Florentine food is not delicate. It is bread and beans and dark green olive oil, offal sandwiches eaten standing up, and a steak so large and so rare it is meant for sharing. Eat well here and you eat like a Florentine: simply, seasonally and with real appetite. Here is where I go, from the trattorias that have not changed their menus in decades to the gelato worth crossing the city for.
Bistecca alla fiorentina, the steak worth travelling for
The dish everyone comes for is the bistecca alla fiorentina: a thick T-bone from Chianina cattle, cut a full four fingers high, wood-grilled over embers so it is charred outside and blue-rare within, then finished with nothing more than coarse sea salt and a thread of Tuscan olive oil. It is ordered by weight (usually a minimum of 800g to a kilo), it is priced per hundred grams, and it is designed for two or more people to share. Do not ask for it well done; a Florentine cook will, quite rightly, refuse.
For the real thing, Trattoria dall’Oste grills certified Chianina aged at least 25 days and is a reliable temple to the dish. Across the river in the Oltrarno, All’Antico Ristoro di Cambi on Via Sant’Onofrio displays its steaks at the counter, aged fifteen to twenty days and cut to the traditional height, in a warm brick-vaulted room that feels a century old. Buca Lapi and Buca Mario, both atmospheric cellar restaurants, are old-guard classics if you want the full occasion.
The great lunch trattorias
For lunch, Florence’s institution is Trattoria Mario, a tiny family room near the Mercato Centrale (Via Rosina 2r) that has served the market’s workers since 1953. It is lunch only, cash only, no reservations, and you share long tables with strangers; expect around €15 for a plate of pasta, a main and house wine. Get there before it opens or be ready to queue. Nearby, Trattoria Sergio Gozzi on Piazza San Lorenzo is another lunch-only local favourite, honest Tuscan cooking at fair prices. Both are the antidote to the tourist menus around the Duomo.
Street food and the market
The most Florentine thing you can eat on your feet is a schiacciata, the flat, crisp, salty bread split and stuffed with cured meats and pecorino. All’Antico Vinaio on Via dei Neri built a global reputation on them; the queues are long but move fast, and the sandwiches are genuinely enormous. The braver local classic is the lampredotto, a sandwich of slow-cooked tripe from a street cart (a lampredottaio), dipped in its own broth, cheap and delicious if you are willing.
For everything under one roof, go to the Mercato Centrale in San Lorenzo. The ground floor is a working market of butchers, fishmongers and cheese counters; upstairs is a lively food hall where you can graze from a dozen stalls, perfect on a day when your group cannot agree.
Wine windows and aperitivo
Look for the buchette del vino, the little arched wine windows set into palazzo walls, first cut in the 1600s so that noble families could sell wine directly to the street. Many have reopened, and being served a glass through a tiny door in a stone wall is one of the small joys of Florence. Babae on Via Santo Spirito pours wine and aperitivo snacks through its window in the early evening. When it comes to aperitivo proper, the square of Piazza Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno is where locals gather at dusk with a spritz and a plate of crostini, the tables spilling out beneath the plain stone facade of the church.
Gelato done properly
Not all gelato is equal, and Florence has some of the best. Vivoli, tucked behind Santa Croce, has been making it since 1930, four generations of one family, and its gran crema al caffè is a small masterpiece; it even has its own wine window by the door. Gelateria dei Neri, a short walk away, is beloved for its pistachio and its salted caramel. The rule for spotting the good places: real gelato is stored flat in covered tins, not piled in fluorescent mountains, and the pistachio should be the muddy green of the nut, not bright green.
The Tuscan dishes to order
Beyond the steak, Florentine cooking is built on cucina povera, the thrifty peasant tradition of turning humble ingredients into something wonderful. Start a meal with crostini di fegatini, slices of unsalted Tuscan bread spread with a velvety chicken-liver pâté made with anchovies, capers and a splash of white wine. For a first course in cooler months, order ribollita, a thick soup of cavolo nero, beans and stale bread cooked down until it holds a spoon upright; in summer it gives way to pappa al pomodoro, a bread-and-tomato soup finished with raw olive oil and torn basil. Both cost only a few euros and tell you more about the city than any steak. The bread, by the way, is famously unsalted, a Florentine habit that surprises visitors until they taste it alongside the salty cured meats it was made to accompany.
Shop the Sant’Ambrogio market
For the market Florentines actually shop at, skip the crowds of the Mercato Centrale and walk east to Sant’Ambrogio, near Santa Croce. It is smaller, older and entirely local: produce and flower stalls outside, butchers and cheesemongers within, and a handful of simple counters where you can sit down to a plate of ribollita or trippa among people doing their weekly shop. Go in the morning, when it is busiest and best, and eat where the locals eat.
Gelato addresses worth the walk
To make the gelato easy to find: Vivoli is at Via Isola delle Stinche 7r behind Santa Croce, open from nine in the morning until one at night (closed in August and for a stretch of the winter). Gelateria dei Neri is a couple of minutes away on Via dei Neri, churning small batches with an outstanding pistachio. And near the Duomo, Perché No! on Via dei Tavolini has been making natural gelato since 1939 and keeps good vegan options. Any of the three is a safe bet; the rule, as ever, is to look for muted natural colours and covered tins.
Frequently Asked Questions
What food is Florence famous for?
Above all the bistecca alla fiorentina, a huge rare T-bone steak from Chianina cattle. Florence is also known for schiacciata sandwiches, lampredotto (tripe) street food, ribollita and pappa al pomodoro (bread-and-vegetable soups), pecorino cheese, Chianti wine and outstanding gelato.
How much does a bistecca alla fiorentina cost?
It is priced per hundred grams and served by weight, usually a minimum of around 800g to a kilo, so a shared steak for two typically runs from roughly €40 to €70 depending on the restaurant and the cut. Because it is meant to be shared, the per-person cost is reasonable.
Where do locals eat in Florence?
Away from the Duomo, in the lunch trattorias like Trattoria Mario and Sergio Gozzi near San Lorenzo, and across the river in the Oltrarno around Santo Spirito. As a rule, walk a few streets from the main sights and look for handwritten Italian-only menus, cash-only signs and a room full of Italians.
What is a Florence wine window?
A buchette del vino is a small arched window cut into a palazzo wall, first used in the 1600s to sell wine directly to the street. Many have reopened and now serve wine, aperitivo and even gelato; Babae on Via Santo Spirito is one of the best known for an evening glass.
Where is the best gelato in Florence?
Vivoli behind Santa Croce, making gelato since 1930, is the classic choice, famous for its coffee cream. Gelateria dei Neri nearby is loved for pistachio and salted caramel. Look for gelato stored flat in covered tins and natural, muted colours rather than bright piled mounds.
Read also: The Best Things to Do in Florence | Where to Stay in Florence | The Complete Guide to Florence
