. |
|
| GROCERY and FOOD |
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. |
(r stands for red - in Florence black numbers are for private houses and red numbers for commercial premises, so in the same street you can have the same numbers listed twice, in red and in black).
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to top |