Help please. Going to be in Florence for 4 nights - just 2 of us - looking for great local places that we can manage without very much Italian - and for prices we with the US dollar can handle. Be there early October. Thanks much. Ciao!

You will be fine in any restaurant with no Italian.

What's your price range for meals for two?

$50-100$?
$100-$200?
Do you have wine w/ meals?
Desserts/coffee?

A couple of pastes from my trip report to Florence, regarding dining:

Great birds' eye view of the Duomo: "The afternoon we arrived, my daughter took me to a rooftop café, which overlooks the Duomo. It is on the top of a nice little ‘department’ store. I think it’s called Ristorante Ottorino, via delle Oche, 12-16r. We enjoyed wine and salads, on the sunny afternoon, with a close-up view of the Duomo. A very nice introduction to Florence for me."

Favorite fun restaurant: ". . . my daughter recommended one of her favorite restaurants, the Trattoria Garga on Via del Moro 48/R, phone 055 2398898. We had an amazing meal there, probably my best in Italy. My dish was veal with avocado, and it was mouth-watering. Our waiter was a riot-- singing and joking all over the restaurant. It was a friendly, lively, bustling atmosphere with excellent food. We paid 81EUR for two, with a half-liter of house wine."

Enjoy Florence. Speaking Italian is not necessary, really.

May I suggest caffe royal and La Canlinetta in Florence.

For a perfect little spinach/egg panini go to Caffe Royal.
I dont know the address.
Its a small place over the Ponte vecchio to the right.

la Canlinetta on Via Borgo San Lorenzo.
Cafeteria style yet it was surprisingly fresh and tasty.
Really nice staff too.

Just this morning, my dentist gave me a recommendation that he and his wife just loved! Can't vouch for the cost, knowing them I imagine that it is pretty upscale! ;-)

But, what the heck, we all deserve a good splurge now and then!

Leo in S. Croce
Via Torta, 7r
50122 Firenze
Tel 0550210829
email: [email protected]

I looooved this place: http://www.4leoni.com/index.php

And I saw someone above me named Trattoria Garga on Via Del Moro, which I've been straining to remember for months so thanks! Yes, that place is obviously lovely too

This place was recommended by our hotel as an inexpensive restaurant. We loved our meal so much we ate here twice and had spoken of it to another couple we meet on the trip, they tried it and loved it too. An excellent dinner at what I feel was a great price of 37E. Near the Duomo, unassuming from the outside but a nice interior. The staff was excellent, the owner would break out in song.

Ristoranti Osteria Zio Gigi
Via Folco Portinari, 7-red
+39 055 215584