The decline of Florence’s once best restaurants

In 2017, I wrote my first review of Trattoria Cammillo in Florence, Italy. I have included it on many dining guides I’ve compiled for sites like Eater and in the past for Vogue. I recommended it as a top 5 to pretty much anyone who asks me whether a food tour guest or a IG user. This is an updated review, with tips on how to better navigate the menu if you do go plus alternative suggestions.

Updated periodically, even if URL says 2023 as when originally posted

(NB 2026: see my latest reply in the comment section if you’d like to know if the following review still holds true)

After visits to Cammillo over the last year, I retract what I felt before. And a similar disappointment has ensued when visiting other institutions in the pantheon of traditional Tuscan icons such as Buca Mario, Ristorante Fagioli and Sostanza.

And while this may come off as pre-emptive defensiveness, I pity anyone who goes to the length to leave comments or send e-mails loaded with misogynistic vitriol because my opinion contradicts theirs. I have to leave this disclaimer because I honestly am not going to publish your offensive comment or reply to your e-mail, so save yourself some time and go here instead. 

I think part of the backlash outspoken (usually women) individuals tend to receive for being candid comes from internalized misogyny (are you taking that same energy to the manosphere?) or from people simply being a troll.

I implore readers to question how they discern negativity, strong opinions and critical observation. It’s been my experience that women who are outspoken are only tolerated if palatable and polite- (because we are expected to be quiet, subtle and agreeable).

At any rate- can we chill over a restaurant review? It’s literally just lunch. Or dinner.

I know it has taken me a bit to get to the meat of the piece, so thanks for hanging in there.

If you made it this far, you’re the kind of person I would probably go out for a drink with to have a real conversation with about Florence (or the world for that matter) and how too many once great historic eateries in the center are rarely worth their salt.

And maybe you’ll say something I don’t agree with and vice versa, but it will create pause and eventually we’d compromise over respectful discourse. I’m stunned by how we have become so divided over trivial opinions and all expected to be palatable little ChatGPT people pleasing bots void of messy humanity.

To sum up why I’m retracting my once unconditional endorsement for Cammillo:

(make sure to read the whole piece before writing it off, in return you’ll find restaurant alternatives and a cheat sheet on fail-proof menu items to order if you insist on going)

Ultimately, I think its overpriced for what they offer and there’s too much quality inconsistency in the menu to justify repeat visits. I am not complaining about the price, but more the inconsistency and the fact Cammillo has intentionally become a place where status is reciprocal currency for the benestante signorili. 

Cammillo is for the small percentage of elite Florentines and Italians (who usually aren’t paying or paying a lot less than tourists/local small potatoes), or people who are OK overpaying for trattoria food albeit decent in a vibe-y old school setting.

Locals (who work and make typical wages) cannot realistically afford a meal more than say once (to be able to say they went) unless they are getting a hookup (i.e. a deep discount or VIP treatment).

I suspect the only locals who leave satisfied are those the owners are providing preferential treatment to and who they make sure to not mess things up for, or who don’t really cook themselves to pick up on things like undercooked pasta, are blinded by the hype/vibes (it is a vibey time capsule place).

Surely, I guess it could be worth one visit but do you really want to eat somewhere that’s a one hit (un)wonder(ful)? Why not go somewhere that is good and iconic?

Why not dine somewhere with a fraction of the hype that doesn’t bank on a tourists not-knowing-the-difference to get away with providing inconsistent quality at premium prices?

There could be fair reason to why personally I don’t find it to be my cup of tea. Perhaps the menu has too many dishes to do all of them well.

In order to not be sorely disappointed imo, you sort of have to know what’s worth ordering. But shouldn’t the average diner be able to stumble in without having had to study the menu prior?

Over the course of my last several visits, I have been disappointed on multiple accounts. Because apart from temporary stories, I don’t easily publicly throw salt unless a pattern has been proven and I’ve tried to resolve directly- which I did.

I picked up the phone and told them the first couple times I found things amiss (I prefer calling anonymously to provide direct feedback so I don’t then receive different treatment when I return for another review). But things seemed to get worse, not better. Which means, no one cared. And that’s fine.

Some of preventable fails: the spaghetti was so undercooked it was crunchy (an extra minute would prevent such a travesty) a bowl of chitarra pasta served with supposedly fresh tomato but tasted more like packaged ramen swimming in Campbell’s tomato soup.

Or how mushy the moscardini little squid were- for dishes that were beautiful in theory, and poorly executed.

Or in the winter how boring their ribollita was, especially considering it was 15eu. This is a dish you can get at most blue-collar trattorias for usually 8-10eu. I’m honestly not splitting hairs about the price, because eating at a white table cloth restaurant in the center of Florence comes with a price tag. And that’s fine with me. But make it worth it.

Their seasonal specialties (like zucchini flowers or porcini), most starters and their Bolognese style pastas are still delicious. However, if lunch costs 75eu a person (in Florence!!)- it all better be delicious and none of this crunchy spaghetti or chef boyardee nonsense.

To be fair, Cammillo is one of the last restaurants where their career waiters are “percentualisti” meaning, they take home a percentage. I am so glad to see an establishment with well taken care of career waiters.

Hospitality is an art and a skill that is slowly dying and being instead a source of exploitation. So I really want to stress here, I don’t care about cost. In fact, I’m happy if restauranteurs and their staff are making good money.

I actually resent complaints about cost, especially with independently run businesses, as if to say the people working shouldn’t be making money for a convenience they are providing.

Cool- so you could make that dinner cheaper. Sure. But you also have to wash the dishes and pay someone to make the dishes magically appear on your table and pay your energy bills.

Also, making money is literally the whole point of a business. There are not a non-profit and they are not your Mother Teresa.

I do believe however, in some cases people complain about price when the provider missed an opportunity or didn’t put their money where their mouth is.

Sometimes dropping the ball is a simple mistake (after all, we are humans providing services to other humans) which is why I go to a place more than once and tell the mgmt directly before voicing public criticisms.

Going back to this 15eu bowl of ribollita at Cammillo- my beef is that it was mostly just bread, a few pieces of kale and 12 beans. Yes I counted. There were roughly 12 beans. These are before and after pics of the same dish had 6 years apart

This is a dish that doesn’t cost much to make satisfyingly delicious. And since this is one of the hallmarks of Florentine cuisine in an iconic restaurant- I was sorely disappointed. If it was a ribollita that I dreamt about the next day, I would have paid 25eu for it.

One thing that an awesome restauranteur friend of mine said some years ago discussing the decline of eating well in Florence and I’ll never forget is “Dear Florence, make a ribollita that will make me cry!” Of course this was in Italian and lots of hand shaking involved, but this is the best translation I could do to convey their passionate plea.

And that plea ever since has been my benchmark in finding remarkable traditional food in Florence’s historical center.

Another thing I didn’t find amusing was 2 side dishes (not pictured because by that point my food enthusiasm went limp) that ended up being mostly cauliflower for 22eu. A fritto misto (mixed fried veggies- which was mostly cauliflower) and a tris di cavoli which was supposed to be skillet cruciferous trio but was again mostly undercooked steamed cauliflower in a pool of residual moisture. 22eu.

So either we should have ordered garlic greens or just fried artichokes or whatever seasonal veg of the moment or got shafted with the wrong menu item. That’s what I mean in that the menu is too long. It could benefit to be Marie Kondo’d

Then there was this 22eu plate of a few cured meats which was not explained and honestly a bit above average in price. Let’s say it’s priced for quality, hand-cut yada yada but they just plopped the plate down without taking the 10 seconds to explain what each meat was.

Some (elitists) say “if you don’t have money, don’t go to Cammillo then- no one is forcing you.” Sure, and that’s the most frivolous defense I’ve heard clearly from someone with a f*** ton of privilege.

But why should a plate of zucchini and shrimp (let’s say are sourced from contadini farmers and fisheries, but so are a lot of other places in town) cost 40eu just because the plate says Cammillo when at Marta’s a few doors down that same plate would be 20eu. I wouldn’t really mind paying the premium (given the historical space and they pay their career staff well) if the food was flawless and I didn’t feel like there was preferential treatment given to their buddies.

Which leads me to my point- who can actually afford to dine here? Just like with the housing crisis (which is perpetuated by Florentine landlords/real estate agents who claim to care about their city) where locals can no longer find, compete nor afford housing. Just like places like these have raised their prices that they know very well most locals couldn’t afford.

Please see this slide I grabbed from IG stories (can’t be bothered to type it out all over again)

And lastly, they are a classic example of a place probably unfazed/unaffected if they get a negative review as they will have a flux of diners from hoteliers or online guides, or from the few well-heeled Florentines (or celebrities who get the red carpet treatment) who will always go there forgiving if the food goes downhill because of habit, they know the staff and there are still some great things on the menu. Read till the end for a cheat sheet.

I could go into more detail, but the pics provided speak for themselves even if they aren’t the best quality.

I will say I did appreciate this tiramisu’ with fresh persimmon mashed in the mascarpone atop layers of vintage Pavesini ladyfingers. In the end for dinner in 2 we landed with a bill for 165eu including also a 26eu plate of sadly dried out grilled rabbit and wine). I’m not sure I’d return for a very long time just to drop 80+eu pp for generally mediocre food (unless you order wisely?) in a cramped dining room surrounded by other English-speakers. Florence is a mass touristic city, so this whole notion of “going to non-touristy restaurants” is a fantasy. But I do believe a restaurant should have a mix of locals and visitors.

And if you still insist on going to Cammillo you have to order carefully. This is what I would recommend sticking to:

-Starters are hit and miss. The cured meat plates are tasty but overpriced. I would stick with anything that seems unusual such as the pecorino brûlée with balsamic or even the Tuscan-made burrata with anchovies. The green salads are not shabby, but again pricey for what they are.

-The stand-outs are fresh pasta especially when you have a hankering for tortellini or tagliatelle al ragu. These Bolognese classics are indeed the best in Florence if you can’t make it to Bologna. Skip the pasta specials unless they involve truffles.

-The fish and meat mains are honestly overpriced and nothing special. Skip.

-Speaking of bottarga- order the warm celeriac salad with shaved bottarga di muggine (dried fish egg from Tuscany’s Maremma coast. Yes, we aren’t all steak here!) Bottarga is the umami parmigiano of the sea!

-When in season- anything with porcini: pasta, frittata or straight up fried. You can’t go wrong with zucchini flowers or artichokes. Just don’t do anything “misto” (mixed)

-The wines are just OK in terms of curation, and stick to Tuscan reds honestly.

-Sides/contorni: don’t waste your time on anything but singular stand-alone veg such as fried flowers, artichokes or porcini and garlicky greens.

If you can, go instead to these restaurants off the top of my head which offer a better value and quality in my opinion for everything on the menu and for consistency, service and ambiance:

Da Burde OR Vini e Vecchi Sapori. They both do everything (service, ambiance AND food) great every single damn time I visit.

Trattoria Armando is probably the closest in vibe and history. Ruggero is also another place I’d rather go for a little more soulful traditional food but isn’t as old-school time-capsule giving.

One of my personal favorite restaurants (which is not super comparable to Cammillo but still a goodies) is Club Culinario da Osvaldo.

Or any place on my Eater or CN Traveler list. All clips HERE.

Need more suggestions? Buy me a coffee on VenMo (@CuriousAppetite) or snag my cheat sheet to the best restaurants in Florence for more tea.

In your food loving honesty,

Curious Appetite