Having lived in Florence a while back, and coming from the gorgeous seafood on offer in Rome I was slightly taken aback by the heartiness of the Florentine gastronomy. I’m really more of a fish person. If you love meat then Florence is definitely your place.
Add to this the fact that I was staying to the north of Florence this complicated matters as Florence? Taxis? Night time? not really thanks.
Having said that my first restaurant in Florence is right by the Ponte Vecchio on the southern side and I wouldn’t hesitate to go there again, breakfast, lunch or dinner. Wine store and wine bar with a terrace on the Arno, Signorvino is not to be missed. Open from 9.30am to midnight, here you can have everything from breakfast to cold cuts and cheeses and on to pasta and grilled meats.
This is not a gastronomic restaurant, but it has an atmosphere of huge enthusiasm, a wonderful wine store and offers events such as wine tastings at regular intervals. To me now no visit to Florence would be complete without a visit to Signorvino. Book in advance.
Signorvino: Via de' Bardi, 46R, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy.
My next restaurant is Ristorante Sant’Ambroglio. This was my favourite, again simple but beautifully cooked Italian food with excellent service. Yes there is a lot of meat on the menu but there are also seafood options such as spaghetti with clams and pistachio which sounds unusual but was delicious, and cod with broccoli puree. If you are a meat lover you’ll be in heaven. Again make sure you book.
Ristorante Sant’Ambroglio: Via Luigi Carlo Farini, 5r, 50121 Firenze FI, Italy
Finally Trattoria Acquacotta, where for the first and only time this whole trip I didn’t take a whole lot of photos and they don’t have a website…… expect red and white checked tablecloths and excellent traditional Italian food including the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina – well you have to try it once, don’t you?
Trattoria Acquacotta Via dei Pilastri, 51, 50121 Firenze FI, Italy
No visit to Florence is complete without a visit to the Piazzale Michaelangelo – where the view is absolutely spectacular. More to follow……
