This summer we spent a week in Florence before flying to England to join the Best of England tour. As usual, this report will be long, with lots of details, especially about food!
Friday, 7 June. We arrived in Florence by train in the early afternoon, then walked to our hotel near the river. The 15 minute walk took us about 20 minutes or longer, as getting oriented and making our way through the crowds took longer than we had expected. But we soon arrived at the Hotel Torre Guelfa, Borgi Santi Apostoli 8. We had booked room 315, with a private terrace. I’ve posted a review of the hotel here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy-reviews/hotel-torre-guelfa-in-florence-a-quirky-but-fun-splurge
As soon as we dropped off our luggage, we went out looking for lunch. A short walk north of the hotel, we found Mammamia, Piazza del Mercato Nuovo, 18/R. Stan had a pizza quatro stagione, and I had pappa al pomidoro, a local specialty. Both were delicious, and the servings were generous, big enough to share (which we remembered for any future visit.) The service was good, as well.
Back to the hotel we went, battling the crowds on the way. We soon learned a few tricks about ducking down back streets and narrow alleyways to avoid the crowds. We unpacked, then rested a bit before heading out for a walk. We had signed up for a food tour the following day, and since it met in an area completely unknown to us, I wanted to walk the route ahead of time. And a good thing we did: it was farther than it looked on the map, a good 30 minutes from our hotel down unfamiliar streets. But we enjoyed exploring this new neighborhood, and were eager to return the next day.
Back toward the center again, for our dinner reservation at Trattoria Sostanza, Via Porcellana 25/R. I’m going to spend a lot of time talking about this place, because it was an amazing combination of quirkiness and excellent food. I had been seeing rave reviews of this place on the Forum, and was curious, especially about the “butter chicken.” Our hotel had made the reservations for us, and I had been surprised when they reserved our places for 7:30, instead of the later times I had suggested. But when we arrived at the restaurant at about 7:15, a line was already forming outside the building. Evidently the restaurant has 2 seatings at most, the first at 7:30.
The staff kept peeking out, as if to see how many people had arrived, and opened the door about 7:25. The host checked our names off the list, and told us where to sit. The seating is family style, diners grouped around tables meant for 6 to 8 people. There were (I think) 4 or 5 tables. The waiters were quick, friendly, and helpful. Stan ordered the petti di pollo al burro, or butter chicken. I don’t much care for chicken breast, and ordered the free range quarter chicken instead. The waiter didn’t think that was a good idea, since he thought I wouldn’t like boiled chicken. When I asked for a recommendation, he suggested the tortino di carciofi, or artichoke pie. Okay, that was my second choice anyway.
I asked for a carafe of white wine, but they only had red house wine; we’d have to order a bottle to get white. So we took the red. Stan’s chicken came in a sizzling pan, two beautiful chicken breasts swimming in butter. My artichoke pie was much less dramatic, but was a beautiful presentation. The artichokes were nestled into what looked like a golden cloud. The “crust” was not at all what I had expected, and I spent quite a while analyzing the delicate flavors and creamy texture. It was obviously egg based, but not at all “eggy.” It reminded me of a gougere, a crust made of the same dough used in cream puffs, but creamier. Similar to quiche filling, but more ethereal. Whatever it was, it was amazing. Stan’s chicken was also very good, and the serving was very generous.