How To Eat Like a Local in Florence, Italy

I’ve always thought that the best way to learn about a city is through its food.  And I found a delicious way to learn how to eat like a local in Florence  – –  a Florence food tour with Secret Food Tours.

A food tour is one of the best things to do in Florence at the start of your visit.  Not only do you learn what to eat in Florence, but you come away with recommendations for the best restaurants in Florence.  Not the touristy places either.  You’ll find out where the locals eat.  This can make all the difference in a city that’s at the heart of Tuscan cooking and tourism.

Read on to get tips on what and where to eat in Florence (see my list of restaurant recommendations), plus get the scoop on where I had the best gelato….ever.

(Full confession:  Indecent amounts of gelato were consumed while I was learning to eat like a local in Florence.)

Eat Like a Local in Florence neighbourhoods

The tour provides a true taste of two Florence neighbourhoods:  Santa Croce and Sant’Ambrogio – – perfect for me, because the latter is where I was staying.

We met our guide Chiara in Piazza Santa Croce  Chiara was born and raised in Florence and had all kinds of inside information on both the food and history of the city.  She told us why the Basilica of Santa Croce is probably the most fascinating church in the city.  The church, which dates to 1294, is festooned with stunning frescos by Giotto.  This is the guy that invented perspective and put Florence on the map artistically.  There are also a few people you might have heard of buried there, like Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli.   Don’t miss it!

A Typical Breakfast in Florence

I love the Italian breakfast experience.  It’s like a license to start the day with dessert.

We stopped in at Caffè Finisterrae on the Piazza di Santa Croce. Chiara said that all of their food is home made and, unlike other restaurants, there is no fee to sit down.

We sat at a table to enjoy coffee, tea and cornetti – – warm, sweet croissants filled with cream or fruit jam.

By the way, since Florentines normally eat lunch and dinner later than we do in North America, you can do this all again at a second breakfast around 11:00 a.m. or so.  You may opt for something healthy, but I was eyeing these treats.

Location:  Caffè Finisterrae, Piazza di Santa Croce, 12, Florence

Where to Shop for Olive Oil (and how to use it)

You won’t find butter on the table in Florence, or in Tuscany generally.  Here, it’s all about the extra virgin olive oil, an essential ingredient at every meal

Extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany is usually made from a blend of olives, Chiara explained, and has no chemicals.  We stopped by a shop called “Italian Loves” to taste a wide range of olive oils, with flavour notes ranging from fresh grass to pepper, as well as some lovely balsamic vinegars.

A tip on how to use fine olive oil:  Don’t drizzle it on your plate and dip the bread in.  This is considered a waste of very precious oil.  It should be put directly on the bread for better flavour and you won’t lose a drop!

Location:  Italian Loves, Via dei Peppe 4/6/R

Best Bakery for Florentine Flatbread

Our next stop was at a popular local bakery in Piazza Ciompi.

There’s one thing you’ll notice pretty quickly about the bread in Florence.  It has no salt.  That’s because of a tax applied by politicians in Pisa on salt being shipped to Florence.  So, Florentines stopped using salt in their bread, and they still don’t.  “Don’t argue with a Florentine.  It will last for centuries,” said Chiara.

At Forno dei Ciompi, we tried some schiacciata, a Florentine specialty.  It’s like focaccia, only flattened with the fingers of the baker, leaving pockets to hold olive oil and salt that are added on top.  A tasty combination! There’s also a sweet version, with wine grapes in it.

Location:  Forno dei Ciompi,  Piazza dei Ciompi, 9

A Florence Food Tour Discovery:  Where to Find Wine Windows

It’s not surprising that you might be distracted by the views in Florence and miss the little wine windows on buildings.  Chiara pointed one out on the tour. They’re little mini-doors or windows where, in medieval times, you could get wine.   It was a way for families with vineyards to sell wine directly out of their homes.

In those days, you would knock on the window and pass your flask through the window with a few coins, and it would come back out – – full.

There are actually 146 of the windows, or buchette del vino, in the city, and you can find them with this interactive map.  Recently, a new restaurant in the neighbourhood of Santo Spirito, Babae (Via Santo Spirito, 21R) starting serving wine through a window for one hour every evening.  In this case, it comes by the glass, and not by the flask.

These wine windows are among the many delightful hidden gems in Florence that you might not know about.

Fast Food in Florence

If you want a truly authentic foodie experience, try a lampredotto sandwich at a street food stand.  It’s a thing in Florence.

What is it?  Lampredotto is the fourth stomach of a cow, slow cooked often with some tomato, onion and spices.  We tried the spicy version.  While the flavour was good, I couldn’t quite get past the rubbery, fatty texture.

Clearly, it’s very popular though.  By early afternoon, there was a long lineup at this lampredotto stand.  Be brave and give it a try!

Location:  Pollini Lampredotto,  Via dei Macci, 126

Hang out at the Sant’Ambrogio Market in Florence

To do Florence like a local, you’ll want to spend some time at the colourful Sant’Ambrogio Market.  It has a large selection of fresh produce, flowers, pastries, meats, fish and cheese in both indoor and outdoor stalls.  It has a more relaxed atmosphere than the Mercato Centrale, and you won’t find many tourists here.  This is where the locals do their daily shopping and chatting.

Here’s what I really liked about this market.  You can sit down right in the middle of things and have a nosh with a glass of wine.  We enjoyed bruschetta, nicely-aged prosciutto sliced on order, finocchiona (salami with fennel), as well as marzolino cheeses, said to be a favourite of Michaelangelo, along with a glass of Chianti.  This is the life in Florence!

Location:  Sant’Ambrogio Market:  Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti  Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Best gelato in Florence

Okay, to be honest, I did not do a scientific taste test of all of the gelato in Florence (although I tried!).  What I can tell you is that after Chiara introduced me to RivaReno, I kept going back.  More than once a day –  every day.

As Chiara told us, when you’re looking for gelato, avoid the places that have overly colourful gelato piled high above the container.  The extra colour is from additives, not natural flavours.  Good gelato is smooth and creamy and melts fairly quickly.  It will only stay piled high if emulsifiers have been added to slow the melting process.

At RivaReno, the gelato is made fresh daily and kept in metal containers with lids.  While it’s not photogenic for the ‘Gram, your palate will thank you.  I went crazy for the signature Amarena flavour with black cherries, hazelnut and amaretto biscuits.  It was the best gelato I’ve ever had and a fantastic way to cap off a fabulous food tour in Florence.

Location:  RivaReno,  Via Borgo Degli Albizi 46/R

Best restaurants in Florence:

Obviously, this isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list,  However, I can give you some suggestions based on my favourites during my visit, along with recommendations I received from locals.

Most authentic neighbourhood restaurants: 

⋅Caffè Cibrèo (Via del Verrocchio, 5r, $$$) – An elegant café just steps away from the Sant’Ambrogio, I’m sure we were the only tourists there on both visits.  Created by a famous Florentine chef,  Fabio Picchi, try the divine tasting menu, which serves up a multitude of tiny dishes of tastes, along with the melt-in-your mouth pasta.  You won’t find the offerings written on a menu, but rather, the server will explain “what they could make for you”.  Delightful!  Note that there is a Cibrèo Restaurant and a Trattoria, across the street from each other.  The Trattoria has the same food at a slightly lower price, but does not take reservations.

⋅Ostria Antico Noè (Volta di S. Piero, 6/R – Santa Croce, $$).  This tiny restaurant dates back to 1561 and serves Florentine classics.  Try the Pappa al pomodoro (Tuscan tomato and bread soup) and the Peposo, beef slow-cooked in Chianti and black pepper.

Best for Florentine Steak/Bistecca alla Fiorentina.:

You should know that the Florentine T-Bone steak is huge, starting at one kilo per serving, so it’s meant to be shared.  The best spots recommended to me were:  Trattoria dall’Oste  (Borgo San Lorenzo, 31 – $$$)  and Trattoria Zà Zà (Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 26r, $$)

Best local snack:

⋅I Ghibellini  (Piazza di, Via S. Pier Maggiore 8/10r, $$).  A great spot outdoors in a piazza to try the tasty Florentine snack, coccoli.  It’s a salty deep fried pizza dough served with stracchino, a creamy cheese, and prosciutto.

Meal worth a splurge:

⋅La Giostra (Borgo Pinti, 10/18 Rosso, $$$).  Ideal for a romantic, candle-lit dinner, known for its excellent pasta and wine list.  You need to make reservations well in advance.

More gelato spots: I was sold on RivaReno, but locals also consistently recommended Gelateria La Carraia (Piazza Sauro Nazario, 25/R on the Oltrarno side) and Il Procopio (Via Pietra Piana, 60R) for its inventive flavours.  Enjoy!

More Information:

Travel Bliss Now was a guest on the Secret Foods Tour, but my opinions are entirely my own.

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