Good reasonable restaurants in Florence
 

Will be in Florence April 9 through April 13. Interested in reasonable priced menus, good food, ambiance. Two women who are adventurous and willing to try new recipes.
Like to have a restaurant for each area. Anything from pizza to sit-down will be fine. Thanks!

i stayed north of Santa Croce last May, and near my apartment came across this place:

http://www.ilgiova.com/index.html

although the decor is the antithesis of "cool" the food was very good and the service friendly.

the area is very interesting too - well worth a little wander around. if you want to know more, find my trip report via my screen name and scroll down towards the end which covers the Florence part of my trip.

PS - if you want to try old-fashioned tuscan specialities, you could do a lot worse than have lunch at the cafe in the nearby market. you sit at one of the shared tables, pay for the wine you drink, and have the chance to eat bread and tomato salad, tripe, liver, different soups, and it's very cheap. lots of lovely food to buy in the market too.

We would love to offer you some ideas. Please tell us your idea of "reasonable"--10 euro per person? 30? 50?. We're also not sure what you mean by "each area." What areas will you be visiting?

Three places I enjoyed on my last visit:

Caffetteria delle Oblate
Via dell’Oriuolo, 26 (or enter at Via S. Egidio 21-23) (East of Duomo)
tel 055.2639685

Osteria Belle Donne
Via delle Belle Donne, 16/R (Near Santa Maria Novella)
tel 055.2382609

Trattoria Za-Za
Piazza Mercato Centrale 26/R (Near San Lorenzo Market)
tel 055.215411

Acqua al 2
Via della Vigna Vecchia 40/R (Near Bargello)

Trattoria “Da Ruggiero” (Oltrarno, south of Porta Romana)
Via Senese, 89/R
055.220542

You can read about some of the meals here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m#last-comment

Trattoria Marione
Via della Spada 27R
055 214756

Trattoria Pizzeria Dante
Piazza Nazario Sauro 12 R

Coffee Shop Maioli
Via Guicciardini, 43

Ristorante Perseus
(Fiesole)
Piazza Mino 9R

Not sure what your definition of "reasonable price" is. I had a wonderful meal at this restaurant. It was a bit of a splurge meal but we all felt it was worth it.

Trattoria dei Quattro Leoni
via dei Vellutini, 1, Florence 50125

Two of us shared a plate of pasta, shared the Florentine steak, shared a dessert and a bottle of wine. Everything was delicious. The steak would have been enough for 3 people, but we did pretty good! It was 100 euros.

Also ate at this place and really enjoyed it. It was less expensive than the previous one I mentioned but I can't recall the exact prices. We ate here twice because it was so good. The mixed grill plate was perfect to share. The pasta with browned butter and sage was divine.

Birreria Centrale
piazza de' Cimatori 1r,

Have fun, I just love wandering in Florence!

another "yea" for Za Za..funky, good food offerings and you won't break the bank. Adjacent to the enormous Central Market...good to experience walk-thru.

Some others we've liked, using the subjective term "reasonable", in Firenze over the years, Nice covered outdoor dining and very cozy, small inside room also ...Trattoria Guelfi...memorable taglietelle with gorgonzola sauce/cherry tomatoes. On Via Porta Rossa, a block from Via Tornabuoni (the upscale shopping street where all the "boys" are: Gucci, Armani,Versace, Vuiton, etc)

Across the river in Oltarno district, we favored Cinghale Bianco (White Boar) after first meeting it many years ago. Tried it again in '09....didn't fail to impress again. On Borgo San Jacopo, second right after crossing Ponte Vecchio. Sort of a cave-like ambience.

When the wallets are reaching empty, pizzas and gelato everywhere. Have fun. It's only money, after all.
stu

<<Across the river in Oltarno district, we favored Cinghale Bianco (White Boar) after first meeting it many years ago. Tried it again in '09....didn't fail to impress again. On Borgo San Jacopo, second right after crossing Ponte Vecchio. Sort of a cave-like ambience.>>

Also liked this restaurant very much! And, they allowed me to order a 1/2 portion of pasta which I couldn't even finish prior to my main course.

Near the Duomo, Osteria Zio GiGi at Via Folco Portinari 7.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...e_Tuscany.html

Ristorante Il Paiolo at Via del Corso 42. We loved this place.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...e_Tuscany.html

http://www.ristoranteilpaiolo.it/eng/index.php

This is a favorite for locals:

Trattoria Il Contadino,
Via Palazzuolo 69-71r, Florence, Italy

Great price. 12 euros for an appetizer pasta dish, a main course, and a side of vegetables. A small ewer of wine (either red or white) is 1 additional euro.

I've ordered white wine to go with the pasta (very fresh) and red to go with the main dish.

Limited menu: four choices for the pasta, four choices for the main dish. Believe there's also dessert but can't remember if it's included or not.

Local food. Local flavor. Local clientele.

We enjoyed Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco at Borgo Sant' Jacopo 43r, Florence. Across the river in the Oltrano district. Name means wild boar. While the menu does include boar, there are many other choices also. Small, quaint and delicious.

I'm glad to see someone mentioning Cinghiale Bianco; we ate there several years ago, and I hesitated to recommend because of length of time since our visit to Florence. We loved it!

We also liked Trattoria Za-Za-tables outside are nicely set and strolling musicians added to the atmosphere. The Ribolitta was excellent. For an inexpensive lunch try Leonardo's near the Duomo.

One night I took the bus to Fiesole. The concierge told me to look for a restaurant across the square. It is a spot surrounded by old trees that keep shade and since all tables were taken it was not too hard to find. No tourists in sights, just locals. It might be the Perseus Fiesolano mentioned by CUFFLNX, but I did not retained the name.

The concierge told me to look for a restaurant across the square. It is a spot surrounded by old trees that keep shade and since all tables were taken it was not too hard to find.>>

yes it is a lovely place - we had lunch after a tour of the roman amphitheatre. we noticed how several of the tables were taken by local workmen which is always a good sign.

sorry i don't know the name though.

l'Polpa in Fiesole gets very good reviews too.

Cinghale Bianco is a favorite of mine! I've been there at least 4 times. Hoping to get there again this fall (will be there for just the day).

Two others that I really like are:

Ristorante La Martinicca
Via del Sole 27/r
Tel. 055-218928
Dinner: 1/4 liter of red wine; Ravioli Tartufo in a cream sauce and topped with fresh asparagus (absolutely the best!), steak Florentine; Vin Santo with biscotti for dessert; bottled water. 40.50 Euros.

Ristorante Le Fontincine
Via Nationale, 79r
Make dinner reservations for the back room, as you will pass the open kitchen and the wonderful display of their antipasti. The back room is filled with great paintings on the wall – very colorful. Service was great. You start with a complimentary glass of Prosecco. I had the antipasti platter (marinated artichoke, stuffed tomato, marinated mushrooms, salami, olives, a quiche of some sort, marinated onions, and eggplant, selected by the waiter); Osso Bucco with spinach; wine. 28 Euros.

Monica ((F))