24 best restaurants in Florence
It pays to follow insider advice before you choose where to eat in Florence. Millions of visitors crowd into the city each year, and too many Florence restaurants are content serving indifferent food to people who don’t know any better. But look beyond the ubiquitous menu turistico, the plastic panini, and mass-produced pizza sold by the slice, and you’ll find a dynamic, varied dining scene of everything from revered temples of gourmet cuisine to food trucks selling tripe sandwiches.
While the beating heart of la cucina Fiorentina is the traditional, family-run trattoria serving up old favourites such as ribollita (bread-based soup with black cabbage and beans) and the mighty “bistecca alla fiorentina,” there is so much more on offer these days. A new generation of exciting young chefs is riffing on the recipes that their mothers and grandmothers taught them, using fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients. They are more widely travelled than their grannies, so dishes are sometimes macchiato (“stained”) with exotic flavours that were unknown on Florentine menus 15 years ago.
Top of the tree are the city’s six Michelin-starred restaurants, where you can expect a gourmet dining experience with all the bells and whistles – perfect for a special treat and that fancy-pants new outfit. At the other end of the spectrum is street food like lampredotto (the fourth stomach of the cow), sold to locals and curious visitors. In between there are contemporary osterias, gourmet sandwich bars, wood-fired pizzerias, and wine bars serving interesting nibbles. There’s something for every taste and all budgets; just remember to avoid those tourist menus, however tired your feet may be, and consider these best restaurants in Florence instead.
Alessandro MoggiRegina Bistecca
The word is out. Regina Bistecca showcases Florence’s best-known signature dish, the bistecca alla Fiorentina, a vast T-bone priced by weight. Here you can choose the breed of your steak, from a generic European Selection to the highly prized (and highly priced) Tuscan Chianina. The previous occupant of this lovely space, located a short way north of the Duomo, was a revered 140-year-old antiquarian bookshop, and the new owners have sensibly chosen to maintain the spirit of the place. Today, Regina Bistecca’s main dining space has lofty vaulted ceilings, dark grey walls hung with paintings and prints in gilded frames, and a gallery running around the top. The cooking, serving, and eating of a bistecca is serious business, and here it gets reverential treatment, from being brought to the table raw for the client’s approval, to the flourishing presentation of a bone-handled knife with which to cut it. Under no circumstances ask for it to be well done; bistecca here is served very rare.
Address: Via Ricasoli, 14r, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: reginabistecca.com
Courtesy SeviSevi Ristorante
The way off-radar neighbourhood of San Jacopino (west of Santa Maria train station) is on the up and up these days with an increasing number of buzzy bars and restaurants and a young, cool vibe. Sevi opened in 2022, a bright, contemporary space with an open kitchen at one end of the room, warm lighting, and jazzy background sounds. All the familiar dishes are there, but chef Francys Salazar and his chef wife Jhoseleen Condori put a pan-Asian spin on the classics, so along with a variety of fantastically tasty ceviches and arroz with chicken, meat, or seafood, come bao buns with chicharron (pork belly) and Japanese mayo, octopus fried in panko crumbs, miso-lacquered sea bass with yakatori, and other complex palate teasers. It’s all a fantastically refreshing change from ribollita, white beans, and bistecca.
Address: Via Maragliano, 24, 50144 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: seviristorante.it
Santabarbara Desco & Cucina
Santa Barbara is in an off-radar location close to busy Piazza della Libertà just north of Florence city centre. With only 20 covers, the brightly lit space has contemporary furnishings in blond wood, an L-shaped wood counter ("desco") wrapping round the bar-come-serving pass and a small, very busy tiled kitchen. Then there are two primi (pasta or rice) and two main course choices, one fish and one meat. There is no menu, but the chefs take on board allergies, intolerances, like and dislikes and adapt accordingly. It’s a brilliant way of reducing food waste. A recent dinner included outrageously good onion tarte tatin, a coarse guinea fowl paté, ravioli stuffed with fresh marzolino cheese, baby broad beans, and fried artichoke hearts, and cod lacquered with Japanese hot sauce. And lots of moreish homemade, salty focaccia.
Address: Via Pier Capponi, 72 a, 50132 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: santabarbarafirenze.com
Alberto BlasettiOnde
This is a restaurant of two parts, the first a glass conservatory looking onto the Four Season’s magnificent gardens through floor-to-ceiling windows (there’s a glorious terrace for warm weather), while the second room is done out in breezy blue and white and has an open kitchen. Chef Paolo Lavezzini has earned a Michelin star for his creative cuisine at the Four Seasons’ fine dining restaurant Il Palagio. Hailing from Versilia on the Tuscan coast, Onde is his homage to the culinary traditions he grew up with using the hopping fresh fish and seafood fished in the Tyrrhenian sea. So you can expect classics with a touch of nostalgia in dishes such as spaghetti con le arselle (tiny clams), tortellini stuffed with sea bass, sizzling “fritto misto,” and whole fish baked in a salt crust. Or go for the “crudo,” a selection of raw fish, oysters, and crustaceans served on ice and eaten simply with a squeeze of lemon. Finish with a “sgroppino,” a kind of citrus-flavoured iced slush.
Address: Via Gino Capponi, 46, 50121 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: fourseasons.com
Dario GarofaloL’Angolo Del Mare
According to many local cognoscenti, L’Angolo del Mare, a small restaurant way off the radar in the northeastern outskirts of Florence, serves up some of the best fish and seafood in town. Owners Mirco and Carmelo used to have a restaurant on the Tuscan coast, and they still use the local suppliers to ensure daily deliveries of fresh seafood. The short menu changes regularly, but offers the likes of seared tuna with soy, a killer tagliolini all’astice (lobster), spaghetti with clams and salty bottarga (mullet roe), and an impressive whole sea bass baked in a salt crust. (The salt seals the fish and keeps it perfectly moist during cooking.) There’s always a handful of specials, according to the daily catch. Desserts include a divine Champagne-strawberry tiramisu. Order a glass of dry Franciacorta fizz while you peruse the menu, then choose from the short but well-thought-out list of affordably priced, mainly white wines from all over Italy and beyond.
Address: Viale Edmondo de Amicis, 1, 50137 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: langolodelmare.com
Oltrarno Osteria
This is the younger sister of popular Osteria dell’Enoteca in the Santo Spirito neighbourhood; the menu is similar, but the look is quite different and the atmosphere is a little more informal. It’s a cosy space done out in moody greys with a mod-rustic look, colourful paintings of Florence and its monuments on the walls, and a carefully curated jazz soundtrack. As in the Osteria dell'Enoteca, Nicola Chiappi’s Tuscan-centric menus here are based on market availability and local traditions and change with the seasons. You’ll find the odd old favorites common to both menus (the silky smooth chicken liver terrine with vin santo reduction, for example), but other dishes are different: vegetable patties with minty mayo, fried brains (rare in Florence these days), potato-stuffed tortelli with a rich mushroom ragù, cacciucco (traditional fish stew from Livorno), and beef tagliata.
Address: Via di S. Niccolò, 39/r, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: oltrarnoosteria.com
Olga MakarovaOsteria dell’Enoteca
A contemporary space within the context of an ancient Oltrarno townhouse, Osteria dell’Enoteca excels at seasonal Tuscan fare with a modern twist. This place is under the same ownership as Pitti Gola e Cantina, an excellent nearby wine bar. You can expect dishes like chicken liver terrine with a vin santo reduction, potato soup and spicy octopus, gazpacho topped with burrata cheese in summer, and pappardelle with venison sauce and braised wild boar in winter. Steak is a big deal here; order a T-bone from various breeds, including the highly prized (and expensive) Fassona from Piedmont and Chianina from Tuscany. The cut is grilled over an open fire, and served rare; so if you like your meat well done, choose something else.
Address: Via Romana, 70/r, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: osteriadellenoteca.com
Sofie DelauwIl Santo Bevitore
A large former coach house in Santo Spirito with a vaulted ceiling and dark wood panelling, Il Santo Bevitore is often full and quite noisy. Quietly groundbreaking when it opened in the early aughts, it’s no less popular today. The food combines creative Tuscan fare with a slow-food emphasis on seasonality and provenance. There’s always a choice of interesting antipasti (borage flan with tempura wild leaves or marinated sea bass with clementines and lemon mayo), plus pastas such as wild boar ravioli with pecorino cheese and a smoked broth. Mains might include crispy octopus and mash or guinea fowl breast stuffed with wild fennel and Swiss chard. Dessert is worth leaving room for; crème brûlée spiked with star anise is a winner.
Address: Via Santo Spirito, 64r, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: ilsantobevitore.com
Dario GarofaloCantinetta Antinori
Housed in the vaulted ex-cellars of 15th-century Palazzo Antinori, the Cantinetta breathes aristocratic Old Florence. The atmosphere is upscale and slightly hushed; tables are laid with crisp white cloths, and crystal glasses gleam. Menus are based on Tuscan classics with some seasonal variation. Kick off with a fettunta (bruschetta, in Tuscany) topped with cavolo nero (black cabbage) before moving on to pappa al pomodoro (a thick, bread-based tomato soup), pasta with artichokes, ossobuco, and tagliata (sliced steak) topped with pecorino cheese. It all comes with liberal lashings of the peppery in-house olive oil, and comes to your table courtesy of an old-school, deferential staff suited in cream jackets with bow ties. This place appeals to an older crowd of well-heeled tourists looking for a quiet meal with top-notch service. There are also Florentines among the diners, many of them friends of the aristocratic owners.
Address: Piazza degli Antinori, 3, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: cantinetta-antinori.comSemel
Adjacent to the very local Sant’Ambrogio market, dapperly-dressed Marco Paparozzi’s squeeze of a sandwich shop (standing room only bar a couple of high stools) spills out onto the sidewalk when business is brisk, which is most of the time. It’s basically a counter laden with buns and a series of fillings which change daily; the choice is chalked up on a blackboard. Paparozzi’s soft white panini come with a series of seasonal fillings the likes of which you don’t normally find stuffed into a sandwich — think wild boar and polenta, figs and salame with a drop of balsamic for extra zing, sardines with orange and bitter chicory leaves, donkey stew (tastier than it sounds), and pecorino cheese with pears and truffle. You’ll almost certainly have to wait in line, and there’s nowhere to sit, but this is some of the best street food in Florence.
Address: Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti, 44/r, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Mattia AquilaLa Ménagère
A contemporary, multi-purpose space housed in an ancient palazzo just north of the San Lorenzo market area, La Ménagère offers a little bit of everything. On the drink front, there’s good coffee (iced in summer), smoothies and fresh juices, fine wines, craft beers, and classic and signature cocktails. Breakfast and brunch dishes include poached eggs with hummus, avocado and spinach, and French toast. For lunch there is ceviche, fillet steak, club sandwiches, and burgers. To sop up the pre-dinner cocktails, expect tapas such as fried marinated octopus with kimchi mayo and lobster roll. The eclectic dinner menu is a step up in terms of price and sophistication — think oysters, beef tartare with sea urchin and fermented rhubarb, nettle ravioli, and sea bass fillet with Wagyu.
Address: Via de' Ginori, 8/R, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
Trattoria Cibrèo
Located at the heart of the buzzing Sant’Ambrogio market area, Cibrèo Trattoria — the annex to famous fine-dining Cibrèo next door — occupies a small, brightly lit room; yellow walls are hung with framed posters and prints, and rather cramped bare wood tables are laid with paper placemats and simple settings. The food at Cibreino, as it’s known locally, comes from the same kitchen as its grown-up sister restaurant, but without the hefty price tag. Be prepared to share a table at peak times; this is a popular place. At Cibreino, the food is more rustic than at the mother ship, but the basic principles of traditional, seasonal, and local remain intact in dishes such as insalata di trippa (tripe salad); a smooth, rich in-house chicken liver paté; lasagna made with the famous Cibrèo ragù; braised beef cheek and chicken; and ricotta polpette (meatballs) in tomato sauce. Desserts are divine, particularly Picchi’s legendary flourless chocolate cake.
Address: Via dei Macci, 122r, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: cibreo.com
Borgo San JacopoBorgo San Jacopo
Part of the Ferragamo-owned Hotel Lungarno, Borgo San Jacopo sits right on the south bank of the Arno. Mengoni’s cooking is intelligent, accomplished, and elegant but never over-fussy; perfect for a gourmet treat. A recent spring menu included calamarata pasta with scorpion fish, broccoli, and tarragon, and lobster with potatoes and provolone cheese. For meat eaters, there was roast suckling pig with salsify, port shallots, and Dijon mustard; and for dessert, an orange-soaked babà with mascarpone and lavender cream. BSJ, as it’s known, has made a name for itself among smart Florentine gourmets who come for the inventive cooking and enjoy the sophisticated yet relaxed surroundings. There’s a fair number of well-heeled visitors and guests of the Hotel Lungarno in the mix, too. Top tip: Try and bag a table on the tiny terrace, which has lovely views of the Ponte Vecchio.
Address: Borgo San Jacopo, 62/R, 50125 Florence
Website: lungarnocollection.com
Zeb
Zeb is a small, sleek, diner-style restaurant in the San Niccolo district serving delicious traditional food in contemporary surroundings. Two long counters with high stools face each other across a narrow space where mother-and-son team Giuseppina and Alberto prepare, serve, and pour wine. Dishes of the day fill the serving counter, and shelves stacked with wines line the walls. The menu changes daily according to what’s good at the market, but you can expect fresh pasta like fat cappellacci stuffed with ricotta and fresh truffles, or pappardelle with wild boar sauce. Mains might include pork rib with dried apricots and prunes, stuffed roast turkey, or eggplant parmigiana. Then there are the delicious desserts, including cheesecake and a to-die-for chocolate cake.
Address: Via S. Miniato, 2r, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: zebgastronomia.comOsteria Tripperia Il Magazzino
Florence is famous for its offal dishes, and this is one of the best places in town to sample them if you have the, er, guts. The menu features tripe, either fried or alla Fiorentina (stewed with tomatoes and topped with parmesan); lampredotto (the fourth stomach of the cow) rolled into sushi; or stuffed into ravioli and served with a sweet Tropea onion sauce and mixed boiled meats with pungent salsa verde. If offal isn’t your thing, go for the maltagliati pasta with vegetable carbonara, eggplant parmesan, or rabbit alla cacciatora. The serious wine list here is composed entirely of Tuscan labels. Prices are extraordinarily reasonable, making it easy to order something special—say, a Brunello or a Super Tuscan from Bolgheri. If you don’t feel like splashing out, though, the house red (a Tuscan Sangiovese) is a perfect, rustic match for the hearty food.
Address: Piazza della Passera, 2, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
GucciGucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura
Part of the Gucci Garden museum and retail outlet, this exuberant restaurant (which has a Michelin star) is all forest green velvet, pea green boiserie, and custom-made Ginori porcelain in the brand’s pretty floral Herbarium design. The “unique and cosmopolitan” dishes are a palate-teasing combo of reworked Emilian and world classics along with influences from both chef’s backgrounds; Lopez has done time at Pujol in Mexico City and Central in Lima while Kondo’s passion for Italian food lead him to Modena. Magical, inventive dishes with whimsical names such as “Rossini Thanks” (Chianina beef, caviar and Brazilian farofa) and “Memories of a Summer in Versilia” (turbot and fennel) change regularly but fixtures include Lopez’s famous Purple Corn Tostada served with citrussy bonito and Bottura’s signature “Journey to Modena,” tortellini in a luscious parmesan cream sauce. To wind up, try Lopez’s nostalgic take on a Banana Split, seemingly topped by twisting red and green ribbons.
Address: P.za della Signoria, 10, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: gucciosteria.comIl Guscio
Set on a residential street in the southern reaches of the Oltrarno, Il Guscio is a new-generation trattoria where the kids have inherited and updated their parents’ traditional restaurant. At the front, you’ll find a small bar area with a hissing coffee machine and shelves stacked with wines; in the back are two cosy rooms with stone-topped tables. It’s a real neighbourhood hangout that’s always buzzy and always packed. Menus are based on the tried-and-tested local cuisine (both meat and fish) with the odd variation. Depending on the season, the menu might include tuna tartare with avocado and ponzu; grilled eggplant with mint, confit tomatoes, and soft goat cheese; risotto with vin santo pears, gorgonzola and chives; or house-special spaghetti alla trabaccolara (a mixed seafood sauce). Mains could be ossobuco or grilled octopus with grilled seasonal vegetables; carnivores have options like the super-rich house special filet of beef cooked in vin santo wine and topped with liver pâté.
Address: Via dell'Orto, 49, 50124 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: ristorante-ilguscio.it
Dario GarofaloMercato Centrale
Florence’s late 19th-century steel-and-glass market building in San Lorenzo underwent a makeover in 2014 when the second floor was converted into a contemporary food hall. On the first floor of the soaring structure, traditional butchers, fishmongers, and fresh produce vendors still supply the Florentines with the wherewithal for their daily shopping. Our advice? Take a tour of the whole place and note which stalls tickle your tastebuds the most before deciding on your menu. Choose from fresh mozzarella made in-house, fried fish and seafood, hamburgers, fresh truffles (best on thin buttery taglierini pasta), traditional lampredotto (cow’s intestines), fabulous pizza, sushi, fresh pasta, barbecued meats, and a fantastic range of cheeses. You can fill up for as little as €10 ($11) or €15 ($17), and you can eat in or get your order to go.
Address: Piazza del Mercato Centrale, Via dell'Ariento, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: mercatocentrale.itDa Ruggero
It may look modest, but Da Ruggero serves some of the best traditional food in town. The menu is stocked with perfectly prepared Florentine classics with the odd seasonal variation. The hand-written menu offers the likes of liver-topped crostini and platters of Tuscan salami, hearty soups like the bread- and cabbage-based ribollita, pasta with truffles or porcini mushrooms (depending on the season), and grilled salsicce (spicy sausages) with white beans. It’s all hearty and delicious. Just be prepared for a bit of a trek, as it’s located outside the city centre. The off-radar location guarantees that not many tourists make it this far, but Ruggero is always packed with locals here for the good, honest home cooking (booking ahead is essential). Low-level chat accompanies serious chowing down; this is not a party spot, but a place to sample the best of the rustic local cooking.
Address: Via Senese, 89 Rosso, 50124 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: trattoriaruggero.it
Dario GarofaloTrattoria Sergio Gozzi
A rare relic of old Florence in the heart of the city, Trattoria Sergio Gozzi is the sort of no-frills trattoria where time seems to have stood still for several decades. The menu is printed with the day’s date, proving that, yes, everything is indeed ultra-fresh and seasonal. The handful of pastas and soups may include pici (thick, hand-rolled spaghetti) alla carrettiera (spicy tomato sauce) or ribollita, a traditional bread-, bean-, and cabbage-based soup. For mains, there’s roast pork, peposa (a black pepper-spiked beef stew), fried polpette (meatballs), and—for the truly brave — trippa alla fiorentina (tripe in tomato sauce). Although there’s a wine list featuring mainly Tuscan labels, everyone orders the rustic local plonk here, sold by the quarter, half, or full liter. It’s a perfect match for the homey food. One note: It’s only open for lunch (Monday to Saturday).
Address: Piazza di San Lorenzo, 8R, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
Trattoria Sabatino
Sabatino is caught in a bit of a time warp: the Buccioni family has been serving good, honest home cooking at rock-bottom prices to locals (and latterly budget-conscious tourists) here in the western reaches of the Oltrarno since 1956, and little seems to have changed since then. Expect white walls, rustic beamed ceilings, checked table cloths, and a marble-topped counter at the entrance, where the desserts are served and bills are prepared. The menu is typed out daily on a vintage Corona — that says it all. Staunchly traditional, the menus here are as no-frills as the decor. Start with a plate of spaghetti al pomodoro or filling pasta e fagioli (pasta and bean soup) before moving on to roast guinea fowl, arista (roast pork), or rolled, stuffed chicken. Sides are basic but seasonal and fresh: mixed salad, white beans, and green salad. Desserts (tiramisu, torta della nonna) are homemade.
Address: Via Pisana, 2R, 50143 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: trattoriasabatino.itTrattoria Cammillo
Something of a Florentine institution, Trattoria Cammillo, located on the south bank of the Arno by the Ponte Vecchio, was founded in 1945 by the grandfather of Chiara Masiero, the present owner and part-time chef. Unusually long and varied, the menu consists of meat, fish, and vegetable dishes that change (to a certain extent) with the seasons and a handful of daily specials. Dishes such as gamberi al curry (curried shrimp) with rice and homemade mango chutney have been on the menu for decades alongside classics such as ribollita, lasagna (a nod to Chiara’s Emilian roots), and bistecca alla Fiorentina (T-bone). All desserts are made in-house; the tiramisu (made with persimmons in winter) is a great way to finish. Come here with anyone who wants to sample top-notch Florentine cooking in an unpretentious atmosphere.
Address: Borgo San Iacopo, 57/r, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
Martino Dini/Gunè San FredianoGunè
Located in San Frediano, Florence’s coolest neighbourhood (according to a well-known travel guide), Guné is a sophisticated yet relaxed restaurant with a retro-glam vibe which is steadily gaining a reputation as one of the city’s more interesting dining spots. People come here to eat and drink well. Award-winning bartender Eleonora Romolini has a real flair for mixology and a loyal local following among Florence’s cocktail crowd, with signature mixes like Basil Instincts (gin, basil, mandarin) and Artemide (with notes of porcini mushroom and wild fennel). The owners’ southern Italian roots and the chefs’ Florentine origins meet in a clever fusion of two regional cuisines. Basilicata is present in dishes such as paccheri pasta with francesina (meat sauce), moliterno cheese and “chutney” made from crusco (dried sweet red peppers), while the signature Valdarno pigeon three ways (including a fabulous little savoury liver crème brulée) is pure Tuscany.
Address: Via del Drago D'Oro, 1/3r, 50124 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: gunesanfrediano.it
Vini E Vecchi Sapori
Tiny, crowded and noisy, this traditional Florentine haunt is all wood panelling, rustic beams, and memorabilia-stacked walls. The “No pizza, no cappuccino, no ice, no takeaway” notices say it all. This is a place to feast on competently-prepared Florentine classics such as liver-topped crostini, pappardelle pasta with duck sauce, and peposo, a hearty, pepper-centric beef stew. But there are variations; the signature paccheri pasta with zucchini flowers and saffron is delicious, and there is the odd fish option like baccalà alla Livornese (salt cod in tomato sauce). At lunchtime, expect a mix of foot-weary tourists (it’s a pigeon’s spit from the Uffizi Gallery) and smartly dressed functionaries from the Palazzo Vecchio town hall offices. There’s a dearth of good places to eat in this tourist hotspot, so the top-notch, earthy home cooking is much appreciated.
Address: Via dei Magazzini, 3/r, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: vini-e-vecchi-sapori.restaurants-world.com