Florence is my favourite city in all of Europe, and Italy has my favourite cuisine in the world, so on the one hand this article is long overdue, and on the other it is extremely intimidating to write an article with restaurant recommendations for a city that overflows with fantastic restaurants. I write this after having visited for a second time, and also having read Delizia, a book telling the history of Italian cuisine and its folklore down the ages. Not that that entitles me to some big opinions, but if you´ve been reading along for a while you will know that I simply love good food and as such creating these little city guides, for friends and strangers alike. So without further ado, here are the restaurants I loved while visiting Florence in 2022 and 2026.
BREAKFAST / CAFÉS
I usually linger quite a bit in this breakfast / brunch section but I have to say Florence is more of a lunch/dinner type of city and I did not feel at all drawn to look for brunch places or speciality coffee places. A café I did go to and really liked the vibes of was Cibrèo Caffé. Cibrèo has amassed a little empire of establishments in the Santa Croce neighbourhood, and we´ve tried both their café and their trattoria. The vibe of the café is that of a institution. Picture wooden wall and ceiling panels, red velvet curtains and tables crammed together that make you want to start a game of chess with the people sitting at the table next to you. We came for coffee and cake, and stayed for wine and a cocktail. They have a little outside terrace, and they also serve food.
I did have quite a few more cafés on my list, but I really only like recommending places I actually try! I´ll make a little exception this time and leave two here for you, which I am quite confident I will love when I eventually get to them: Vivoli – where I wanted to try an affogato and Brac – a café / book store where I would have loved to snooze on a rainy day.
LUNCH / DINNER
Ok, now this is more like it. Florence has soooo many restaurants and trattorias to choose from that here I actually have to narrow it down to the places I loved most, and leave out the ones that were good but not wow. Because we want wow. So we´re starting off strong with my favourite Florentine restaurant – Trattoria 13 Gobbi. This little gem is outside of the busy central streets, and was recommended to me by a former colleague who is from Sicily (read as “knows good food”). It is busy, but it is also one of the few places in Florence where you can reserve a table through Google Maps – huuuuge plus, and one to not be taken for granted in this city! Order the house special – the riganoti nella zuppiera, it is a cheesy deliciousness that you will have indecent dreams of, I promise. Note: I loved this place for lunch on all three occasions I was there, but I feel dinner would also be very nice! Next, another trattoria, this time I´Brindellone. This is a simple and exquisite restaurant that might not promise much from the outside but try their truffle pasta and you´re set for life. And their tiramisu? I am not your usual dessert girl, you might know this about me already, but their tiramisu was honestly so so so good! Back to Cibrèo, this time for their Trattoria Cibrèo. It´s a fun and loud place to be at night, and though the menu is quite short, you´ll get a fantastic lasagna if you go for it, and be sure to never run out of wine. I took my mom to this one and I should say she found it a bit loud, but I think we were both just tired on that day and she forgot how lively an Italian restaurant can get at dinner time. The best dinner I had in Florence though? Hands down – Buca Mario. This one is quite popular, having been around since 1886, and you should absolutely book beforehand because it´s a bit more elegant than the others on the list and the food is top notch. Luckily here too you can book a table online. I had their gnocchi with tuscan meat sauce and also tried a couple of their starters and everything was finger licking good. Note: they also have private dining rooms you can book, and I think that this restaurant works just so well whether for a date night, a family birthday celebration or a business dinner! Oh, and if you do hear me out here – Buca Mario seems like a great place to try a Florentine steak if you´re going with someone who loves meat!
STREET FOOD
As much as I love sitting in Italian restaurants feeling the rush of the waiters running around, and sipping on a glass of Montepulciano, I also really really love trying out street food in a city I am exploring, and just walking it around while I admire the architecture and vibes of said new place. So let´s start off strong with the typical Florentine street food. And no it´s not a sandwich from Al Antico Vinaio (nothing against them though, I love them as much as the next person). It´s the lampredotto, according to Wikipedia “a typical Florentine dish, made from the fourth and final stomach of cattle, the abomasum. Lampredotto is derived from the Italian word for lamprey eels, lampreda, as the tripe resembles a lamprey in shape and color.” You can get a famous one from the Mercato di Sant´ Ambrogio, or from street trailers that sell them all across Florence – with a particularly famous one by the looks of it being this one in Santa Croce (featured by Stanley Tucci btw), in front of Cibrèo . Arancini are Sicilian deep fried rice balls that taste like everything good in the world and can also be found all around the city. To eat along some olive ascolane – deep fried olives from the Marche region this time, while walking around Florence´s downtown, and to balance out with a nice negroni sbagliatto, my favourite. Finally, you´re not done without some ice cream. The problem that we have here is that ice cream places seem to always be popping up and shutting down in Florence, so the most stable option that is also delicious that I can recommend knowing it will most likely still stand in a few years is Venchi, which is a massive store from the 1800s, offering quality ice cream and chocolate. I would love to hear of more local options if you have any, so drop them in the comments please, and I´ll check them out next time I am in town!
DRINKS
Finally, I´ll leave you with a cocktail bar which I found to be super fun and to have fantastic drinks – Manifattura. It is moody and dark, the drinks are super flavourful and special, and feels like the perfect place for a intimate date with a partner or just a night out with the girls! My trips to Florence weren´t exactly going out at night trips so this is all I have for cocktail bars but I have to say that while walking home (we rented an apartment in Santa Croce) I found the area of Santa Croce super fun and lively during the evenings, so I would most likely look for more options to go out around there next time I´m around!
And that´s it, my guide to eating and drinking in Florence. I hope it was helpful and if you have anything to add our any questions to ask I hope you put them in the comment section!
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