Weekend in Florence: 5 Reviews
Regional Tuscan cuisine at its finest, from big slabs of steak to amazing pasta, delightful wine, and tasty sandwiches.
Italy is both a very old and very young nation. The Roman Empire shaped modern western civilisation. But after the empire fell, Italian unification and establishment as a modern state was only complete in 1871. It’s a full century younger than the United States.
Even today, it often feels as much a country of regions as a national entity.
And its food and wine are defined by those regional identities.
(As an aside, if you made a shortlist of the best food cultures and cuisines in the world, the final cut must include Japan, China, France, and Italy. And each is distinguished by their respective multitudes of distinct rich, regional variations.)
Florence is the capital of Tuscany, one of the finest of those regions for food and wine.
But the food lover’s gaze usually turns first to Bologna, Naples, Piedmonte, and even Puglia. Florence is often an after thought.
That’s a miss. Traditional Tuscan fare includes wonderful cuts of beef, clever bean stews, long-cooked tripe, and all sorts of other goodies.
Which is why I was so happy to have the chance to return for a weekend visit, and why I thought I would share a few of the places we tried.
I want to emphasise that I’m not an expert on Florence, and there are hundreds of great places. I make no pretensions that these are the best of the best — just places that I liked.
For a valuable local’s perspective (in English), check out Girl in Florence, an American ex-pat whose advice was indispensable in making our plans. Lost in Florence was also very helpful.
Osteria del Porcellino: Favourite from this trip
Sometimes it’s best to ask for help. When we swung by our hotel to dump our bags, it was coming up to lunchtime. So we asked the young woman at the desk where she would go nearby for a good lunch. She told us about Osteria del Porcellino.
It’s down a little alley a stone’s throw from the Palazzo Vecchio, so it should have been full of tourists. We arrived shortly before the Friday rush, so had no trouble getting a table, but by 1:00 p.m. it was indeed packed, and we were the only English speakers. Everyone else was a local.
The menu was full of Tuscan classics. But we dawdled a little over wine, and I had a chance to listen to the orders from nearby tables. The gnocchi was the overwhelming choice. So I followed the crowd. And they were perfect. Rich and delicious. Just the right puffy texture. Not too dense. Like a memory foam pillow. Served with a norcina sauce made from white wine, pecorino cheese, a little cream, and lots of mushrooms, then adorned with in-season truffles and delicious morsels of sausage. Paired with a glass of fantastic local Brunello, it was exactly the lunch you would wish to start an Italian break.
My wife went for the pappardelle with wild boar sauce and a little side of fried artichokes. Her pasta was excellent. The boar sauce was rich, with deep, meaty flavours, and had clearly been simmered for hours. The artichokes were next level. They were very lightly fried, just enough to be crispy but not so much as to sap their flavour. I’ve never had fried artichokes that managed to taste so much of the artichoke. It was miraculous cooking.
A couple of espressos to fortify us, and we were perfectly set-up for the afternoon.
If I were to pick one place from this list that merits a return visit, it would be Osteria del Porcellino.
Google Maps. Restaurant website. Via Val di Lamona, 7r.
Osteria del Enoteca: Tuscan steak & wine
We found this place through a foodie friend of my wife’s who visited a couple of weeks before we did, and given our passion for wine, it sounded like a spot we might really enjoy. It was started by three younger guys who love wine and meat, and the wine service involves a tour of their cellar and a chat to decide which bottle (or bottles) might be the best choice for the evening. (They also have a stunning by-the-glass selection.)
The vibe is modern — exposed brick and crisp lines — but comfortable. There’s a wonderful energy about the place. The crowd was a mixture of tourists and locals.
We had a lovely conversation among the wine, heard all about the restaurant, and was guided to a fantastic bottle of Brunello. (If you think you’ve spotted a theme on the wine, you’re correct.) Primi included two outstanding pastas. There was another ragu of wild boar, and a spiral pasta with all sorts of off cuts, including tripe, developed into a different sort of ragu. For Secondi, my wife chose stuffed quail, while I went for the traditional steak with potatoes and white beans. All were truly first-rate.
Osteria del Enoteca is south of the river, just past the Palazzo Pitti. It’s easy to find and a really pleasant walk. And for a Florence experience, it’s hard to imagine better.
Google Maps. Restaurant website. Via Romana, 70/r.
Zeb: Home cooking, but more
“Zeb” is abbreviation for Zuppa e Bollito — soup and boiled meat — a nod to the traditional staples of Florentine food. It started as a deli, but in 2009, it was transformed into a modern “gastronomia e enoteca.” You sit at a wrap-around counter, in the manner of sushi bar, surrounded by wine, and enjoy the food of Alberto Navari and his mother, Giuseppina.
Booking was tricky. You have to call, but it’s only the two of them, and with such a small team, they really only answer between about 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. local time, at which point service begins. When I called, Alberto offered me a 7:30 p.m. reservation, and I accepted. It became clear when we visited that he saves his later slots for his local, regular customers. That’s entirely sensible as far as I’m concerned.
Before you go (or try to book), be advised: Some people have had difficult experiences with Alberto. If you’re someone who expects a restaurant to bend to your will in every way or have complex dietary requirements, Zeb is not a good place for you. By all accounts — and I have now read a lot of accounts — the best way to ensure a good experience at Zeb is to do things Alberto’s way.
Think of it like an omakese experience: Relax and put yourself in Alberto’s hands. You won’t regret it.
So, when you turn up, have a drink. Alberto will recommend a wine from the by-the-glass list or you can wander around and find your own on the shelves. I went that route, selected a couple of interesting Brunellos and asked Alberto to suggest one. It was great.
Once you’re situated with some wine, Alberto will show you the board. He writes the menu every day based on what’s available. At this stage, he’ll ask if you want primi. You do. The pastas are epic. I suspect Giuseppina does most of the pasta work — she certainly delivered ours from the kitchen. But when Alberto brings the board, you should order. Be decisive. He’ll indulge a quick chat so you can coordinate with your companion, but he doesn’t want to be sent away so you can deliberate.
We went for two varieties of cappellacci, both homemade and impossibly thin. The first was stuffed with pumpkin and drenched in a wonderful cream sauce. The second was filled with potato and sausage, then topped with a pesto made from cavalo nero.
After the primi course, Alberto will return with the board and ask if you would like another course. If you’re a silly tourist and came only for pasta, you can tap out at this stage. Alberto (and I) will judge you, but there won’t be unpleasantness. What you should do is say, “Yes, please,” and carry on.
For secondi, I chose braised veal osso buco. It was served with a marrow bone in a rich ragu made from the braise. My wife went for eggplant parmigiana. I confess, I’ve never seen this on a menu in Italy before — only in the U.S. But it was wonderful. And on a chilly December evening, next to a glass of Brunello, it warmed the deepest parts of the soul.
After mains, Alberto returned to ask whether we wanted cheese or dessert. I wish we’d had room for cheese, but we didn’t, so we went on to a couple of desserts. The highlight for me was a pre-Christmas slice of locally made panettone served with cream. It was a light and delicious way to end the evening.
Zeb is not for everyone. You may not like a place that forces you to do things their way. That’s absolutely fine. But if you’re willing to enjoy the experience as Alberto has designed it, Zeb is a first-rate place. Oh, and compared to places of similar quality, it’s cheap.
Google Maps. Restaurant website. Via S. Miniato, 2r.
Bacco Matto: Chill spot for wine & nibbles
In search of a drink before dinner, we wandered into Bacco Matto because it looked appealing through the window. It was bright and busy, but there was a little space at the bar, and there was a wall of exciting looking Tuscan wines at the back. The friendly woman behind the bar talked us through wine options are sorted us out with some lovely choices. I had a fantastic Brunello. We liked it so much, we returned the next night to try the food and a wider range of the wine.
We enjoyed charcuterie and cheese, a plate of pasta, and a pleasant dessert. There was more Brunello. The service was even more friendly and welcoming. They remembered us from the previous evening, and made us feel like regulars. It was a perfect easy, low-drama hang-out.
Google Maps. Restaurant website. Via dei Neri, 39r.
Ino: Panino stop
We didn’t have lunch plans for our second day, but we knew we ought to have a panino. So, while taking a break in the garden at the Piazza Pitti, I turned to Google, which sent me to this article, and from it, we picked Ino.
It’s absurdly convenient, in a tiny street around about 30 metres from the Uffizi and a hundred or so from the Palazzo Vecchio. But unlike the more famous places on Via del Neri, it wasn’t a mob scene, and there were warm indoor places to sit.
Ino feels modern, but the sandwiches are all traditional. I went for a classic with ham and mortadella with pesto. The bread is homemade, and it was wonderfully light, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
Ino was an ideal lunch stop.
Google Maps. Restaurant website. Via dei Georgofili, 3r/7r.
Thanks for reading my Weekend in Florence. I hope you find the suggestions helpful on your next visit. I’d love to hear your favourite places in Florence in the Comments.
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