Showing 1-15 of 15 results
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Boccanegra
Like a dark den, the 'Black Mouth' invites you to taste original spins on Italian combinations. The furniture has an antique feel and molten candles shed light on the surprises in your dishes, like piccione in rete (grilled pigeon). They throw in some vegetarian options as well, like the torta di asparagi e seitan su velluta di zafferano (asparagus and seitan pie on a saffron sauce).
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Borgo San Jacopo
The designer folks behind Ferragamo's Hotel Lungarno have brought similar flare to this hip riverside design restaurant. Try for a low-lit table by the window and watch the sun set on the Arno as you indulge in modern, inventive dishes.
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Caffè Coquinarius
An excellent choice outside rigid meal times, this laid-back and comfy cafe, housed in a former stables, has light and substantial dishes of crostini , salads, pastas and the usual meaty mains as well as more than a dozen wines by the glass.
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Caffè Italiano
Full of glamorous locals and a few savvy tourists who see beyond the stand-up bar, upstairs here is a lovely relaxed café with small antique tables, velvet sofas and soft lighting. The food - tangy soufflés, pastas, and hearty salads - is a light alternative to the norm. Otherwise, drop by for the tempting range of coffees, chocolate, smoothies and acquantica - a lightly sparkling flavoured water.
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Caffetteria Piansa
At this ebullient, vaulted local workers' diner, you basically point and choose from a limited number of cheap and tasty first and main courses. Get in early as it's all over by .
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Cantinetta Antinori
Feeling posh and flush? This might be the place for you! It offers a reasonable meal accompanied by some fine wines - it is for the latter that most people come here. It's not a bad choice if you have to impress. Try the vitello tonnato (veal in a tuna sauce).
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Dioniso
Feel like a big Greek salad full of feta? Or perhaps some taramasalata and other similar dips to accompany typical meat dishes like souvlaki? Dioniso can be a lively and filling stop. On Fridays and Saturdays it stays open until , taking on more the air of a bar, with snacks available.
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Il Magazzino
This is an utterly unassuming eatery, and those in search of the Florentine tripe experience will not be disappointed here. Start with tagliatelle con ragù di lampredotto (ribbon pasta with a kind of tripe-based bolognaise sauce) and follow with trays more tripe: trippa alla fiorentina or lampredotto, for example, with mushrooms.
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L'erta del Mangia
Up the lane leading to the Convento di San Francesco from Piazza Mino da Fiesole, this place's pleasant location is an immediate plus. The warm terracotta and timber interior adjoins the airy, chianti wine bottle-lined terrace with views over Florence. Some dishes make surprising departures from the standard canons, like the tagliatelle con fiori di zucca, piccione e pomodorini (ribbon pasta with pumpkin flowers, grilled pigeon meat and cherry tomatoes).
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La Beppa Fioraia
For some inventive Italian cooking, in what feels like the countryside, La Beppa Fioraia is worth going the extra mile. The homemade pasta dishes are all equally tempting, and the meat mains (sorry, no fish here) ooze flavour. Try the filetto di cinta senese con aceto balsamico (a thick, juicy pork fillet in a dark, tangy balsamic vinegar sauce, served with spinach). Before or after your meal, it's worth taking a stroll along this back lane through old olive groves and retiring villas.
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Oliviero
Red velvet banquettes, pink candles and salmon tablecloths lend this place a jaded dolce-vita air although there's nothing tired about the creative Italian fare and impeccable service. This is a great spot for indulgence or a kookily romantic cena a due .
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Osteria Santo Spirito
The crayoned, tatty menu at this popular place - outside which expectant diners and smoking kitchen staff mingle before it opens (not a second before time) - encompasses the best of Italian fare, prepared simply and delivered in huge portions on fabulous oversized, hand-painted plates.
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Ristorante Beccofino
The foreign legion of chefs and management at this sleek restaurant keep their standards high with their innovative Tuscan fare, and Beccofino is a hot spot for young Florentines. Staff are smooth and courteous, the soundtrack is groovy and there's a superb list of wines.
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Trattoria Cavolo Nero
Well off the main tourist trails - but the 'secret' of most concierges - the Tuscan 'black cabbage' is an elegant and intimate restaurant with flattering lighting and a menu that favours meat-eaters but offers some tempting soups too. Keep room open for dessert.
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Trattoria Il Contadino
The set menu price says it all. Don't expect gourmet grub, but if you need to fill up without inflicting fiscal damage, this is a good place to do it. A favourite with local workers, who know where to find value for their euro, it is one of several cheapies around here.
Showing 1-15 of 15 results
