Our recent trip to Florence was a culinary trip as much as it was embellished with history, arts, and spring weather. Here are our finds...
Conveniently located but be careful what to order
Osteria Cipolla Rossa
Via dei conti, 53/r, 50123 Florence, ItalyThis is a stone throw away from the station, on the way to the Dome. This is the first place we ate in Florence, after a train trip from Pisa.
Cigdem had an artichoke-sausage spaghetti from the daily specials.The spaghetti sauce was way too salty.
I had a roastbeef carpaccio on a salad, which was amazing! The house wine took some time to open, but was good at the end (or we were drunk enough). We ended with two espressos which gave us enough kick to manage the 40 minute walk to our hotel.
At the foot of Piazza Michalengelo
Osteria Antica Mescita San Niccolò
WWW: http://www.osteriasanniccolo.it/en/
San Niccolo is a cute neighborhood under the foot of Piazza Michalengelo.
We started our dinner with a shared bruschetta - one with cheese, and one with tripes and dried tomato. A very interesting combination, that I found delicious. As mains Cigdem had pollo el limone, while I got mixed grill. The grill was very good, the chicken was dry but tasty. We paid around 60 euros.
Unforgettably tasty!
Alla Vecchia Bettola
This was a recommendation from our hotel (Riva Lofts), and they also did the booking. The night we arrived, the place was packed with people of Florence and we were the only tourists. We received a very warm welcome. The service was fast and friendly, but not overbearing. We started with primi piatti and chose a delicious pasta with ragu. As our secondi piatti, we shared a tasty Florentine steak with salad or vegetable (broccoli in our case) sides, big enough for our big appetites after, again, a 40 minute walk to and back. We had house wine and two espressos. Even though we shared the steak (which was adviced by our hotel), we had no space left for a dessert. Finally, we paid around 90 Euros.
More information on Tripadvisor
A classic not-to-miss for lunch
Nerbone in Mercado Centrale
This is linked to Alla Vecchia Bettola.
For 15 Euros, we had two plates of delicious pasta with ragu (similar to the day before), and 1 plate of roast beef. You have to queue and eat fast in communal tables, but it is worth it. You may be bothered by some gypsies while you are eating, but the locals help keeping them from bothering people too much. Also, the owners of the Nerbone must be the kindest people around as I have seen them give free food just for the asking to some people.
Our trip to the market ended up with cheese, wine, baguettes, and nice bresaola for a small dinner picnic in the room.
Refined cooking at its best (Booking a must)
Il Santo Bevitore
Again, advised and booked by our hotel reception and again, did not let us down.
It opens at 7pm, and not a minute before that. They also refuse anybody who does not have a reservation.
Once inside, a quite spacious restaurant with warm lighting expects you. We drank a Nobile de Montepulciano, the best wine we had on the trip and very reasonably priced.
Our appetizer had proscuitto, pecorino cheese with honey and tender artichokes in olive oil. Cigdem got a tuna steak, and I believe I had a pasta with ragu cinghiale.
Our desert was simple but had nice rum-poached pears.
Cigdem had a digestif (turned out to be a tea rather than alcohol, to her disappointment) and I had an esprosso with Ethiopian coffee beans.
We feel the place is like a French gastranomy restaurant with Tuscan inspiration. While most dishes were amazingly tasty, they can also be considered on the complicated side.
The best gelato ever!
Gelateria La Carraia
Among many options and after much deliberation, I chose a mousse tiramisu and stracciatala flavors, Cigdem had white chocolate-pistacchio and pear-ricotta (a tribute to the dessert in Santo Bevitore). Cigdem's was way better, though I cannot really complain about my choice!
We had quite a few gelatos in Florence (who can resist???)
So, the second place goes to Gelateria dei Neri and the third place goes to Grom (again a classic). While people queue long queues in front of Grom, I think the other two is much better in quality and variety. Though Grom's coffee flavor is pretty decent.
We will definitely visit Florence again!
