Where to Eat in Florence: Bistecca, Lampredotto and the Trattorias Worth Booking

Florentine food is plain, seasonal and built on a few good ingredients: bread, olive oil, beans, beef, offal and Tuscan wine. It is not complicated cooking, which is why the difference between a good plate and a tourist one is so obvious.

What to eat

Bistecca alla fiorentina

A thick T-bone, traditionally from Chianina or other Tuscan cattle, grilled over charcoal and served rare. It is priced by weight (per kilo on the menu), and a single steak is rarely under a kilo, so it is a dish for two or more. Most trattorias will politely refuse to cook it well done; if you want your beef well done, order something else.

Lampredotto and trippa

Lampredotto is the cow's fourth stomach, simmered for hours and served in a soft roll, the top dipped in broth, with salsa verde and chilli oil. Florentines eat it standing at street carts and market counters. Trippa alla fiorentina is tripe stewed in tomato sauce, served on a plate.

Bread soups and summer bread salads

Tuscan bread is made without salt (pane sciocco), and stale bread goes into the classic dishes:

• Ribollita: a thick winter soup of bread, beans, cavolo nero and vegetables.
• Pappa al pomodoro: bread and tomato cooked to a porridge, best in summer.
• Panzanella: a summer salad of soaked bread, tomato, onion and basil.

On the antipasto board

Crostini neri (chicken liver pâté on toast), finocchiona (fennel salami), Tuscan prosciutto, pecorino cheese.

Schiacciata

Tuscan flatbread, salty and oily, split and filled for sandwiches. Florence's sandwich shops, from the famous to the corner bakery, are built on it.

Dessert

Cantucci (almond biscuits) dipped in vin santo, a sweet amber wine, and, around Carnival in late winter, schiacciata alla fiorentina, a flat orange-scented cake. And gelato: see our gelato guide.

Where to eat

Lunch counters and markets

• Da Nerbone in the Mercato Centrale for a lampredotto or boiled beef roll.
• Mercato Centrale's upstairs food hall for groups who cannot agree.
• All'Antico Vinaio for a giant schiacciata, if you can face the queue.

Classic trattorias

• Trattoria Mario: lunch only, shared tables, no bookings, cash; famous for its bistecca.
• Trattoria Sostanza: butter chicken and artichoke tortino in a narrow old dining room. Book by phone, well ahead.
• Buca Lapi: a cellar under Palazzo Antinori since 1880, for bistecca as an occasion.
• Cibrèo Trattoria: Florentine home cooking near Sant'Ambrogio market.

Oltrarno

• Il Santo Bevitore: modern Tuscan cooking and a strong wine list.
• Trattoria 4 Leoni: classics on a small square.
• Osteria Santo Spirito: tables on Piazza Santo Spirito.

A special occasion

Enoteca Pinchiorri holds three Michelin stars (confirmed in the 2025 and 2026 guides) and one of Europe's great wine cellars. Formal and very expensive.

How it works

• Meal times: lunch from about 12:30 to 14:30, dinner from about 19:30. Many kitchens close between services.
• Cover charge: a coperto per person is common and must be listed on the menu.
• Tipping: not expected. Round up if you like.
• Water: still (naturale) or sparkling (frizzante), bottled. Tap water is safe to drink.
• Courses: you do not have to order antipasto, primo and secondo. Sharing a starter and having one main course is normal.
• Booking: essential for dinner at the well-known places. Call or use the restaurant's own website.
• Closures: many restaurants close one day a week, and some close for part of August.

Tourist-trap tells

Laminated picture menus in five languages, someone outside inviting you in, and a "tourist menu" with no prices for the bistecca are all signs to keep walking. Two streets away from any major sight, prices drop and quality usually rises.