When we go to visit various countries and cities we also like to taste the typical dishes and often we search on the internet for the best restaurant, not too expensive, of the place that offers local products.
This is why we have decided to write a list of the best Florentine restaurants, in our opinion.
Mercato Centrale
The Mercato Centrale opens for the first time in Florence in one of the most significant places in the city: the first floor of the historic covered market of San Lorenzo. The project became a reality in the spring of 2014, to celebrate 140 years of iron and glass architecture erected in 1874. A rebirth that brings artisans of taste back to the center with their shops.
Bread and pastries, fresh fish, fried, vegetarian and vegan, meat and cured meats, buffalo mozzarella, cheeses, chocolate and ice cream, fresh pasta, wine shop, lampredotto, truffles: all the shops are run by artisan traders with love in common for their profession.
Here you can go shopping in all the shops and/or eat them hot and fresh products prepared by the artisans of taste directly on the spot.
All the tables of the market are at your disposal to comfortably consume the dishes purchased at the shops, at no additional cost.
Inside there is also a “Da Tosca” pizzeria restaurant where you can eat comfortably seated at the central counter and also on the mezzanine floor, and choose from the menu from a selection of freshly prepared dishes.
In addition, there is the “Lorenzo de ‘Medici cooking school”, where cooking courses are organized regularly in Italian and English, all to be tried.
Neromo (for the pizza 🍕)
Il Neromo was born from the passion for the simplicity of the old flavors and aromas of Florentine cuisine mixed with the scents and tradition of Salento and Abruzzo cuisine. The harmony of the restaurant is breathed as soon as you enter, after being welcomed and pampered with a welcome prosecco and the smile of the staff.
The kitchen offers land and sea dishes created by the chefs who always use first-choice raw materials.
The typical dish is in the Pizzeria which produces naturally leavened pizzas, seasoned with fresh and genuine products typical of Neapolitan cuisine, from burrata to tomatoes from the Motticella company. Typical dish (pizza): the Tartufina.
Consisting of two high and spacious rooms, where the first dominates a wooden counter that gives a strong character to the place, expertly and finely furnished by the owners, young and dynamic guys who expertly orchestrate the Neromo in a professional way but without losing the fun.
Fuor d’Acqua (for the fish 🐠)
In the heart of the historic center of Florence, a few steps from Porta San Frediano is the Fuor d’Acqua: a true taste of the sea within the ancient Florentine tradition. Opened in 2000 in an old carriage depot, the restaurant has been renovated respecting the original features of Tuscan architecture.
The exceptional quality of the fish that arrives every day from the Viareggio market wisely cooked and served with professionalism and competence in a simple, friendly and elegant atmosphere, are the essential elements that have determined the success of our restaurant.
The fish dishes are decided by the daily arrival of the catch, according to the season, accompanied by light and tasty side dishes. This is how simple or traditional recipes are born, such as Catalana and Paccheri alla Trabaccolara and many others.
There is also an extensive wine list with about 250 fine labels (including all the best champagnes) offering a wide selection of DOC wines 🍷 including wines with good value for money.
All’Antico Vinaio (for his sandwiches 🌮)
In 1989, the Mazzanti family opened the doors of the All’Antico Vinaio.
Tommy Mazzanti joined the company in 2006 and in a short time transformed All’antico Vinaio into a reference point for the city of Florence and for lovers of Street Food from all over the world.
In 2014 it was the most-reviewed restaurant in the world on Tripadvisor and in Italy for years 🏆!
The place is known to the millions of visitors to Florence as the place where it is worth queuing up to taste one of our crushes!
Gourmand, inviting, crunchy scented but soft inside… great… It is the Florentine flatbread of All’Antico Vinaio!
The costs are low for the quantity and quality of the food served.
In the same street, you can find 3 sandwich shops plus a restaurant.
L’è Maiala
The first restaurant in Italy where you pay your bill also with the barter method. L’è Maiala, is a restaurant that focuses on bartering: you can exchange your dinner for products from the garden or antiques. We recommend this place! Dishes prepared with passion and truly excellent raw materials! Street stuff, ‘music’; that healthy vulgarity innate in Florence.
Among the genres accepted for the exchange, priority will be given to the fruits of the Tuscan countryside, but also to local crafts, including antiques and modern antiques. But well-negotiated, they will also be bricolage and design objects.
In addition, the most beautiful utensils will be exhibited inside the restaurant. And this precisely reinforces the idea of a “Restaurant designed for the people“.
Osteria dei Centopoveri
A few steps from the church of Santa Maria Novella, there is our “Ostaria”, a restaurant in Florence that stands out for its cuisine attentive to the taste and genuineness of local products that are always fresh.
Ostaria dei Centopoveri offers some of the best proposals of typical Tuscan cuisine and welcomes you in a pleasant and modern environment, where attention to the customer is one of the strengths so that everyone can feel welcomed at home.
Our cuisine is full of tasty and original proposals ranging from fresh homemade pasta to the typical meat dishes of the Tuscan tradition without forgetting solutions of very fresh fish.
The Ostaria dei Centopoveri is also the right landing place for lovers of Neapolitan pizza, a masterpiece of fragrance with a soft, high dough with simple and quality ingredients.
Grotta Guelfa
The restaurant is located in the ancient Palagio dei Capitani di Parte Guelfa. Following the political and military conflict between Ghibellines and Guelphs which saw the latter triumph in the second half of the 13th century, the Palazzo in Via Pellicceria became the seat of the “Captains” or those who administered the assets confiscated from the defeated. Today the Palagio di Parte Guelfa, in addition to hosting the Grotta Guelfa, includes a library and a room dedicated to historical Florentine football (Calcio storico fiorentino) ⚽.
Our paper is the result of careful historical research and represents a proud tribute to the Tuscan tradition with an eye to innovation. Gastronomic specialties follow over four hundred labels of excellent wine and extra virgin olive oil. You will immerse yourself in the flavors of the real Florence thanks to genuine ingredients and slow-fire preparations.
Trattoriza Zà zà (for the meat 🍖)
In the lively and crowded context of the Central Market of San Lorenzo, in the heart of the city of Florence,
the restaurant Zà Zà is born, in one of the buildings that survived the time… Or perhaps it is better to say that this is where he continues to live: where Zà Zà is today, in fact, already from the beginning of the nineteenth century there was a small inn. It has space inside (very nice and characteristic) and outside (under the awnings).
The food is very good, and many dishes are typical of the area. You will also find some specialties, which you can take home by buying the restaurant’s recipe book.
We recommend the cut of beef and linguine with walnut sauce.
Enoteca Pinchiorri
In that laboratory that is our kitchen, ideas take shape while we combine the best ingredients. All in the pursuit of innovation, yet remaining in the sign of the territorial tradition. Warm, welcoming, refined location; extremely nice staff who make you feel comfortable even in a 3-STAR MICHELIN restaurant. Even an apparently simple dish like lamb turned out to be a more unique than rare culinary experience… Specialty:
- Grouper carpaccio, cod mayonnaise, radishes, pepper oil
- Chard ravioli, roasted and not boiled, with caviar and smoked herring foam
- Soft cake with carrots and ginger, candied cherry tomatoes with spices, and caramel cream
It is very very expensive, prices range from 100 to 300€ and you can also give away a “dinner package“.
Gelateria La Carraia (for the ice cream 🍦)
Just after Ponte alla Carraia, this ice cream shop makes super creamy and fluffy ice cream. Even the window is a feast for the eyes!
The prices are unbeatable! In general, the quantity of ice cream in both cones was quite generous.
These are the best restaurants for us. Obviously, there are many others but it would be impossible to try them all given a large number of places 😃.
