Curious Appetite

food in Florence

New farm-to-table openings in Florence’s Sant’Ambrogio district

Sant’Ambrogio to me is the city’s culinary landmark. It has the daily food market and some of the best restaurants in the city. Personally, this is where the heart of Florence’s food culture beats and where I learned the bulk of how to cook Tuscan food, gleaning secrets from fellow shoppers and my favored purveyors. In Sant’Ambrogio, you find the institutions boasting Florence’s gastronomic specialties like cafe & bakery Nencioni, the pop & son run street cart of Via de’ Macci who does lampredotto & tripe, a couple wine treasure chests like Sosta de’ Papi and Enoteca Sant’Ambrogio, Gilda’s vintage accoutered sweet & soulful Tuscan restaurant, Marco’s Semel and his signature panini and of course Fabio Picchi’s Cibreo empire.

One of the best parts about this quarter is being a bit off the beaten path, one can relish in a slice of Florence without the crushing crowds. This is why I choose my gourmet market tour to taste around here- to give visitors a chance to experience not only great food but genuine culture. Continue Reading

A Curated Guide to Restaurants & Food in Florence, Italy

Pici con le briciole

If you’re getting overwhelmed by all the listicles on my blog, bookmark and study this page dedicated to where to eat in Florence- including street food, coffee shops, gelato joints and links to other guides within the blog or for publications I have contributed to such as Eater, Vogue and The Guardian. Follow my instagram page for more food in Florence advice, too.

(please note this page was first published in 2017 and is regularly reviewed & updated, last review was February 2023. If there is something missing, please contact me)

These are my personal picks for the worthiest restaurants in Florence respected by locals, tastemakers and run by passionate chefs/cooks/staff dedicated to serving and showcasing consistently delicious, quality food in Florence. Continue Reading

Trattoria Cammillo in Florence, Italy

 

On my progressive dining crawl of Florence, guests frequently ask, “what’s the difference between a trattoria, ristorante and osteria?” Trattoria Cammillo is one of those places you just intuitively know it falls in a different category as an iconic Florentine keepsake. To answer your question however, Trattoria is where you eat home-cooked food, family-style service at blue-collar prices, Ristorante is white table cloth with higher quality food and service and usually better wine selection. Osteria used to be a place like a tavern where you’d just go to drink and have simple food, and historically where you could sleep too like an Inn, the original name for Osteria roots from Hostaria. Continue Reading

5 Best: Where to eat traditional Tuscan in Florence

pappa al pomodoro, take a break from pasta for this

Most people coming to Florence, will be hopefully be looking for “authentic”, non-touristy food. Chances are that if you are looking for “authentic” food, you may not realize that what you should be looking for are: places that do traditional food of their region well. Continue Reading

1 2 3

%d bloggers like this: