City Guide: the best of Florence

With one of Italy’s most beautiful cathedrals and countless charming piazzas, it’s no wonder that Florence’s city center is teeming with tourists. If you’re not careful, you can easily end up at a tourist trap. But if you know where to find the right restaurants, you can eat the most delicious meals of your life here. Luckily, I’ve already done all the legwork for you. You’re welcome.

Club Culinario Toscano da Osvaldo

This restaurant is located in an alley that doesn’t immediately stand out, but make sure to sit down here because I had one of my best meals in the city. To start, definitely order the fried zucchini flowers with prosciutto and squacquerone. Squaca-what? It’s an incredibly creamy, spreadable cheese that from now on I’d happily eat with everything. Add some pasta with sausage and truffle, and a carafe of house wine, and you have a wonderful lunch or dinner. The truffle is grated over your plate at the table, by the way—always fun.

Gelato

A day in Italy can’t go by without at least one ice cream a day. Luckily, one of the best gelaterias in the city is just around the corner from the restaurant mentioned above. There’s always a line at Gelateria dei Neri, but just join it. The rice gelato here is out of this world, but the hazelnut and actually all the other flavors are too. On the other side of the river? Then head to Gelateria La Carraia. The line here is possibly even longer, but the flavors are also a little more exciting. They have all the classics here too—including six different kinds of chocolate, all of which look equally delicious—but if you’ve had enough of those, you can order something different here too. My favorite was the white chocolate ice cream with pistachios in it.

Il Santino

Around the corner from Gelateria La Carraia is restaurant Il Santino Bevitore, where you can enjoy very reasonably priced pasta and other Tuscan classics. The restaurant is quite large, even though it doesn’t feel that way when you’re inside, but it’s always full. Reservations are therefore recommended, unless you don’t mind sitting down only at 9:30 p.m. Their sister wine bar, Il Santino, is a few doors down. You can easily kill time there with plenty of wine, cured meats and cheese. The bar itself is in an old wine storage room and is very small, but in the evening everyone gathers on the pavement and street around the bar, which makes it extra cozy.

Le volpi e l’uva

Do you prefer to drink your wine on a terrace? Then continue on to Le volpi e l’uva. You’ll pass through a very pleasant neighborhood anyway, with plenty of other delicious places where you can make a pit stop—provided you make it to the final destination. Because that’s where you’ll find the most wonderful wines. I couldn’t choose from the menu, so each time I let the staff surprise me, and literally every wine was a hit. There are plenty of bar snacks on the menu, but definitely order the crostone with asiago (cheese) and ‘nduja (spicy spreadable sausage). Heavenly!

Trattoria Sabatino

Go here for lunch, when the working Italians also start trickling in one by one. The food here is stripped down to the bare essentials, so if you like fancy food, you should definitely skip this place. But if, like me, you love simple yet perfect food, you’ll be absolutely delighted by the tagliatelle with tomato sauce (at €4.30), topped with a curl of butter, and the cavolo credo. Paper-thin slices of raw cabbage topped with olive oil, lemon juice, pepper and salt. È tutti!

Il Latini

You can’t avoid eating bistecca alla Fiorentina in Florence. A T-bone steak is grilled over charcoal, giving it a delicious smoky flavor and wonderfully crispy crust, while the meat remains perfectly medium rare. You may well encounter a few (okay, quite a lot of) tourists here, but then again, how could they not be drawn to this divine steak? Luckily, the atmosphere is thoroughly Italian, with shouting waiters and tables set just a little too close together. Start with the toast with chicken liver and finish with the cantuccini (almond cookies), which you dip in vin santo (sweet wine). The dessert of this region. A bit clichéd, but delicious. Here too, you really need to make a reservation in advance.

Il Chicco di Caffè (dalla Lola)

Near Piazza Santa Spirito you’ll find this small restaurant, a favorite among the locals. A small menu, relaxed atmosphere, and affordable yet wonderfully delicious food. The fried anchovies with lemon zest are an incredible starter (or bar snack), but the tuna carpaccio is delicious too. If you want to make sure you leave the place well fed, order the gnudi (a kind of pasta dumpling with spinach) in Parmesan sauce with crispy breadcrumbs. Besides being filling, these little balls are incredibly tasty.