Restaurant in Florence

what do you mean by $$$$,$$$,$$. Is that literal or figurative? Are you saying up to but not exceeding $999?

What kind of $? Australian? Canadian?

We stayed at hotel La Scaletta, right across the Ponte Vecchio from Palazzio Vecchio and ate at their excellent rooftop restaurant. The food was perfect, reasonably priced, and the view across the Arno was amazing. The restaurant is open to the public. Check out the website for photos of the place.

Cost is all subjective. What one person considers expensive another one would consider reasonable. It might be preferable to offer price ranges, for example lunch for two including a glass of wine for €50 (Alt0128 will give you the € symbol). Unfortunately I didn't have a meal that was worth recommending a restaurant for, I was pretty disappointed with Florence food wise.

It isn't really fancy but you have literally dozens of choices to keep everyone happy. The Mercato Centrale by San Lorenzo is a food market on the ground floor. The 1st floor is loaded with small eateries - you can order from any of them and sit wherever, there's plenty of common seating. One year I did steak, one year pizza, one year a specialty pasta. I sat where I could watch the preparation and the cooking. It was fun, it was different and I look forward to going back asap.

Ciro and Sons. Reasonable prices and the food is phenomenal. I ate there several times and never had a bad meal. When I go back to Florence it will be one of the first places I go.

Also recommend the Mercato. I enjoyed the atmosphere and communal dining experience there. Had many good conversations and it brings back fond memories.

Hostaria il Desco on Villa del Terme. It was recommended by our hotel, and we enjoyed it so much we went back the next night.

Favorite dish was the bistecca alla fiorentina. Great service, not too expensive. Didn't feel like a tourist trap.

We had lunch at a great place. Excellent food, good ambiance, fine wine. Name is Olio & Convivium Gastronomia Restaurant and is on the Pitti Palace side of the river on Via di Santo Spirito. The web site is http://www.oliorestaurant.it/video_eng.php. A bit pricey at lunch and more so at dinner. But the overall experience was worth it. Will eat there again. Check it out and see if what you think

Yes to Ciro and Sons too.

Three must have meals for us in Florence are:
Bistca alla Florentina at Antico Ristoro di Cambi (reservations a must)
Mercado Centrale which is a food market on the first floor and multiple restaurants on the second floor with a communal style dining in the middle. This is more of a lunch/early dinner meal for us
A Panini type sandwich from Osteria All'antico Vinaio-look for the long line (it goes fast) find a place to sit on the sidewalk and enjoy)

Trattoria Sostanza for the butter chicken! Simply amazing...so is their steak! 13 Gobi for their red sauce...so good you will weep. Both on the same street....Via del Porcellana.

Yes to Sostanza and the butter chicken--very good! I remember a cafe Za Za being a nice choice.Can't remember for sure if it was Florence or Venice.

The Golden View Restaurant on the Arno River with a view of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge is a great restaurant with very reasonable prices and very good food. You will need reservations unless you plan on eating around 6:00 pm. I highly recommend it.

Our favorite restaurant is Trattoria L'Oriuolo, https://www.trattorialoriuolo.it/en/. We just love this place. We've been here at least 3 times in the past couple of years and hopefully we can go back next Sept. I just love their Pecorino Flan with honey for an appetizer. We also had a Stuffed Pumpkin Flower as another appetizer. Just love the Tuscan food. Their food is very reasonably priced. They are very close to the Duomo. I don't think you will be disappointed. Service is excellent also. So many people recommend Trattoria Za'Za' but it is just too touristy for us. We were disappointed. You will not be sorry.

A third for Ciro & Sons. A buddy of mine spent 4 months teaching in Florence a few years back, lived in an apartment across the street from Ciro. Said he dined there at least 4-5 times a week & became part of the extended family. We visited a couple years ago, I asked one of the brothers about my friend 'MJ', and immediately he remembered, and immediately we were family too! Great place. Ate there 3x in a week, just wonderful.

Villa Machiavelli is about 20 minutes from Florence but it is well worth the trip. Enjoy a delightful lunch or dinner in a 1500's village vineyards setting. It was not just a dinner, but an experience viewing the wine cellars and enjoying the entertainment.

If I had only one town to eat in when traveling in Italy, it would
probably be Florence. (Bologna is a close second, but Florence has
more options!). We'd travel to Florence often when living in Rome - my
wife to shop and me, TO EAT!

Ron, since you lived in Rome I'll go along, I guess. But in two trips each to Florence & Rome, probably a total of 12-14 days in each place, I thought Rome had it over Florence for food. Maybe it was simply a matter of personal taste, but within walking distance from our apartment at Campo de' Fiori, I could easily find different regional cuisines--ancient Roman, Siciliano, Pugliese, all top-notch. Absolutely loved the variety at arm's length. In Florence, I thought more restaurants were 'touristed up', and basically had the same menu, albeit very good stuff! Ribollita, bistec alla Fiorentine, tagliatelle alla cinghiale, fried squash blossoms.

Obviously, I need to return to Firenze to do more research. :) And Bologna as well!

I was in Florence from May-October last year. Here are the restaurants I visited more than once and brought friends who also enjoyed:

www.bucapoldo.com
Osteria Antico Noe (there is a panini part and a sit down restaurant next door)
Dalla Lola - located on Via Della Chiesa - Santo Spirito/Oltrano area
Vini e Vecchi Sapori on Via del magazzini www.vinievecchisapori.it
Cibreo Caffe (near the Sant Ambrogio market
If you absolutely NEED an American type breakfast then head over to Le Vespe Cafe on Via Ghibellina 76R

I'm drooling from the memories...