Food · Florence · Italy
What to eat in Florence
The dishes, drinks and food experiences that define Florence, and where locals actually eat them.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Giorgio Galeotti, CC BY 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Bistecca alla fiorentina, Lampredotto and Ribollita. Mercato Centrale's ground floor and upstairs food hall are the easy introduction; Sant'Ambrogio is where locals shop, with a canteen inside serving cheap lunches to market workers. Most restaurant bills include a coperto, a per-person cover charge for bread and table setting; it is printed on the menu and is not a tip.
Key facts
- Signature dish
- Bistecca alla fiorentina
- Vegetarian-friendly picks
- 6
- Tipping
- Tipping is not expected in Italy.
- Food experiences
- 4
11 foods to try
Dish
1.Bistecca alla fiorentina
A thick T-bone steak, traditionally from Chianina or other Tuscan cattle, grilled over wood or charcoal, served very rare and seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil. It is sold by weight, usually at least a kilo, so it is a dish to share.
Where: Traditional trattorias and steakhouses across the centre and the Oltrarno; check the price per etto (100 g) or per kilo before ordering.
Street food
2.Lampredotto
The fourth stomach of the cow, slow-cooked in broth with tomato, onion and celery, sliced into a crusty roll and topped with salsa verde and chilli oil. It is Florence's classic working lunch.
Where: Tripe carts (trippai) around the city, including near the Mercato Centrale, Sant'Ambrogio market and the Mercato Nuovo loggia; ask for the bun dipped in broth ('bagnato').
Dish · Vegetarian
3.Ribollita
A thick 'reboiled' soup of bread, cannellini beans, cavolo nero and vegetables, made the day before and reheated. In summer its cousin pappa al pomodoro, a bread and tomato soup, takes its place.
Where: Family-run trattorias from about October to March, especially in Santa Croce, Sant'Ambrogio and San Frediano.
Bakery · Vegetarian
4.Schiacciata
Florence's flat, olive-oil-rich bread, salty and crisp at the edges, is split and filled with finocchiona, pecorino, truffle cream or grilled vegetables to make the city's favourite sandwich.
Where: Bakeries (forni) across the city; the sandwich shops on Via dei Neri behind the Uffizi draw long lunchtime queues.
Snack
5.Crostini di fegatini
Toasted bread spread with a coarse pâté of chicken livers, capers, anchovy and Vin Santo, the standard opening to a Tuscan meal alongside salumi and pecorino.
Where: Any traditional trattoria, usually as part of an antipasto toscano.
Snack
6.Finocchiona and Tuscan salumi
Finocchiona is a soft pork salami flavoured with wild fennel seed, served with prosciutto toscano, pecorino and Tuscany's traditional unsalted bread.
Where: Salumerie, market counters and wine bars (enoteche) in the Oltrarno and around the Mercato Centrale.
Dish
7.Pappardelle al cinghiale
Wide ribbons of egg pasta with a slow-cooked wild boar ragù, one of the most common pasta dishes in Tuscany, especially in autumn and winter.
Where: Trattorias in the city and in the Chianti hill towns, where wild boar is hunted locally.
Dessert · Vegetarian
8.Cantucci and Vin Santo
Hard almond biscuits, originally from Prato, dipped into Vin Santo, an amber dessert wine made from grapes dried after the harvest, to end a meal.
Where: Offered at the end of meals in most trattorias; bakeries sell bags of cantucci to take home.
Dessert · Vegetarian
9.Gelato
Florence claims a hand in the invention of gelato, and the custard-like 'Buontalenti' flavour, named after the Medici court architect, is a local speciality. Good gelaterie keep their tubs covered or in muted, natural colours.
Where: Artisan gelaterie around Santa Croce, Santo Spirito and Via de' Neri; skip shops with piled-high, brightly coloured mounds.
Drink · Vegetarian
10.Chianti Classico
The red wine from the hills between Florence and Siena, made mainly from Sangiovese and marked by the black rooster seal on the neck of the bottle. Most trattorias pour a house red by the glass or carafe.
Where: Enoteche across the city, the few reopened wine windows in Oltrarno palazzi, and estates around Greve and Panzano in Chianti.
Dessert · Vegetarian
11.Schiacciata alla fiorentina
A soft, orange-scented sponge cake dusted with icing sugar and stencilled with the Florentine lily in cocoa, baked mainly during Carnival.
Where: Florentine bakeries and pastry shops in the weeks before Lent, usually February.
Food experiences
Two markets, two moods
Mercato Centrale's ground floor and upstairs food hall are the easy introduction; Sant'Ambrogio is where locals shop, with a canteen inside serving cheap lunches to market workers. Go before noon for the best stalls.
Wine windows
Small arched hatches called buchette del vino were cut into palazzo walls in the 1600s so noble families could sell wine from their estates. A handful have reopened and serve glasses of wine, spritz or gelato through the wall.
Aperitivo in the Oltrarno
From early evening, bars around Piazza Santo Spirito and in San Frediano serve a drink with snacks, sometimes a small buffet. It is the local warm-up before dinner, which rarely starts before 8pm.
Chianti tasting
Estates around Greve, Panzano and Castellina in Chianti offer tastings and cellar tours, usually by reservation; join a small-group tour or hire a driver so nobody has to drive back.
Quick bites and street food
- Lampredotto — Tripe carts (trippai) around the city, including near the Mercato Centrale, Sant'Ambrogio market and the Mercato Nuovo loggia; ask for the bun dipped in broth ('bagnato').
- Schiacciata — Bakeries (forni) across the city; the sandwich shops on Via dei Neri behind the Uffizi draw long lunchtime queues.
- Crostini di fegatini — Any traditional trattoria, usually as part of an antipasto toscano.
- Finocchiona and Tuscan salumi — Salumerie, market counters and wine bars (enoteche) in the Oltrarno and around the Mercato Centrale.
Vegetarian options
Of the 11 foods in this guide, 6 are usually vegetarian: Ribollita, Schiacciata, Cantucci and Vin Santo, Gelato, Chianti Classico and Schiacciata alla fiorentina. Check preparation with staff, as stocks and fats vary.
Eating out: tips and etiquette
- Most restaurant bills include a coperto, a per-person cover charge for bread and table setting; it is printed on the menu and is not a tip.
- Lunch runs from about 12:30pm to 2:30pm and dinner from about 7:30pm; many trattorias close between services and one day a week.
- Coffee drunk standing at the bar costs less than the same coffee at a table, and Florentines drink cappuccino only in the morning.
- Bistecca is priced by weight, often per etto (100 g); confirm the weight of the cut before it goes on the grill.
- Book dinner a day or two ahead for popular trattorias in Santa Croce and the Oltrarno, especially on Fridays and Saturdays.
Tipping
Tipping is not expected in Italy. The coperto covers bread and table service; locals leave a few coins or round up for good service, and about 5–10% is generous in a fine restaurant.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Buongiorno | Good morning / hello |
| Buonasera | Good evening |
| Grazie mille | Thank you very much |
| Il conto, per favore | The bill, please |
| Un caffè, per favore | An espresso, please |
| Permesso | Excuse me (to get past) |
| Quanto costa? | How much is it? |
Questions travellers ask
+What food is Florence famous for?
Bistecca alla fiorentina, Lampredotto, Ribollita and Schiacciata. A thick T-bone steak, traditionally from Chianina or other Tuscan cattle, grilled over wood or charcoal, served very rare and seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil.
+Is Florence good for vegetarians?
Several local staples are meat-free, including Ribollita, Schiacciata and Cantucci and Vin Santo.
+Do you tip in restaurants in Florence?
Tipping is not expected in Italy. The coperto covers bread and table service; locals leave a few coins or round up for good service, and about 5–10% is generous in a fine restaurant.