Apart from this food blog I have been tending to for over 15 years (since 2010!) and leading food & wine tours in Florence as a sommelier, I’m also a freelance writer.
The TLDR of this post links to my latest bylines for the prestigious Michelin Guide! Very proud of the articles filed as part of a guide compiled alongside fine local talent with exceptional editors. Read on for the tea and link cookies! Continue Reading →
Are you looking for where to eat in Florence on Christmas and/or New Year’s? Fear not, traveling food lovers! Curious Appetite did all the dirty work of calling around Florence.
If you are interested in small-group culinary tours Christmas Eve & Day, consider our Festive Food Lover’s Tour on Christmas Eve or our Progressive Dining Crawl on Christmas Day! Tickets sell out quick, book your spot asap.
And on New Year’s Eve we will be doing a Aperitivo Food & Wine Tour in Florence- examples and details of each pop-up event are HERE
The pickings for what’s open in Florence on Christmas day are tight & clean including Persian kebab, traditional spots for Florentine fare & steak and pasta & pizza bars. I first compiled this list in 2016 and keep it updated for your dining delight.
PLEASE NOTE: I’ve updated for 2024, but please bear with me in that it might read a little chaotic and not as well organized as I’d like but the tasty intel (i.e. straight up addresses) is there.
I’d be happy to provide a quick hand-picked list if you shoot me an e-mail (I am not very good at responding to DMs on IG) and especially if you show your appreciation by gifting me a coffee on VenMo 😉 Happy Holidays!
I shouldn’t have to write this post but as a food blogger in Florence for over a decade, I can confidently say things have gotten out of hand. How how did a tourist trap restaurant on one of the ugliest streets in “downtown” centro become home to Florence’s most viral pasta? Sometimes, I don’t recognize this city anymore and I have a lot of questions for many people who decide to come visit.
And why they want to line up for a pasta in a cheese bowl with questionable hygiene concerns. Do they sanitize that bowl in between servings? Where do they store it at night? How many pastas are made in this cheese wheel subject to a plethora of temperatures? Continue Reading →
(post originally written in 2020, and gets updated annually. Last update August 2024)
Whenever warm temps roll around, locals tend to want to lounge and linger over meals and drinks outdoors. This post is a round-up of my personal picks on where to eat outdoors Florence (all’aperto in Italiano) for Aperitivo hour and naming names for restaurants in Florence with outdoor seating. I will say, if temps are giving hot hot hot vs comfortably warm, I would suggest to opt for indoor dining if they have air-conditioning…
If you’d like to experience some of these spots on a curated walking tour, check out and book a seat on Curious Appetite’s Aperitivo Tour or our Progressive Dining Crawl of Florence.
this post was originally published in 2016 and it gets updated annually, last update July 2024
I’ll say it- there is more to panini in Florence than All’Antico Vinaio. And if you’re wondering why they are extremely famous, consider this failproof recipe: thousands (13K when this post was originally published, now 30K+ in 2024) of tripadvisor reviews mostly since they’ve been listed for ages, larger-than-life panini and cheap wine all for under 5-10€ (in 2016- that is more like 9-15eu in 2024). Plus viral word of mouth recommendations in tandem with short form videos on social media that spread faster than lightning.
The panini at l’Antico Vinaio are at best edible, for some with easy going palates even delicious. For me, AV is not worth to me waiting up to an hour (or even 5 minutes) in line for. Now that the empire has grown- they’ve taken over Via de’ Neri and the original location bears striking resemblance to a Mickey Dee’s with the old wine shelves replaced by digital DIY order kiosks- the wait is less but the sandwich (and the concept of AV) has lost a lot of its original magic.
Hey, at the end of the day the owners are flying 1st class drinking champers en route to opening more shops around the world- can’t help but to be impressed by their entrepreneurial spirit in a country where most have either left, resigned or are still living with their parents.
If anything, I would shake their hands to congratulate them for their success in such a difficult place to run a business and having the world success they now enjoy. However, I am one that believes that 2 (or many) things can be true at the same time.
I still think that sandwich is not worth eating and the bread feels like a loofah to the roof of my mouth and is packed with overly salted industrial quality ingredients (worse than costco) lacking in distinct flavors leaving me thirsty the rest of the day. And the wrappers all around the city because garbage cans are already too full of them are a disgrace.
Bear in mind in reading this post, I’m not here to rag on any particular business, and food is extremely personal, but as a food blogger in Florence for over a decade- I am here from a rather caring place to offer up some alternative suggestions for those who also live to eat.
Since I care about food journalism, I did some research recently (May of 2024) and ordered their “Bada Come la Fuma” (named after their motto I think explains the owner’s ruthless determination) of pancetta, arugula and pecorino and added pistachio pesto, but since this combo already had honey- it tasted like pistachio dessert spread and there was no one to tell me “che schifo” (warning: gross combo!) when I ordered from the humanless robot kiosk.
Now that one can order from a kiosk at AV, the human factor is lacking when making filling decisions. Florence has lost a lot of soul over these last 10+ years I’ve called it home.
My personal tastes goes towards more soulful artisan style eateries, where ingredient sourcing/quality is emphasized. Although I’m not above a good junky pizza from time to time! But I get a lot of questions “is Antico Vinaio really that good?” DEPENDS on your definition of good. In case you would like to find a panino which is a little more unique, here are some alternatives.
If you appreciate this post and want to keep it free, consider treating me to a panino via VenMo (which yields more free recs) or booking a gourmet Florence food tour with yours truly, specifically this Hidden Gems Food Lover’s crawl in particular visits delis and panino shacks too. No pressure if you can’t swing it- there’s a google map at the end of this post if you just want the names and free tips on my social media channels like Instagram and TikTok.