Is it possible to eat a relatively cheap meal in Florence? Yes! I talk about institutions that are popular with local residents. Tasty, inexpensive, authentic!
Restaurants for "their", photo Massimo Motta
Florentine restaurants are famous for their high prices. Especially expensive are institutions in the historical center. Is it possible to eat relatively cheaply in the capital of Tuscany? Yes! I suggest visiting establishments that are popular with locals. Tasty, inexpensive, authentic!
TIP!
If your budget is limited:
• keep in mind that during the day the prices in restaurants are lower than in the evening, so try to eat tight in the afternoon, and only have a snack in the bar in the evening;
• come to dinner at noon when the lunch menu is in effect;
• take an interest in whether “serviso” (service) and “perto ”(covered table) are included in the price so as not to pay tips twice;
• ask the waiter how much it will cost you such "little things" as a bottle of water, a carafe of wine, a cup of coffee.
Osteria santo spirito
AllAntico Vinaio
Gusta pizza
News cafe
Gelateria Perché No! ...
Antica Gelateria Fiorentina
Gelateria la carraia
Trattoria zà zà
Trattoria mario
Da vinattieri
Trattoria la casalinga
Trattoria lo stracotto
Trattoria le mossacce
La spada
Osteria santo spirito
Mussel soup, photo by Natasha Burchalova
I’ll clarify: Osteria is a restaurant with Italian cuisine and Italian style, focused on regular customers. You will not see beautiful menus here, the service is simple, and the prices are lower than in other institutions.
Osteria Santo Spirito, this cozy restaurant is located on Santo Spirito Square in the historic quarter of Oltrarno on the left bank of Arno. Osteria Santo Spirito serves classic Tuscan dishes, a large selection of antipasti (traditional hot or cold meat and vegetable snacks), seafood, sweets. Snacks cost from 5 to 10 €, hot - 10-16 €. Local gnocchi with truffle sauce, risotto, ribollite bread soup, tortellacci with nut sauce, many gourmets are recognized as the best in Florence. The portions are very large, the dishes are served in beautiful painted ceramics.
Address: Piazza Santo Spirito, 16 / R.
Website: www.osteriasantospirito.it.
What to order: Zuppa di cozze pane agliato (mussel soup); tortellacci fatti a mano con crema di noci (tortellacci (dumplings) made by hand with nut cream); gnocchi gratinati ai formaggi morbidi al profumo di tartufo (gnocchi (dumplings) baked with soft cheeses and seasoned with truffles); risotto.
Average bill for 2 people for lunch: 40 €.
All'Antico Vinaio
The snack bar of the old winemaker is one of the best inexpensive restaurants in the city, photo by Chiara Bacchi
Three eateries selling panini (hot sandwiches) take-out are on Via dei Neri. All'Antico Vinaio has a sandwich bar, an osteria and a wine bar. It sells panini for 5 € with a choice of fillings: with prosciutto and capocollo, with sbrisolone sausage, mozzarella, arugula, truffles and tomatoes. For sandwiches, you can take wine. The queue for panini is usually large, but it moves quickly.
Address: Via De 'Neri 74 / R, 76 / R, 65 / R.
Website: www.allanticovinaio.com/it.
What to try: schiacciata (skyachchata - Florentine bread); porchetta (porchetta - baked pork roll); cinghiale (wild boar meat); salami; bresaola (bresaola - beef jerky ham); capocollo (capocollo - dried pork neck); prosciutto (prosciutto - dried pork leg); stracchino (strakkino - soft cheese), mozzarella (mozzarella - young cheese), pecorino Toscano (pecorino - sheep’s cheese); additives - truffle cream and eggplant cream.
Average bill: 5-6 €.
Gusta pizza
Tasty, inexpensive, authentic; photo Raul Low
Gusta Pizza is a famous pizzeria on Via Maggio in the Oltrarno area. It is here, according to the Florentines themselves, that you can order real (and, importantly, inexpensive) Tuscan pizza baked in a wood oven. You can watch the pizzaiolo work. The ordered pizza will be prepared right in front of you, in the open kitchen. The assortment is small - about 6-8 items.
Address: Via Maggio, 46 / r.
What to try: Gusta Pizza and Margherita.
Average bill: 5 - 10 €.
News cafe
The masterly work of the barista - drawing on creamy foam of coffee, photo by Jini Jun
A nice place in the city center near Piazza San Lorenzo. This small atmospheric cafe locals love to visit in the morning. They serve excellent coffee, bake delicious muffins, and fresh buns. Barista News Cafe masterly makes a cappuccino with a delicate delicate pattern on creamy foam. A cup of coffee here costs € 1.80-2.50. Before lunch or dinner, you should go here for an aperitif (a good selection of drinks and reasonable prices).
Address: Via del Giglio, 59.
What to try: cappuccino.
Average bill: cappuccino and bun - 2.40 €.
Gelateria Perché No! ...
Why not! ..., photo by SUNBIN YOON
The name of this gelateria in translation is "Why not! ..." The institution is old, works since 1939. Here they make delicious natural ice cream: cherry, pistachio, nut, vanilla, chocolate mousse. The assortment includes not only classic, but also original varieties: gelato with persimmon, rose, green tea and even with arugula. There is also vegan soy ice cream. Ice cream is placed in a waffle cone or paper cup. In one cup you can put several varieties at once.
Address: Via Tavolini, 19R.
What to try: blackcurrant, pistachio, with ginger, with salted caramel, strawberry, with hazelnuts.
Average bill: 2.5-3 €.
Do not miss the chance to enjoy divine Italian ice cream. I recommend 2 more gelatories.
Antica Gelateria Fiorentina
Address: Via Faenza, n. 2A.
Website: www.gelateriafiorentina.com.
Gelateria la carraia
Address: Piazza Nizario Sauro, 25r.
Website: www.lacarraiagroup.eu.
Trattoria zà zà
Florentine style steak, photo 우진혁
A popular and cozy trattoria near the market, on the Piazza del Mercato Centrale. There are three connected rooms: a bar, restaurant, cafe. The interiors are very colorful, original, atypical for an ordinary Italian trattoria. They cook deliciously, they make a lot of grilled dishes. The cuisine in Zà Zà is Mediterranean, European, Italian. Homemade wine and beer are served. Excellent service, they offer a menu in Russian.
Address: Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 26r.
Website: www.trattoriazaza.it.
What to order: ravioli crema di tartufo (ravioli with truffle cream); bistecca alla florentina (Florentine style steak).
Average bill for 2 people for lunch: 45 €.
Trattoria mario
Soup with black cabbage, photo by Meiying Xu
A small family restaurant has been operating on the corner of the Central Market since 1953. The Mario trattoria has modest interiors and simple serving, but an excellent selection of Tuscan dishes. The menu is not too extensive, but thoughtful: two types of pasta, soup of the day, with a dozen meat dishes, side dishes. Florentine steak - the well-known Bistecca alla Fiorentina - is cooked with blood. Beans, green salad, boiled potatoes are served on the side dish. Cooks buy fresh food for the kitchen right here, at the Central Market. The menu is adjusted every day, written by hand. On Fridays, fresh fish is traditionally cooked here. Trattoria is open all days except Sunday only from 12:00 to 15:30.
Address: Via Rosina, 2r.
Website: trattoria-mario.com.
What to order: Florentine steak; Ribollita soup (ribollita - thick vegetable soup with black cabbage); pasta.
Average bill for 2 people for lunch: 40 €.
Da 'vinattieri
Sandwich Da 'Vinattieri, photo by BumBm
A small sandwich bar with an inconspicuous signboard, hidden in a narrow side street next to the Dante Museum House, sells sandwiches on traditional Tuscan schiacciata bread. At Da 'Vinattieri, you need to try lampredotto sandwiches (made from abomasum (cow's stomach)). This is the traditional street food of old Florence: a entrails sandwich with tomato or garlic sauce. Here, according to locals, make the best Florentine lampredotto. Sandwiches with Tuscan salami, with artichokes, truffle cheese, arugula are also prepared; boil ribollite thick soup, a jug of homemade wine is served.
Address: Via dei Neri 74 R.
Website: www.davinattieri.com.
What to try: lampredotto.
Average bill: 5-6 €.
Trattoria la casalinga
Trattoria La Casalinga, photo by Jeroen Nasnl
Menu, photo pepe gomez
An inexpensive family-run trattoria with a traditional menu is located on Michelozzi Street. The name of the institution La Casalinga translates as "housewife." The situation in the trattoria is really typical Tuscan - homely, unpretentious. The dishes are authentic, with a pronounced rural flavor. There are always a lot of visitors here: during the day, mostly Florentines dine, and in the evenings tourists gather. The menu has soups, a large selection of snacks, ravioli, pasta. Hot dishes are prepared from farm poultry, pork, veal; daily "daily meal", homemade wine is served. Many desserts: cream caramel, tiramisu, sorbet with limoncello, pancakes and fruit pies, excellent panna cotta. The price of a Florentine steak is 40 € per kilogram of meat (side dish is ordered separately).
Address: Via dei Michelozzi, 9 / R.
Website: www.trattorialacasalinga.it.
What to order: Florentine steak; pasta, carpaccio, cheeses.
Average bill for 2 people for lunch: 30-40 €.
Trattoria lo stracotto
Truffle pasta, photo Delphine JOLIVEL
Trattoria in Piazza Madonna Degli Aldobrandini, next to Ponte Vecchio. The veranda of the restaurant is equipped on the square in front of the Medici Chapel. Trattoria is relatively inexpensive, specializing in Tuscan cuisine. It is recommended to order a Florentine steak here: you are guaranteed optimal frying. There is a pasta with truffles, prepare a thick tomato soup, other vegetarian dishes; serves local cheeses and wine, delicious desserts.
Address: Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini, 17.
Website: www.trattorialostracotto.it.
What to order: Florentine steak; pappa al pomodoro (pappa al pomodoro - tomato soup with bread); pasta al tartufo (pasta with truffles); cheese platter; Dessert.
Average bill for 2 people for lunch: 40-50 €.
Trattoria le mossacce
Trattoria Le Mossacce, photo by Niels Demoen
This establishment, very popular with Florentines, is located near the Cathedral. The Fantoni Mannucci family's trattoria has been operating for more than half a century, following the traditions of Tuscan cooking and hospitality. Le Mossacce prepares classic regional cuisine: minestrone and ribollite soups, home-made veal and veal cutlets, fried cockerels, Florentine trip (tripe), Meat Scallops scallops. Fruit pies are baked, goat Tuscan cheese and gorgonzola, fresh seasonal fruits are served. Locals love the trattoria for a friendly cozy atmosphere, tourists - for the quick service.
Address: Via del Proconsolo, 55 / r.
Website: www.trattorialemossacce.it.
What to order: ravioli; Tuscan Ribollita Soup.
Average bill for 2 people for lunch: 40 €.
Restaurant La Sprada
Restaurant La Sprada, photo Pa Li
A truly Florentine establishment near the Piazza Santa Maria Novella. It specializes in meat dishes, famous for perfectly fried steaks (medium rare roasting) and an excellent selection of local wines (there is a private label). Here, the natives of Florence and experienced tourists like to dine: the prices are relatively low, good service even at rush hour. Waiters can advise dishes, pick up wine for them. Next to the restaurant "La Sprada" is open the eponymous Rostichceria (Rosticceria La Sprada) with inexpensive daily takeaway dishes: mezzemaniche pasta, ravioli, gnocchi with mushrooms. Seafood specialties are prepared on Fridays.
Address: Via della Spada, 62 / R.
What to order: cappelletti romagnoli (cappelletti in broth); tagliolini (Natascia tagliolini with salmon); pasta with mushrooms; tiramisu; Home wine.
Average bill for 2 people for lunch: 42 €.
