Hi everyone,
I'd LOVE to surprise my wife (and our 3 kids) with a dinner (around 5pm on a Friday) at a restaurant where we can sit overlooking the hills and olive groves just outside of Florence.
The catch? We won't have a car, so will need to utilize a taxi/Uber.
Any suggestions/advice?
First of all let’s get one thing straight. Dinner time in Florence is around 9pm (8pm to 10pm). Lunch is between 1pm and 2:30pm.
So practically all restaurants open for lunch at 12-12:30 pm and close at 3pm. They open again for dinner at 7-7:30pm and stay open until late at night, although they generally close the kitchen at around 10-10:30pm, so you need to place your order earlier. So if you are looking for a 5pm lunch/dinner/whatever it is not going to happen. At that time the only places that may have something available to eat are some tourist traps in the Florence city center but not the locations outside the city limits which mostly cater to Italians (and some bold foreigners who venture outside the city center)
The choices that meet your requirements can be many so I will limit myself to the ones I know better.
TRATTORIA CAVE DI MAIANO (Maiano-Fiesole)
COQUINARIUS (Fiesole)
LA REGGIA DEGLI ETRUSCHI (Fiesole)
TRATTORIA LA GARGOTTA (Vicchio di Rimaggio-Bagno a Ripoli)
RISTORANTE CENTANNI (Bagno a Ripoli)
The first three are in Fiesole, the hill town on the north side of Florence. The first one is in the area where they filmed “Room with a View” (the countryside portion with the horse carriage). All provide a view of Florence from above.
The last two are in my stomping ground near where I grew up. Plenty of hill views and olive groves there. Both nice locations with a view. The food is great in all of them.
So do your Google search, check their websites and menus, and decide. Also check the opening times. If you are interested in the views of hills and stuff, maybe it is better if you not go for dinner, since it would probably be dark unless it’s in June or July. Lunch is the most important and larger meal in Italy so maybe you should go at around 1pm. Just be aware that restaurants outside the city tend to open for lunch only on weekends, while on weekdays they may open for dinner only, so check their opening times at the time you travel to Italy.
All locations are easily reachable by taxi in a few minutes from Florence downtown. Uber does not operate in Italy except for Uber Black, which is an expensive luxury black limo service. La Loggia degli Etruschi and Coquinarius can also be easily reached by city bus no. 7. Ristorante Cent’anni is also reachable by bus no. 23.
If you go at night for dinner I suggest a taxi, not because of safety (there is no crime in Florence) but because buses become infrequent after 8pm.
Vandelay, can I ask how old your 3 children are? I get it that not all children can just change their eating habits on a dime. Heck, my DH and I can't do dinner at 9:00 either, and end up in restaurants opening earlier rather than later in Italy. We are very early risers so are pretty much done by late afternoon/early evening, and don't sleep well on a full stomach so.... Let's say we've never felt deprived, even if not following the fashionable Italian later-night meal time.
Roberto has the dinner custom right but if it doesn't work for your family, then opt for what does.
@ Kathy
They're 17, 15, and 11....but there's also a Type 1 diabetic in the family, which makes things tricky. :)
So do your Google search, check their websites and menus, and decide. Also check the opening times. If you are interested in the views of hills and stuff, maybe it is better if you not go for dinner, since it would probably be dark unless it’s in June or July. Lunch is the most important and larger meal in Italy so maybe you should go at around 1pm. Just be aware that restaurants outside the city tend to open for lunch only on weekends, while on weekdays they may open for dinner only, so check their opening times at the time you travel to Italy.
We'll be coming on the train from Rome in early June on a Friday.
Yes, a nice long lunch in the shade or in some AC is by far the better option in the heat of the day and given the late hours of Italian dinnertime --- that's what we do. We have tried for years to stay up that late and just can't.
Also, be sure to make a reservation a few days in advance. Also, this is not a rule but only a rule-of-thumb, but we usually find that the better the view, the worse the food and/or the service and/or the price. Maybe Roberto or someone else can name some places where you can go for just a drink and a snack around 5pm where the view is good --- you won't want any more than a snack because you've just had a great lunch!
In early June in Florence the sun sets a little before 9pm, so potentially you could see things if you go for dinner when they open (around 7:30pm). If you are the type who has dinner at 6pm, Southern Europe is not your friend. Southern Europeans eat dinner late and restaurants open accordingly. Spain is even worse. Spaniards start thinking about dinner at 11pm in summer.
Restaurants out of the city center may still open for lunch on weekdays in summer. You need to check. For sure they all open for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays. So if you can wait an extra day and take your family for lunch the day after you arrive, they will certainly be open. All the restaurants I suggested have good food, besides having also great views. I don’t go to tourist traps. I’ll leave that to the Rick Steves’ folks.
