67 Best Restaurants in Florence, Italy

Although there are some serious wine offerings at this spot in the heart of the centro storico, it's also a good place for tasty breakfast baked items and light lunches.

This intimate trattoria, known to locals as Cibreino, shares its name and its kitchen with the famed Florentine restaurant but has a shorter, less-expensive menu. Save room for dessert, as the pastry chef has a deft hand with chocolate tarts. To avoid sometimes agonizingly long waits, make a reservation online or by phone.

This rustically elegant space, which has served many purposes over the past 600 years, offers some of the tastiest food in town at great prices. It's the perfect place to come if you aren't sure what you're hungry for, as it offers a bit of everything, including several fish dishes, among them carpaccio and grilled offerings, and a selection of pasta dishes that make choosing just one very hard, though the ravioli with pecorino and pears is particularly good. There's also a changing list of piatti unici (single dishes that can be ordered on their own, usually served only at lunch), as well as cheese and cured meat plates, and a tasting menu. The well-culled wine list has lots of great options by the glass and even more by the bottle.

At one of Florence's biggest markets, you can grab lunch to go, or you can cram into one of the booths and pour from the straw-cloaked flask (wine here is da consumo, which means they charge you for how much you drink). Food is abundant and Tuscan, service is fast, and locals pack in. The ample menu changes daily (nine secondi are the norm), and the prices are great. On Friday, fish is served. 

At this open-kitchen restaurant, just off of Piazza Santa Croce, you can watch as classic dumplings and Tuscan variations (beef with lardo di colonnata or truffled beef) are made. It also has various rolls—from spring to Saigon—which provide a perfect starting point, as is the cold two-seaweed salad. Noodle dishes, with noodles made right in front of you, are also on offer.

This place is always crowded with mostly young folk lingering over non-Italian cups of coffee. Light lunch and brunch are also on offer, and, in between, there's a steady supply of cakes, cookies, and croissants. Cocktail hour means it's time for the "tapas" part of their menu.

Founded in 2013 as a micro coffee roaster on Via de' Neri, Ditta Artigianale now has four spots throughout Florence. Follow a side street off the Palazzo Pitti to take a coffee break with a classic espresso, drip coffee, or the inventive Coffemisu (espresso, cookies, cocoa, and mascarpone cream) in a space that's more like an airy mid-century modern living room, than a coffee shop. There's a full brunch menu from pancakes to avocado toast, an extensive cocktail list, and a selection of sweets including brownies, cookies, and cakes.

A sumptuous Renaissance palace with high, frescoed ceilings and bouquets in silver vases provides the backdrop for this restaurant, one of the most expensive in Italy. Some consider it one of the best, and others consider it inauthentic, as the cuisine extends far beyond Italian. Prices are high (think €95 for a plate of spaghetti) and portions are small; the vast holdings of the wine cellar dull the pain, however, when the bill is presented.

Conveniently placed very near the ticket office of the Basilica of Santa Croce, this bar does it all—great coffee, terrific pastries, fine wines by the glass, and tasty sandwiches.

This little wine bar combines the best of Italian and French cheeses with wine from the same places to create true gustatory pleasure. The list of crostini is creative and offers some unusual pairings (like French Brie with Italian Speck, which is dotted with a spicy tomato chutney). Bottles of wine and artisanal foodstuffs are also available for purchase. All this can be enjoyed while sitting outside.

Whether you're craving a wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizza or a Florentine bistecca, this place around the corner from Piazza dell'Indipendenza has you covered. In addition to cozy booths and family-style tables, this busy, neighborhood restaurant, whose name means "crazy fire," has bar seating that enables you to see the pizzaiolo at work. The dizzying menu has six steak options, more than a half-dozen pizzas (gluten-free available), house-made pasta, and a wide selection of antipasti. Designed for sharing, the white pizza with four cheeses and dried citrus stands out. The quality of the food is high, and the service is jovial.

Specializing in things Sicilian, this shop is known for its tart and flavorful granitàs (flavored ices), which are thirst-quenchers. It's also a great place to grab a gelato after seeing Michelangelo's David.

At the foot of Ponte Carraia, two bridges down from the Ponte Vecchio, find standard gelato flavors or creative options such as delizia carraia (white chocolate with pistachio sauce).

Breakfast, lunch, dessert, and afternoon tea are all possibilities at this restaurant on a leafy outdoor patio in Piazza Signoria. The garden is also open until midnight, serving food until 10 pm, making it a swanky spot for an evening cocktail and light meal.

Chef, artist, and visionary Massimo Bottura has joined forces with the creative folks at Gucci to develop a marvelous tasting menu that is both classic and innovative. Though he trained with Ducasse and Adrià, his major influence was his grandmother's cooking. His protégé, Karime Lopez, helms the kitchen.

Florentines in the know come here for the deliciously bewildering selection of chocolate- and cream-filled pastries.

If you're brave enough to try lampredotto, get in line at this food truck. Popular with construction workers, the filling Florentine sandwich of a cow's fourth stomach, slow-cooked with tomato, parsley, onion, and celery, is served on crusty bread with a signature spicy salsa verde. Lasagne, tortellini, coccoli (fried dough balls served with prosciutto), daily specials, and trippa alla fiorentina (stewed tripe served with bread on the side), are also on offer. There are a few tables to eat outside.

Florentines flock here to indulge in the sinfully rich, thin-crust pizzas turned out by a skilled pizzaiuolo (pizza-maker). However, the real thrills come from the fantastic osteria part of the menu. This is a taxi ride from the historic center, which is probably one reason why it's filled with Florentines.

If you're looking for a break from the ubiquitous ribollita, stop in at this eatery, which may be the only Japanese restaurant in the world to be housed in a 15th-century Renaissance palazzo. High, vaulted arches frame the kaiten sushi conveyor belt. Selections, priced according to the color of the plate, make their way around a bar. Those seeking a more substantial meal head upstairs, where Japanese barbecue is prepared at your table.

This innovative, charming place serves up remarkable food and is a must if you're looking for a sublime bistecca alla fiorentina. The wine list, as befits the love child of a fine enoteca, is divine.

You can assemble a perfect dinner, from soup to nuts, at this Florentine favorite, which specializes in whole and half chickens, grilled or roasted. Order takeout or eat in, which is what many locals do.

Come early (or late) to grab a seat at this tiny spot frequented by Florentine university students and businesspeople, who come to enjoy the day's primi (the lasagna is terrific), perhaps followed by the polpettone (meat loaf) and tomato sauce. Though seats are cramped, and the wine is no great shakes, the service is friendly, and the food hits the spot.

Atop a steep hill, en route to the church of San Francesco, this lovely little eatery is certainly worth the trek. Indulge in inventive reworkings of Tuscan classics, like the mezzaluna di pera a pecorino (little half-moon pasta stuffed with pear and pecorino) served with Roquefort and poppy seeds. Depending on the season, find shaved black truffle added to starters and main dishes. The wine list and the attentive service help make this a terrific place to have a meal. When it's warm, you can sit on the little terrace outside.

Near Santa Maria Novella is La Spada. Walk in and inhale the fragrant aromas of meats cooking in the wood-burning oven. You can either eat in or take it away.

Come to this tiny, cramped, and boisterous place for hearty, stick-to-your-ribs Florentine dishes such as ribollita (Tuscan bread soup). Seating is communal, with diners sharing big, straw-covered flasks of wine; service is prompt and efficient; and two nimble cooks with impeccable timing staff the small kitchen.

The name means "Hour of Air" and refers to the time of day when prisoners were let outside for fresh air—alluding to the fact that this gem began life across the street from an old prison. In the kitchen, gifted chef Marco Stabile turns out exquisite Tuscan classics as well as more fanciful dishes, which are as beautiful as they are delicious. Tasting menus give Stabile even greater opportunity to shine, and the carefully culled wine list is a treat.

Always crowded this osteria is next to San Niccolò church, and, if you sit in the lower part, you'll be in what was once a chapel dating from the 11th century. The subtle but dramatic background nicely complements the food, which is simple Tuscan. The pollo con limone is tasty pieces of chicken in a lemon-scented broth. In winter, try the spezzatino di cinghiale con aromi (wild boar stew with herbs). Reservations are advised for dinner.

Down the street from the church of Santa Maria Novella, this gaily decorated spot, festooned with plants and portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, has an ever-changing menu and stellar service. The list of Tuscan standards is shaken up with alternatives such as stracciatella with shrimp and cherry tomatoes and truffles, when in season. If you want to eat alfresco, request a table outside when booking—and remember to save room for dessert.

At Pitti Gola you can order tasty tidbits to accompany your choices from the extensive and impressive wine list. The outdoor seats have a view of Palazzo Pitti.

Conveniently across the piazza from San Marco, Pugi sells the popular pizza a taglio (by the slice) as well as delicious focacce (bread). It's a great place to grab a quick lunch or snack.