Florence Restaurants - tell me your favorites 😁

There are many. Ristorante del Fagioli is one of my favorites, on Corso Tintori, near the Ponte alle Grazie (bridge).
For Bistecca alla Fiorentina my favorite is Il Perseus, near Piazza della Libertà.

tmohmc, this is a one-day port call in La Spezia, correct? Do you even have time for dinner before having to head back to the ship?

Hi Kathy,
I’m staying in Florence a week prior. Have to get in as much Italy time as possible 😁

Ah, excellent! Was going on your previous post where you were having to choose either the CT or Florence for a 1-day La Spezia port stop. Really glad you have more time! Here are two we enjoyed:

https://www.francescovini.com
https://www.ciroandsons.com/?lang=en

We ate outside in both cases.

Another vote for Perseus. It looked like we were the only tourists there. Za Za is touristy and enormous, but the food was incredible. Our favorite in Florence was La Giostra. A cute mom & pop place we went to lunch was Caffe Delle Carrozze. They did pizza and sandwiches inside and then sold gelato from a window over the sifewalk.

Did you need reservations at any of these places? We will also be going to Florence and want to be able to be somewhat spontaneous, which includes eating when we want and perhaps staying in when we are tired. Any thoughts?

@patrickmunley
I rarely reserve anything anywhere in Florence, unless it’s a big get together with my childhood friends, as it might be difficult to accommodate a big group at times. But if it’s just me and my wife we often take our chance. At worst we wait a little bit. But of course sometimes we are out of luck. Dinner time in Florence is after 8-8:30pm and restaurants open for dinner at 7pm. If you go earlier than 7:30pm they should be able to accommodate you even without reservations. Or also you can go late (after 9:30pm). I remember a few years ago landing in Florence late in the evening and meeting my cousin at Perseus at 10pm for dinner on the night of arrival. Plenty of tables open. Restaurants stay open at least till 11pm.

Ok. In case you love seafood, I’ll share with you a restaurant in the neighborhood where I grew up. It is one of the best seafood restaurants in town, but I doubt many tourists go to it. But you need a taxi to get there, because it’s not downtown (about 3 miles East of the city center on the river).
It is called “La Bettolina”, and it’s located in the La Nave a Rovezzano district.
https://www.facebook.com/bettolinafirenze
Keep it secret. Don’t tell Rick Steves or he will ruin it like he ruined the Cinque Terre.

For quaint, Osteria Nuvoli & Trattoria Mario.
For gelato, La Strega Nocciola Gelateria Artigianale
For more upscale, La Giostra.

YMMV

Roberto -
"Keep it secret. Don’t tell Rick Steves or he will ruin it like he ruined the Cinque Terre."

LOL!

We have been to Ciro & Sons on via Giglio numerous times. It was recommended by a grade-school buddy of mine that taught sculpture in Florence for a semester, and lived right across the street. He dined there literally every day, and said he never got tired of it.

I think it's 4 brothers and the parents that run the place, serving decidedly non-Florentian dishes, my favorite being the calamari Napolitan over tagliatelle--just scrumptious.

I dont remember the name but RS recommended this place in his travel book. They cook the special steak you share .It was unbelievable and the best we ever had.

Thank you everyone for the awesome recommendations!!! And now I am very hungry 😂

Florence is known for their Steak (Bisteca) and a must stop for us is Antico Ristoro di Cambi, you can look on Tripadvisor for rating and you can reserve on Their website.
We always love a stroll through the Mercado Centrale and choose a few dishes to take back to the table and share.
We also like the experience of getting a sandwich at All'Antico Vinaio, I know it is very touristy, but we still talk about that sandwich, with the bread being freshly delivered while we waited in line.