Florence is the food capital of Tuscany, which is to say it is a regional capital that has happened to also have been the cradle of the Renaissance. The cuisine is rural in origin and unshowy in execution — bread, beans, olive oil, wine, and the cattle the contadini raised on the hills outside town. The signature dish is a slab of beef the size of a phone book; the everyday street food is a tripe sandwich from a cart that has been in the same square for a century. The wine is Chianti and Brunello, both of which travel poorly enough that drinking them on a hillside south of the city is a different experience than drinking them anywhere else.
Where to focus
Four neighbourhoods to anchor a few days of eating
Oltrarno & Santo Spirito
Across the Arno from the tourist crush. Neighbourhood trattorias, vinotecas with eight tables, gelaterias the locals queue at. Walk south of the Ponte Vecchio and turn onto any side street.
Sant'Ambrogio
The market neighbourhood. Sant'Ambrogio market is the unfussy alternative to the Mercato Centrale, with the trattoria Cibrèo Trattoria a few steps away. Lunch here, not in Piazza della Signoria.
San Lorenzo
Home of the Mercato Centrale, whose upstairs hall is the one tourist-friendly food court worth visiting. Downstairs is where Florentines actually shop.
Centro Storico (outside the piazzas)
Touristy by definition, but a block off the postcard squares the food gets honest again. Look for trattorias whose menus are only in Italian.
What to eat
The dishes the city is known for
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Bistecca alla fiorentina
— A T-bone steak from Chianina cattle, grilled rare over wood. Sold by weight; usually shared. Order it cooked any way other than rare and a Florentine will glare. - 02
Lampredotto
— The fourth stomach of a cow, stewed and served on a salty roll. A 5-euro sandwich from a street cart. Defining Florentine street food, polarising on first bite. - 03
Crostini neri
— Toast topped with chicken-liver pâté. The antipasto on every Tuscan table that wasn't set by tourists. - 04
Pappa al pomodoro
— Bread soup with tomatoes and basil. A peasant dish that became a regional classic. Summer specialty. - 05
Ribollita
— Twice-cooked bread-and-bean stew, eaten in winter. Heavy, vegetarian by accident, perfect after a cold morning at the Uffizi. - 06
Cantucci e vin santo
— Almond biscotti dipped in sweet wine. The Tuscan dessert; cheaper than any pastry but considered finer.
Practical notes
Meal timing, tipping, payment
Lunch 12:30–14:30, dinner 19:30–22:00. The coperto (a per-person cover charge, €2–4) is standard and not a scam; it covers bread and the table. Tipping isn't expected; rounding up is enough. Many family-run trattorias close Sundays or Mondays. Reservations for dinner are sensible Thursday through Saturday.
Bookable food tours
Updated 2026-05-16Live inventory from Viator & GetYourGuide
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