There are so many tuscan restaurants in Florence, that makes you wander which ones are authentic and which ones are for tourists?
The answer is, in the area near duomo or near the cappelle medicee it’s quite touristic.
One of the best areas to find nice restaurants is the oltrarno neighbourhood. It’s just after the river in 10-15 minutes walk from Santa Maria Novella station.
Here below is my personal favourites not in a specific order. You should bear in mind that the quality of the food in these restaurants is quite high, but you will find different recipes or they are in different places.
The other thing to know about tuscan cuisine is that it’s not so varied. You can find the following plates in most of the Florentine restaurants: grilled stake, stew with black pepper (peposo), tagliata (meat in slices), fried vegetables, tomato soups )pappa al pomodoro, ribollita.
The restaurants I recommend are family owned places with a limited number of seats.
Let’s get to it!
- Il Guscio, via dell’orto (San Frediano neighbourhood). Traditional Florentine cuisine, but you can have also fish. Mentioned by Michelin guide.
- Il Tranvai, piazza Torquato Tasso (San Frediano), Traditional florentine style, they make great verdure pastellate which are fried vegetables like tempura. Try the porcini mushrooms.
- Il santo bevitore (San Frediano), modern florentine cuisine, good wine.
- Angiolino 12 arrosti (San frediano), traditional florentine
- BBQ piazza Torquato tasso, good for florentine style stake, at reasonable price.
- Trattoria Baldini, near porta al Prato, traditional Florentine, low prices.
- Il Profeta, I haven’t tried it yet but it looks really nice.
If you don’t fancy Italian cuisine
- Koko, Japanese, Piazza Francesco Ferrucci
- Niwa, Thai & Japanese, via del Ponte alle Mosse
Traditional tuscan restaurants just outside Florence
While you are in Florence you are likely to visit some of the surrounding areas or little towns nearby. The outskirts of Florence are typically formed by beautiful hills, in Tuscany we often call them “poggio” or “poggi” plural. I found in the hills and towns around Florence some of the best food experience thanks to the highest quality of ingredients, reasonable prices and friendly welcome.
Here some of the restaurants I would recommend:
Trattoria di Fonte Buona
On the road from Florence to Barberino del Mugello, about 20 minutes drive from the city center there is this trattoria where I had amazing traditional Tuscan food like the “tagliolini al tartufo nero” Tagliolini pasta with black truffle and the “fagiano in agrodolce” sweet and sour pheasant. I know that meat is not for everyone, and that game in particular has a strong flavour, but it is indeed part of the local culture of this area on the hills around Florence.
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Going towards Greve in Chianti you can stop at Trattoria La Baracchina di Ciattini Simone. We had amazing pappardelle with boar ragù sauce here and also these battered courgettes flowers that are a speciality of the Tuscan region.
Here you will find amazing food, reasonable prices and a warm welcome.
The Extra Virgin Olive oil that you’ll find here is made our friends at the Frantoio Del Grevepesa. You can visit this oil mill and taste this incredible product or you can visit them at their shop in Greve in Chianti.
