Late lunches in Italy?

Make a picnic

Carry a K Ration.

Although most regular sit down restaurants close by 2:30pm, however there is no shortage of other options. You won’t starve.

Even some grocery stores close down in small towns. The Conad in my hometown closes 1 - 4 every afternoon! But the locally owned store at the top of the hill was always open. So you will get to know your environs very well cause ya gotta eat!

Several possibilities:

• There may be a casual place open through the afternoon, though food choices there may be limited. I'd be really surprised if there is no food available anywhere in Florence after 2:30 PM.
• You could pick up something portable and not easily spoiled from a bakery (many have sandwiches) or a prepared-food shop (composed salads, things like that--though tiny towns may not have a place like that) before it closes and carry it around with you until you're hungry.
• If you're visiting a museum over lunchtime, check to see whether it has a café if you're ready to eat but not yet ready to leave.
• If you have a refrigerator at your lodgings and they are conveniently located, you might be able to stash something in the refrigerator ahead of time and detour back there when you're hungry.
• If you have a rental car and a way to freeze water bottles, buy a cheap cooler and leave it in your car trunk. It can serve as a mini-refrigerator on days when it's parked near your sightseeing objective. Stash food in it when you set out for the day or later, when you come across something interesting at a market or food store.

I'm always looking for something tasty and not grotesquely unhealthy, and usually it works out, though if you want to have your main meal at mid-day, you'll probably want to stick to the local eating schedule.

To facilitate whatever foraging may be necessary, I carry a ZIP Lock bag and an unbreakable fork/spoon with me every day. I also carry a lightweight bag (plastic or nylon) folded up in my purse, because food products are not always put in easily-carried packaging.

rachel,

Some restaurants do close in the afternoon and then re-open for supper. You may not always be able to find a "sit down" restaurant for a late lunch, but you shouldn't have a problem finding a Deli or Bar where you can buy a Panino or whatever. If you're desperate for a meal in Florence, there's always McDonald's at Firenze SMN station.

I remember several places that were open near Il Porcellino (Florence) late in the afternoon. We had a wonderful late lunch at one of those places. But I do understand the question. We were in a small town in another country once and NOTHING was open to serve lunch. There was a market open, though, and we found a wonderful food counter which filled our needs.

I think part of the issue is that you are looking at restaurant with accessible web sites (in English?) These will tend to be nicer sit down restaurants which often do close after lunch. Walking around near sights you will see a variety of cafes and also quick places like sandwich shops or pizza by the slice. At the cafes you will sit and have a waiter but the menu is usually more limited. The quick places may have tables or may be take away.

Finding food at 3PM should not be a problem but yes, if you want a traditional full service lunch in a small town you usually need to do it before 2:30

We've never had a problem finding food...and we're early dinner-eaters (but skip lunch). While some (certainly not ALL) of the sit-down restaurants might be closed until evening, delis and bars are open for sammies and other tummy fillers. An Italian "bar" is not like those you might think of in the U.S.: they're as much family-friendly coffee shops as servers of alcoholic drinks, with Italian sodas, ice cream, pastries, painini, etc. Yes, they have tables, too.

Here's a restaurant we enjoyed in Florence that does not close midday:

https://www.francescovini.com

March / October, Mon - Sat 9am - 11pm
November / February, Tue - Sat 9am - 11pm

If you are in a non-touristy small town, there will be no restaurants open after 2pm. The best you'll find is a sandwich at a bar or small cafe.

When I'm working, eating times are very important to me. For health reasons, I absolutely cannot miss a meal. In Italy, this requires that I plan and strategize my time with greater care. I don't leave eating to chance.

Because I'm an early riser, 1 PM is a late lunch for me. Since it seems everyone in Italy eats lunch at 1 PM, that's the time I try to schedule lunch, too. I'm only interested in eating freshly made food. I've had food poisoning in Italy before. I have no interest in a 4 PM panino that has been sitting around for who knows how long.

Sometimes, the travel schedule gets screwed up, and that's when I rely on the refrigerator in my room. I never stay in lodging that does not offer a small fridge in the room or access to a kitchen. I shop in advance, so I never have to scramble to find something at the last minute. I travel with my own homemade, high-protein/high-fiber granola, which goes great with my favorite Italian Sterzing-Vipiteno BIO yogurt. I also travel with my own protein bars, which are loaded with nuts. I'm a physically active individual, and my body can't function properly without regular fuel for energy. I know my body well and I listen to it, especially when I travel.

While taking classes at the nearby British Institute in Florence, my friends and I ate many early or late lunches at S. Forno, on Via Santa Monaca, 3r in the Oltrarno --- I believe it's open 7:30am to 7:30pm every day. It's a bakery, but with all sorts of wonderful and interesting lunch foods. There are many places like this throughout Florence. In small towns, too, there are often really good places to eat that are not "restaurants," for instance, "bars."

Thank you for all the helpful insights!

There are sandwich shops in Florence. We used to get porchetta sandwiches after Italian classes at Antica Noe not far from Santa Croce and just up the street from ice cream shop Vivoli. They were fabulous. I don't know they are open all afternoon but would guess so. I know there are a couple of other sandwich take out places in that area closer to Santa Croce square. Lots of bars have little squares of pizza of many varieties including the inexplicable potato pizza; this stuff is pretty awful in general, made in central kitchens and dispensed by the square all over town. It prevents starvation. When we wanted to eat at odd times,we would buy bread, tomatoes, pecorino cheese and make a picnic. Decent places to eat are closed in the afternoons so you have to get lunch at 'lunchtime'.

Decent places to eat are closed in the afternoons so you have to get
lunch at 'lunchtime'.

Sorry but I have to disagree with this. We've done just fine eating "decent" meals at odd hours but haven't been looking for gourmet meals, either.

The Golden View, around the corner from the Ponte Vecchio, is open 7 days a week. There are different parts and rooms including a cafe open 07:00 - 23:00 (or 07:30-24:00 depending on which part of the website you're reading). The restaurant is open 12:00-24:00. Our daughter was ecstatic when she happened on it on a trip to Florence with her then 4-year-old.

We ate there a couple of times in 2011. I don't know if it would be considered touristy or not. We enjoyed the food, the location and the view. Be sure to explore the menu in the restaurant section for dishes and prices.

Gelato time !!!!!