Bar entertainment in Florence
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Colle Beretto
On the same square as the fortress-like Palazzo Strozzi, this bar/cafe opts instead for plate glass and beefy bouncers. The terrace is luxuriously fitted out with cushy sofas, while inside, pea-green neon and transparent Kartell chairs scream design. The aperitivo buffet is among the city’s most generous.
reviewed
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La Dolce Vita
A perennial favourite of the city’s status-conscious youth and nearly young, Dolce Vita has stood up to competition from newer offerings such as Noir and Colle Beretto and remains the best place to show off your prowess in selecting designer labels. As weather permits, crowds spill out of the industrial-style interior onto the adjacent piazza, which would be stunning if it weren’t made to double as a car park.
reviewed
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Oibò
By day, it’s a neighbourhood bar where locals get their croissant and cappuccinos. But by night, Oibò becomes Via de’ Benci’s top hot spot, attracting a young-skewing crowd who down fruity cocktails and, despite space restraints, gyrate to house and pop sounds spun by resident DJs.
reviewed
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Joshua Tree
Scruffy and relaxed, this is a tavern where bullshit is barred and the only Irish 'themes' come by way of Murphy's stout, moody shades of green and conviviality by the keg. It gets a lot louder as the night goes on but then don't we all?
reviewed
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Cabiria
Cabiria, a popular cafe by day, converts into a busy nocturnal music bar that continues on way past your bedtime. In summer, the buzz extends onto Piazza Santo Spirito, which becomes a stage for an outdoor bar and regular free concerts.
reviewed
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Il Rifrullo
Behind a cosy corner cafe hides a honeycomb of rooms and gardens that have become one of the ‘it’ waterholes in Florence, thanks especially to the generous aperitivo buffet that attracts the young, the restless and the hungry.
reviewed
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G
Fish
A boisterous pub-style bar with a strong American air about it, the Fish attracts hordes of people, mostly young foreigners but also a sprinkling of youthful Italians. The terrace on the square is relatively peaceful, while inside the bar goes to some lengths to keep business humming, offering countless shots at a pittance and organising events such as its Friday night Free Crazy Party, when the drinking is free from 21:00 to 23:00.
reviewed
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Noir
Noir is the new black. Set in a riverside palazzo, the bar’s interior lives up to its name. Except for the original baroque fresco gracing one of its ceilings, everything is black as night, from the walls and light fixtures to the high-back velvet banquettes. Designer labels figure prominently at its generous aperitivo buffet when, in warm weather, crowds spill out onto the Arno’s banks.
reviewed
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Capocaccia
Fashionable Capocaccia is an elegant cafe-bar with an alternative menu of snacks by day and one of the places to be seen at night, when cool Florentines snuggle up to other cool Florentines and the self-conscious bonhomie spills out onto the street. Throw in the occasional DJ and you'll see why it's almost impossible to get your motorino through the throng.
reviewed
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Negroni
Negroni shakes up cocktails galore, including its namesake invented in the 1920s, so the story goes, when Florentine Count Camillo Negroni asked the barman at Caffè Giacosa to add gin to his Americano. To make it at home: shake equal parts gin, Campari and red Martini. The clientele tends to be 30-and-up and well-heeled, and at weekends DJs get them dancing by 11pm or so.
reviewed
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Betty Boops
A luminous pink sign glows sickly across this quiet lane, but it's a sign that says you might be able to get a last very late tipple without having to resort to a club. It's a cramped little bar touting itself as a club, and opening days can be variable. When we last swung by it was opening throughout summer. Although open from midnight, it can be quite dead until 04:00.
reviewed
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L’Incontro
A favourite to both Florentine big wheels and five-star travellers, this bar is in-your-face upscale. It offers ringside terrace seating on Piazza della Repubblica, or you can opt for the cosy interior decked out with banquettes of burgundy leather and, for no good reason, Romantic murals of Alpine idylls. Light meals and an aperitivo buffet are served.
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Angels
At this trendsetter, your aperitivo is served under frescoed Renaissance ceilings that somehow manage to harmonise with the louche, ironically contemporary furnishings. DJs deliver a range of dance, lounge and electronica Thursday to Saturday. The hip, 30-plus punters often return to the adjacent restaurant for an American-style brunch at weekends.
reviewed
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Barceló
Not much goes on here in winter, but from late May the team from Rex Caffé move in to create a busy summertime atmosphere. Although in action all day, it only swings into the groove from the early evening aperitivo on, attempting the noisy clamour of a Spanish bar (something a certain class of young Italians seem to hold in some awe).
reviewed
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Rex Caffè
Long a fixture of Florence’s nightlife, Rex still remains ahead of the curve. DJs spin electronica that generally remains soft enough for the trendy, young crowd to engage in conversation. The decor is classy kitsch, mixing cracked pottery mosaics (think Gaudí), low but warm lighting from wrought-iron fixtures and a back room done up in blood red.
reviewed
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Loch Ness
The tagline of this bar-club is ‘Get messy with Nessie’, and if you’re determined to get pissed without having to use a word of Italian, this is your place. Painted the colour of a London telephone box, it offers up foozeball, live acoustic music Tuesday and Saturday, two-for-ones until 11pm every day, and loads of eager Anglophone punters.
reviewed
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Q
Klyk
In winter especially, this hole-in-the-wall club is appreciated by locals above all for its opening hours. For you can choose simply to sip your drinks at the tiny bar, or penetrate out the back to shake your thing around to a variety of sounds, depending on the evening. House nights alternate with mainstream pop, R 'n' B and hip-hop.
reviewed
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Circolo Aurora
Tucked into a defunct watchtower of the city’s medieval walls, this new and genre-busting restaurant, bar and cultural club has won fans across Florence. Attractions include an organic kitchen, a lively aperitivo hour and avant-garde arts programming. In warm months, crowds spill into the adjacent square.
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Novabar
The waiters are in black, the walls are black, even the floor is black in parts. Red lights and loud DJ-spun tracks of a distinctly hippity hoppity nature all go towards attracting a predominantly foreign crowd into this watering hole, divided into two separate drinking spaces.
reviewed
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Full Up
Full-up by name and…you guessed it. This tiny venue is very popular with a largely Florentine crowd, made up of Fabios and the skimpily clad objects of their desire. It's a good place to go if you're looking for a Mediterranean orgasm (and we're not talking cocktails).
reviewed
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Sky Lounge
Hidden on the top floor of the fashion-forward, Ferragamo-owned Hotel Continentale, the outdoor Sky Lounge offers a modest evening aperitivo buffet and spectacular views over the Arno and Florentine rooftops. Doll yourself up to come here or feel out of place.
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Mamma
On those warm summer nights half of Florence seems to be here (the other half is probably on holiday). Tables on the grass in the shadow of the illuminated city walls, a series of bars and even some Bedouin-style tent space attract hordes of tanned and showy locals.
reviewed
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Le Volpi e l’Uva
For its excellent selection of lesser known vintages, Le Volpi e l’Uva is a must for serious oenophiles. A trim, contemporary decor, short menu of panini and salumi (cold cuts) and terrace seating on a beautiful little square encourage patrons to linger.
reviewed
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William
Although it's another of the English-style contingent (of which you may have noticed there is no shortage), this cavernous drinking den tends to attract groups of young Florentines in search of a pint of ale rather than gangs of holiday-makers in search of six.
reviewed
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Zoe
With its industrial-chic interior, nickel-clad bar and glowing Venetian-glass lamps, this busy San Niccolò bar fairly heaves with its squadrons of young local punters, who often spill out onto the street in warmer weather. DJs spin electronica most nights.
reviewed
