43 Best Restaurants in Florence, Italy

This tiny eatery brilliantly blends the cuisine of Tuscany with that of Korea and Japan. Here you'll find wacky and marvelous combinations in the dumplings, ravioli, and more on a seasonally changing menu.

This upscale trattoria serves sumptuous options like the creamy crostini di fegatini (with a savory chicken-liver spread) and melt-in-your-mouth desserts. Many Florentines hail this as the city's best restaurant, and justifiably so—chef-owner Fabio Picchi knows Tuscan food better than anyone, and it shows.

What is, perhaps, the oldest and best wine bar in Florence serves cured meats and cheeses, as well as daily specials. Crostini and crostoni—grilled breads topped with a mélange of cheeses and meats—are the house specialty, but the verdure sott'olio are divine, too. The lengthy wine list offers great options by the glass and terrific bottles from all over Italy and beyond. All this can be enjoyed at rustic wooden tables and seated outdoors when weather allows.

Chef, artist, and visionary Massimo Bottura has joined forces with the creative folk at Gucci to develop a marvelous menu that is both classic and innovative. Though he trained with Ducasse and Adrià, his major influence was his grandmother's cooking. His protégé, Karime Lopez, helms the kitchen.

Florentines and other lovers of good food flock to "The Holy Drinker" for tasty, well-priced dishes. Unpretentious white walls, dark wood furniture, and paper place mats provide the simple decor; start with the exceptional verdure sott'olio (vegetables in oil) or the terrina di fegatini (a creamy chicken-liver spread) before sampling any of the divine pastas. Count yourself lucky if the extraordinary potato gratin, served in compact triangular wedges, is on the menu. The extensive wine list is well priced.

Casalinga means "housewife," and this place, which has been around since 1963, has the nostalgic charm of a midcentury kitchen with Tuscan comfort food to match. If you eat ribollita anywhere in Florence, eat it here—it couldn't be more authentic. Paintings clutter the semi-paneled walls, tables are set close together, and the place is usually jammed. The menu is long, portions are plentiful, and service is prompt and friendly. For dessert, the lemon sorbet perfectly caps off the meal.

This clubby spot, whose name means "carousel," was created by the late Prince Dimitri Kunz d'Asburgo Lorena and is now expertly run by Soldano, one of his twin sons. The ever-changing menu generally has vegetarian and vegan options. For dessert, this might be the only show in town with a sublime tiramisù and a wonderfully gooey Sacher torte.

Since opening its doors in 1869, this trattoria has been serving top-notch, unpretentious food to Florentines who like their bistecca very large and, of course, very rare, as that's the only way to eat it. The tartino di carciofi (artichoke tart) and the pollo al burro (chicken with butter) are signature dishes.

On a romantic medieval side street in the heart of the centro storico, this small restaurant serves Tuscan classics that reflect both the whims of the chef and what's in season. The menu features creative salads and pasta, meat, and truffle dishes, as well as taglieri (mixed meat and cheese plates) that are often served with jams made from Chianti, vin santo, or balsamic vinegar. The long wine list has many offerings by the glass, and the bread and desserts are made in house. This is also a great place to drop in for a glass of wine and perch on the steps to watch the world go by.

A few minutes from Santa Croce, this charming osteria serves some of the most eclectic food in Florence. Try the spaghetti degli eretici (in tomato sauce with fresh herbs). The grilled meats are justifiably famous; the carbonata is a succulent piece of grilled beef served rare. Weekly specials complement what's happening in the market, and all of the food pairs beautifully with their wine list, which is heavy on things Tuscan.

Located in the former studio of Santi di Tito, a student of Bronzino's, Taverna has a simple, formal decor, with white tablecloths and place settings. The classic, elegantly presented Tuscan food is superb, and the solid, affordable wine list rounds out the menu—especially because Stefano, the sommelier, really knows his stuff. Desserts shine at this place, so remember to save room, and conclude with a limoncello or mirtillo postprandial drink. Both are made in-house, and provide a perfect conclusion to the meal. Outstanding service makes a meal here heavenly. Reservations are advised, especially for eating at the wine cellar's only table.

Since opening its doors in 1869, this trattoria has been serving top-notch, unpretentious food to Florentines who like their bistecca fiorentina very large and very rare. Along with fine Tuscan classics, they have two signature dishes: the tortino di carciofi (artichoke tart) and the pollo al burro (chicken with butter). Leave room for dessert, as their torta alla Meringa (a semi-frozen dessert flecked with chocolate and topped with meringue) is scrumptious. Reservations are absolutely essential.

Watch chickens roast over high flames while you decide which of the delightful side dishes you'd like to enjoy as well. Although this place is strictly takeout (there are no tables), it's open on Sunday when most places are not.

Watch chickens roast over high flames as you decide which of the other delightful things you're going to eat with it. The beauty of this place is that it's open on Sunday when most things are not.

The name doesn't exactly mean "old dive," but it comes pretty close. The recipes here come from "wise grandmothers" and celebrate Tuscan food in its glorious simplicity—prosciutto is sliced with a knife, grilled meats are tender, service is friendly, and the wine list is well priced and good. This lively trattoria has been around only since 1979, but it feels as if it's been much longer.

Hidden in a little cul-de-sac just down the street from the Ponte Vecchio, this colorful eatery has a variety of sandwiches (both hot and cold, most of which are served on five-grain bread), crostini, salads, and various tartares. Vegetarian and vegan options abound, but the kitchen also has a way with Italian cured meats. The cocktail list is impressive and includes a lengthy list of variations on the Venetian spritz, served here in Mason jars.

The feel here is more Munich beer hall than Florentine trattoria; indeed, although the menu lists plenty of Italian dishes, it also emphasizes sausages and sauerkraut. Heavy wooden tables are set closely together, and copies of 19th-century paintings adorn the intensely yellow walls, along with two frescoed Michelangelesque nudes that cavort over a brick arch. There's outside seating in warm weather—a great place to enjoy a beer.

While you wait for your pizza or other trattoria fare, enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail.

The Antinori family started selling wine from their palace's basement in the 15th century and 600 years later, this buca (hole) is a lively, subterranean restaurant filled with Florentine aristocrats chowing down on what might be the best (and most expensive) bistecca fiorentina in town. The classical Tuscan menu has the usual suspects: crostino di cavolo nero (black cabbage on toasted garlic bread), along with ribollita and pappa al pomodoro. You might want to cut directly to the chase, however, and order the bistecca, an immense slab of Chianina beef impeccably grilled on the outside, just barely warmed on the inside. (If you're not into rare meat, order something else from the grill.) Roast potatoes and cannellini beans make perfect accompaniments.

The Antinori family started selling wine from their palace's basement in the 15th century, and, 600 years later, this buca (hole) is a lively, subterranean spot filled with Florentine aristocrats chowing down on what might be the best—and the most expensive—bistecca fiorentina (flavorful, lightly seasoned beef) in town. The classic Tuscan menu has the usual suspects: crostino di cavolo nero (black cabbage on toasted garlic bread), along with ribollita (vegetable, bean, and bread soup) and pappa al pomodoro (tomato and bread soup).

After a morning of shopping on Via Tornabuoni, stop for lunch in this 15th-century palazzo, a place to see and be seen as well as to dine. The panache of the clientele is matched by that of the food, with dishes such as tramezzino con pane di campagna al tartufo (bread served with country pâté and truffles) and insalata di gamberoni e gamberetti con carciofi freschi (crayfish and prawn salad with shaved raw artichokes).

This intimate trattoria, known to locals as Cibreino, shares its name and its kitchen with the famed Florentine restaurant but has a shorter, less-expensive menu. Save room for dessert, as the pastry chef has a deft hand with chocolate tarts. To avoid sometimes agonizingly long waits, come early (7 pm) or late (after 9:30).

This rustically elegant space, which has served many purposes over the past 600 years, offers some of the tastiest food in town at great prices. It's the perfect place to come if you aren't sure what you're hungry for, as they offer a little bit of everything: salad lovers will have a hard time choosing from among the lengthy list (the Scozzese, with poached chicken, avocado, and bacon, is a winner); those with a yen for pasta will face agonizing choices (the ravioli with pecorino and pears is particularly good). A revolving list of piatti unici (single dishes that can be ordered on their own, usually served only at lunch) can also whet the whistle, as well as cheese and cured meat plates. The well-culled wine list has lots of great wines by the glass, and even more by the bottle.

Florence has long been in dire need of a top-notch Asian restaurant, and now it finally has one. You can watch as classic dumplings and Tuscan variations (beef with lardo di colonnata or truffled beef) are made. They also serve various rolls—from spring to Saigon—provide a perfect starting point, as does the cold two-seaweed salad. Noodle dishes, with noodles made right in front of you, are also on offer.

A sumptuous Renaissance palace with high, frescoed ceilings and bouquets in silver vases provides the backdrop for this restaurant, one of the most expensive in Italy. Some consider it one of the best, and others consider it inauthentic, as the cuisine extends far beyond Italian. Prices are high (think €95 for a plate of spaghetti) and portions are small; the vast holdings of the wine cellar dull the pain, however, when the bill is presented.

If you're looking for a break from the ubiquitous ribollita, stop in at this eatery, which may be the only Japanese restaurant in the world to be housed in a 15th-century Renaissance palazzo. High, vaulted arches frame the kaiten sushi conveyor belt. Selections, priced according to the color of the plate, make their way around a bar. Those seeking a more substantial meal head upstairs, where Japanese barbecue is prepared at your table.

This innovative, charming place serves up remarkable food. Anyone looking for sublime bistecca fiorentina should stop here: it serves the cut from different places on the planet, so you can sample and decide. The wine list, as befits the love child of a fine enoteca, is divine.

You can assemble a perfect dinner, from soup to nuts, at this Florentine favorite, which specializes in whole and half chickens, grilled or roasted. Order takeout or eat in, which is what many locals do.

Atop a steep hill, en route to the church of San Francesco, this lovely little eatery is certainly worth the trek. Indulge in inventive reworkings of Tuscan classics, like the mezzaluna di pera a pecorino (little half-moon pasta stuffed with pear and pecorino) sauced with Roquefort and poppy seeds. Slivers of papaya—a rare commodity on menus in these parts—anoint the tasty carpaccio di tonno affumicato (smoked tuna carpaccio). The wine list and the attentive service help make this a terrific place to have a meal. When it's warm, you can sit on the little terrace outside.

Near Santa Maria Novella is La Spada. Walk in and inhale the fragrant aromas of meats cooking in the wood-burning oven. You can either eat in or take it away.