The sign above the queue for the Uffizi Gallery says: “You have between two
and three hours to wait.” No problem: I have an online reservation. I stroll
smugly past the hapless queuers – only to find a 45-minute wait to pick up
my ticket.
It’s the same all over Florence – and not only at the galleries. The
restaurants, it seems, are full. At Il Latini, the queue for a space at one
of the cramped communal tables stretches around the corner at four in the
afternoon.
At Trattoria Sostanza, they are splitting groups up so they can squeeze them
in. At the other end of the scale, to eat at the three-Michelin-star Enoteca
Pinchiorri, I would have needed to book weeks or even months in advance.
The truth is, just as a certain sort of tourist rather likes to queue, because
it reassures them that what they’re about to see is special, so Florentines
see queuing for food as a good thing. The frenetic, passionate activity of
this city, so evident in its architecture and paintings, is fuelled today by
hunks of bloody beef served cheek by jowl on rough wooden tables, just as it
has been since the 15th century.
If it’s serenity you want, try Urbino. And if it’s salads you’re after, you
can always go to a restaurant set up by a foreigner. I decided to head away
from the centre in search of a calmer version of authentic Florentine food –
the kind of unhurried, home-cooked dishes that explain a city’s culture and
history more viscerally than any audio guide.
To this end, I based myself in Oltrarno, the quieter part of Florence, south
of the river, though I was hardly slumming it: my room in the Palazzo
Magnani Feroni had a 20ft-high ceiling and an air of majestically faded
grandeur. With just 12 bedrooms – all suites – this must surely be one of
the city’s more imposing B&Bs.
Pandemonio, in Via dei Leoni, was just the kind of backstreet trattoria I’d
had in mind. Most of the diners were eating bistecca alla fiorentina,
great slabs of local Chianina beef weighing more than a kilo. These days,
they’re usually shared between two people, although one trencherman nearby
managed his without help.
These steaks are black on the outside, blue in the middle, slathered with
olive oil and salt. You only have to get on the outside of one of these to
understand why Michelangelo, Donatello and their ilk were able to pound away
at such prodigious slabs of marble – though whether they did so immediately
after lunch is another matter.
At Bricco, on Via di San Niccolo, the menu was even more straightforward. The
antipasto consisted of crostini, toasted unsalted bread spread with various
pâtés, including a simple but delicious one made from onions stewed in
butter. It was followed by ribollita, a thick Tuscan soup made with
beans and black cabbage: hearty, cheap and full of flavour, this was a
favourite dish in the city long before the Duomo got its dome.
A more creative approach is on offer at the lovely Quattro Leoni, on a tiny
little piazza near the Pitti Palace. Florence is one of the few parts of
Italy not to go in much for pasta, but here a dish of fiochetti,
pasta parcels filled with pear and served in a sauce of asparagus and tangy
taleggio cheese, was memorably good, while slices of grilled bruschetta came
soused with green new-season olive oil from the owner’s own estate.
Appropriately enough, the restaurant is only a stone’s throw from the statue
of Cosimo de’ Medici’s dwarf, Morgante, who sits on a tortoise in the Boboli
gardens, naked and potbellied – a warning to Cosimo’s subjects, apparently,
of the dangers of overindulgence.
For a truly authentic Florentine experience, though, you need to hit the
streets. This city has the most extraordinary love affair with tripe – it is
the only place I know to distinguish between trippa, the pale, spongy
wall of a cow’s first stomach, and lampredotto, the darker,
richer substance that lines its fourth.
Even a smart trattoria such as Quattro Leoni offers trippa alla fiorentina,
tripe with tomato sauce, but Florentines themselves maintain that the real
deal is to be had only from street vendors and market stalls – such as
Nerbone, in the Mercato Centrale.
For the squeamish, there’s also bollito bagnato, boiled beef
dipped in hot beef juices and served in a bun with chilli and garlic sauce.
For many visitors, Florence means ice cream – and ice cream means Vivoli,
and another queue. I’m not sure Florence entirely deserves its reputation –
some of the colours on display in the city’s gelaterie bring to
mind Day-Glo rather than Michelangelo – but the best I found was Carrozza,
near the Ponte Vecchio.
Good ice creams are seasonal, and these did not disappoint, with punchy
blackberry and clementine flavours, as well as that peculiar Florentine
speciality called Buontalenti. Named after the artist and engineer who
reportedly invented gelato for the Medicis, it’s an extravagant
mixture of rum, honey and buttermilk.
Florence is also famous as a destination for wine lovers – though this, too,
may be something of an exaggeration. Sangiovese is a decent enough grape,
but the fuss about so-called “supertuscans” such as Tignanello and
Sassicaia, made with other varieties, suggests that winemakers themselves
are acutely aware of its limitations.
And, since most supertuscans use the same grapes as you’d find in Napa or
Bordeaux, you’re not really getting a uniquely Italian experience. There
are, however, some talented winemakers doing wonders with indigenous
varieties, such as Petrolo’s impressive Torrione, made from 100% sangiovese.
Brunello di Montalcino, made from sangiovese grosso, can also be superb –
although rarely a bargain. Nevertheless, some of the city’s cheapest light
meals can still be had in its enoteche (wine bars). In dark, pretty
Il Santo Bevitore, I paired a glass of velvety Chianti Riserva with one of
the region’s most curious delicacies, toast spread with lardo di
colonnata.
This is fat from Cinta Senese pigs, mixed with mountain herbs and aged for six
months in troughs of white Carrara marble – the same stuff David’s made
from. What comes out of the troughs is itself marble – white, a soft,
aromatic mouthful of Renaissance greatness.
Like Il Santo Bevitore, Pane e Vino also calls itself an enoteca, but
this former wine shop, now housed in a spacious converted barn, is also one
of the city’s more interesting restaurants. On the menu, Florentine classics
coexist with recipes as inventive as anything in Leonardo’s notebooks.
Salmon, for example, came with an extraordinary cigar-smoked panna cotta: a
wonderful match for a dense, heavy Brunello.
I couldn’t leave the city, though, without having tried schiacciata.
Literally meaning “crushed”, this is a kind of Tuscan flatbread, similar to
Neapolitan pizza or Genovese focaccia. Unfortunately, getting some meant
plunging into the crowds around Piazza San Marco. It even meant queuing –
and, although Pugi, generally reckoned to make the city’s best, had
thoughtfully installed a ticket system, there was absolutely no chance that
anyone was going to take any notice of it.
Eventually, however, I had an assortment of slices in my hand, which I ate on
a piazza full of warring Florentine pigeons and Fiats. The moment I took my
first mouthful of schiacciata topped with porcini mushrooms, I was
lost – the crisp, biscuity base, together with the almost liquid, slithering
mouthful of funghi, combined for an unforgettable gastronomic
experience.
The next slice, topped with artichokes and lemon, was even better; another of
wild-boar sausage and mozzarella came very close. Within moments, my slices
had gone and I was on my feet again, elbowing my way back into the shop.
Some things, it seems, are worth queuing for.
Anthony Capella travelled as a guest of Kirker
Travel brief
Getting there: fly from Gatwick to Florence, with Meridiana (0845 355
5588, www.meridiana.it), or to Pisa,
66 miles away, with British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com),
Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com)
or Jet2 (0871 226 1737, www.jet2.com).
Where to stay: Palazzo Magnani Feroni (00 39 055 239 9544, www.florencepalace.it)
has suites from £86 a night, B&B. Or rent Casa Guidi, on Piazza San
Felice, the apartment where the poets Robert and Elizabeth Browning stayed.
It sleeps six, and prices start at £1,450 a week through the Landmark Trust
(01628 825925, www.landmarktrust.org.uk).
Tour operators: Kirker (020 7593 2288, www.kirkerholidays.com)
has three nights at the five-star Palazzo Magnani Feroni from £653pp,
including flights from Gatwick and transfers. Or try Italian Expressions
(020 7433 2675, www.expressionsholidays.co.uk).
The finest food in Florence
Trattoria Pandemonio Via del Leone 50r; 00 39-055 224002; closed
Sunday; £25pp plus wine
Hosteria del Bricco Via di San Niccolo 8r; 055 234 5037, www.florence.ala.it/bricco;
closed Monday; £15pp plus wine
Quattro Leoni Via de Vellutini 1, Piazza della Passera; 055 218562, www.4leoni.com;
closed Wednesday lunch; £20pp plus wine
Nerbone Mercato Centrale, by the NE door; closed evenings and Sundays;
£4pp, no credit cards
Gelateria delle Carrozza Piazza del Pesce 3 (between the Ponte Vecchio
and the Uffizi); closed Wednesday; from £1.50pp
Il Santo Bevitore Via di Santo Spirito 64r; 055 211264, www.ilsantobevitore.com;
closed Sunday lunch; £15pp plus wine
Ristorante Enoteca Pane e Vino Piazza di Cestello 3r; 055 247 6956, www.ristorantepaneevino.it;
closed Sunday; £25pp plus wine
Pugi Piazza San Marco 10; 055 280981; closed Sunday; £4pp
Book
a restaurant in Florence
I am amazed there is no mention of La Giostra, almost hidden behind an unassuming door on Borgo Pinti.
Not only is the food first class, hearty and typical of the region, but the "entertainment" and attention offered to the diner by "The Prince" (even the staff call him Princy) is unique.
This is a restaurant not to be missed and one which will be remembered for ever. You really will not be dissapointed, but make a reservation or queue.
see www.ristorantelagiostra.com
Greg, Istanbul, Turkey
Pity that you didnt try " Da Marione " the best ahd real Ristorante Fiorentino.
Henri, Stanmore, UK
I agree with the author, summer time in Florence is very busy and you do need to know the right people or have the inside track on where to eat well
Florentine, Florence, Italy
Schiacciata is available at most bakeries in Florence; there is no need to go to San Marco to find it. Among the best - I speak as a resident - are to be found in the Borgo Pinti and Santa Croce areas, though anyone who lives or has lived in Florence can certainly add to the list.
Similarly, Vivoli is one of the least impressive gelaterias in Florence (though the lines by tourists suggest someone is paying the guide books to claim otherwise). Santo Spirito has superb gelaterias, and a rather wonderful one is also found on Via Dei Neri. Again, fine (as well as terrible) gelaterias can be found everywhere. Explore the city. There are finds everywhere.
I enjoyed seeing the selections from the author, but even in the heated tourist season seats at fine restaurants are to be found all over the city, with a same day reservation. When in doubt, ask a local: you might just get true Tuscan food at a fraction of the cost, and be surrounded by Fiorentini, not just well-heeled tourists.
Anna , Florence, Italy