Florentine cooking is rooted in Tuscan peasant cooking: ribollita and pappa al pomodoro turn stale, unsalted bread into whole dishes, crostini with chicken liver open almost every meal, and …
Florentine cooking is rooted in Tuscan peasant cooking: ribollita and pappa al pomodoro turn stale, unsalted bread into whole dishes, crostini with chicken liver open almost every meal, and lampredotto (braised abomasum) is sold in a bread roll at street stalls. At the centre stands the bistecca alla fiorentina, a thick bone-in cut from the beef loin, grilled over charcoal and served rare (‘al sangue’).
A good part of the haute cuisine lies outside the city: between Florence and Siena in Chianti Classico, in the Val d’Elsa and on wine estates that run their own restaurants. If you want to combine Florence with the surrounding countryside, you need a car or a driver, as many country houses lie away from the railway lines. In the city itself, Santo Spirito and San Frediano in the Oltrarno and Sant’Ambrogio are the districts where Florentines go out to eat.
Tip: Bistecca alla fiorentina is charged by weight and rarely cut at less than one kilogram; one steak usually serves two.
The house of Giorgio Pinchiorri and Annie Féolde since 1972: three stars, a 17th-century palazzo and an exceptional cellar.
Gaetano Trovato’s two-star restaurant in the Val d’Elsa: Tuscan produce, creative cooking and a new glass building looking out over Colle.
The Antinori family’s starred osteria beside the abbey of Passignano in Chianti Classico: vegetables from the monastery garden, over 1,000 wines.
A grocery with a trattoria on the western edge of the city: Florentine cooking, bistecca from the grill and wine evenings with sommelier Andrea Gori.
Information as of October 2026. Please check opening times and reservations directly with the restaurant.
