Florence restaurants

I might have some restaurant ideas but will wait until after you settle on your hotel.

There is no use staying in the center and then in the Oltrarno, as the two are walkable even at their most distant points in about a half hour at most.

What budget for the hotels??

The Oltrarno is in the city center, it’s just on the south bank of the river, but still city center.
From Piazza Pitti (Oltrarno) to the Duomo, is a 15 min walk, to Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi, less than 10 minutes walk. So why do you need to change accommodations? That is extra effort that requires time too (check in, unpack, repack, check out, move to new accommodations, check in again, unpack). Choose one location and stay put.

Did you see this recent post about where to stay and eat in Florence? https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/florence-areas-to-stay

From the Porta di San Frediano (i.e. pretty far west in the Oltrarno) it's a 15 minute walk to the train station, 21 minutes to the cathedral, and 18 minutes to the Uffizi.

Look for local Florentine cuisine or Tuscan cuisine rather than generic Italian.

I can see how it's tempting to stay in two different neighborhoods in the same city because I've been tempted to do it myself, but I've never been tempted to stay in the heart of the most heavily touristed part of Florence.

We like to stay at The Hotel California. Yes, that is the real name. Can walk to just about everywhere from that location.

Two of the places we like to eat in Florence are:

Giglio Rosso located at 35 via Panzani.

Olio & Convivium Gastronomia Restaurant. It's on the Pitti Palace side of the river on Via di Santo Spirito. Wonderful atmosphere, excellent food, and good wine. A bit pricy, but well worth it.

You should be able to check all of them out just by googling them.

Here are suggestions for Oltrarno:

Great wine bar — https://www.levolpieluva.com/

Fresh, delicious food with a twist recommended by Stanley Tucci — Dalla Lola

Traditional, family owned and operated https://www.google.com/search?q=trattoria+sabatino+florence&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari&channel=36#ebo=0

Rick Steves recommends Trattoria Sabatino. It's a very casual, neighborhood place in the Oltrano (about a 15 minute walk along the river from the Ponte Vecchio. It is amazingly inexpensive! I've eaten there several times alone and with a group of 6. Not only is the food very, very good but it's also just a fun place to be! There will probably be a line (locals), and you might be sharing a table with others (probably locals) but don't let that stop you! It's my favorite place in Florence to eat for many reasons.

One of my favorite, reasonable restaurants is Osteria Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno: https://osteria-santo-spirito.menu-world.com/

While visiting Florence last May, we had a delicious meal at Casalinga on the Oltrarno side of the river. I think someone from this forum recommended it. I made reservations in advance. Highly recommend.

We had a delicious dinner at Olio. Made reservations in advance. We ordered the tasting menu which we normally don't do. The price was around 65 euros per person. We both loved our food but later my husband commented that the restaurant was too fancy for him.

Another favorite for both of us is Trattoria del Chianti. We just happened to be walking by when we noticed their ad for a Florentine steak special, and the interior is warm and inviting so we decided to dine here. We had a very delicious steak dinner, perfectly cooked, with potatoes and a salad and a bottle of chianti. All for the price of 70 euros for two. Afterwards we noticed other restaurants with the same menu and similar pricing.

We also had a delicious pizza and salad at Berbere Pizza in the Santa Croce district. And we enjoyed walking around this neighborhood, which was much quieter than other parts of Florence, at least in the evening.

Eating not too far from your hotel is probably more convenient for dinner. Tell us the accommodations and I can give some suggestions near the hotel. If you have a choice between the core of the center (near the Duomo) and the Oltrarno, I'd stay in the Oltrarno, it's not as crowded as the north side of the river, and it has less expensive options for both hotels and restaurants.

At lunch you will be out and about all over the place, but I wouldn't bother with a formal lunch at an Italian sit down restaurant because Italian lunches at restaurant are a big production and you won't be out in less than 2 hours, taking away a lot of sightseeing time for you. So I suggest that you have more informal lunches, including inside the Central Market of San Lorenzo, which has some great quick and cheap eateries like Nerbone. Leave the long meal sessions to the evenings when you will want to relax at a dinner table after a full day of visiting sights.

A classic palce from movie :)

https://www.damichele.net/

Thank you everyone for your replies! I wasn't very clear about staying in two locations in Florence. The first week we are in
Florence, we are traveling with 10 members of our family and have rented a large apartment on Bargello. The next week everyone is going in different directions but four of us thought we would stay in Florence. We thought about going to Siena and staying the second week but decided instead to stay in Florence and do day trips to the small towns in Tuscany, Umbria and maybe Cinque Terre.
Anyway, that's why we were looking for another area in Florence that's not so busy but still has nice restaurants nearby. If we were to move to another town, what would you recommend? We are flyig out of Florence.
Thank you!

I recommend staying in Siena, which is beautiful and also convenient for visiting Val D'Orcia. Val D'Orcia is the area that people have in mind when they think of Tuscany: Vineyards, rolling hills, olive groves, Cypress trees! Another good choice would be Lucca, which would be convenient for visiting Cinque Terre.

I would also suggest spending about 3 nights in Cinque Terre instead of visiting CT as a daytrip. If you visit only for the day, you will be there when all the other daytrippers are there, and you will most likely be very disappointed in CT. Spending several nights there is so much more enjoyable. The daytrippers arrive around 10AM, and they start departing around 4PM. Mornings and evenings are magical. We saw some awesome sunsets in Manarola, where we stayed.

Whatever you decide to do the last days of your stay (Siena, Florence Oltrarno, or Cinque Terre), know that you need to be in Florence the last night before your flight home.

My wife and I spent four days in Florence last year, part of a three week Italy trip. We stayed at the Hotel Lorena, which we found in Rick Steve's guidebook. It may be called a budget hotel, but it was more than adequate for us. The room and bath were both very spacious. The location was great, near the train station, and about a block from the Duomo. The staff were excellent.

They do not serve breakfast, but they are directly over a very nice spot (Antica Sosta) that serves coffee and pastries in the morning, sandwiches and pizza later in the day, and aperitivo time fare. Enjoyed their margherita pizza, and especially enjoyed their tomato and mozzarella sandwiches (pomodoro e mozarella panini). Tomatoes in Italy are so good!

About a block away is the best restaurant we visited in Florence, Cipolla Rossa on Via del Conti. Their pappardelle cinghiale, a classic Tuscan dish, was one of the best meals I ever had. The atmosphere was wonderful, service was great, and prices were very reasonable. Total bill for the both of us was 48 euros (no alcohol, we drank water).

I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did!