Aperitivo in Florence: Wine Bars, Negronis and Where to Drink Before Dinner

Aperitivo is the drink before dinner, meant to open the appetite rather than replace the meal. In Florence it tends to be about a glass of Tuscan wine with something to nibble, more than the big buffets of some northern Italian cities.

How it works

• When: from around 18:00 until dinner, which starts at about 19:30 or later.
• What: a glass of wine, a spritz, or a Negroni. Non-alcoholic choices are always available: ask for an analcolico.
• Food: many bars bring a small plate of olives, crisps or crostini with your drink. Some offer a paid board of salumi and cheese. Few offer a full buffet, and those that do are often aimed at visitors.

Florence and the Negroni

The best-known story says the Negroni was born in Florence around 1919, when Count Camillo Negroni asked a bartender to make his usual Americano stronger by replacing the soda water with gin. Historians have questioned parts of the story, but the city claims the drink, and almost every bar here makes one. It is strong: equal parts gin, Campari and red vermouth.

Where to go

Santo Spirito and San Frediano

The best area for aperitivo, because the bars are good and the crowd is mixed.

• Volume on Piazza Santo Spirito, in an old workshop, casual and cheap by Florence standards. Drinks often end up on the church steps.
• Il Santino, the tiny wine bar of Il Santo Bevitore, with small producers by the glass and standing room spilling onto the street.

Near Ponte Vecchio

• Le Volpi e l'Uva, a wine bar on a small square just across the bridge, focused on Italian producers and cheese boards.
• Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina, facing Palazzo Pitti, with a deep Tuscan list.

With a view

• La Terrazza at Hotel Continentale, a rooftop on a medieval tower by Ponte Vecchio. Expensive, seasonal and usually needs a booking for non-guests.

Wine windows

A few of the old wine windows (buchette del vino) in the Oltrarno have reopened and sometimes serve a glass through the hatch. It is more of a novelty than a bar, but a good excuse for a walk; see the wine windows walk.

What to order

• Chianti Classico, from the hills between Florence and Siena, with the black rooster on the neck.
• Vernaccia di San Gimignano, a white from the towered town.
• Vino Nobile di Montepulciano or Brunello di Montalcino if you want something bigger (and pricier).
• A spritz or a Negroni if wine is not your thing.

Etiquette

• Pay at the end unless the bar works at the counter.
• Prices at a table are higher than at the bar.
• Drinking in the street is restricted in some areas and at some hours, and the rules change. If staff ask you to stay inside or on the terrace, that is why.