The station-side quarter around the Dominican basilica, with Sostanza's century-old kitchen, Buca Lapi bistecca cellar and Procacci's truffle panini.
Trattoria Sostanza in Florence's Santa Maria Novella quarter has cooked the same bistecca and butter chicken on a coal grill since 1869. Priced at €€.
OrderThe bistecca alla fiorentina (1.2kg for two) and the pollo al burro butter chicken.
TipCash only; book three weeks ahead by phone. Two seatings at 19:30 and 21:30, no a la carte stragglers.
Giovanni Latini's Osteria di Giovanni in Florence's Santa Maria Novella sits opposite the family-original Latini room. Kitchen leans florentine, tuscan.
OrderBistecca alla fiorentina, pici cacio e pepe and Giovanni's pappa al pomodoro.
TipBook a fortnight ahead; the front room is the one to ask for. Open daily for dinner only.
Buca Lapi in Florence's Santa Maria Novella has cooked the bistecca alla fiorentina in the Palazzo Antinori cellar since 1880, a candlelit basement of long.
OrderThe bistecca alla fiorentina (1.2kg for two) cooked on the wood grill, and the tartufo pasta in season.
TipCash and card; book three weeks ahead. The cellar is hot in summer; ask for the front room.
Saporium in Florence is Ariel Hagen's Michelin-starred farm-to-table room sourced from the Borgo Santo Pietro estate, a tasting carte built off the kitchen.
OrderThe 8-course tasting menu; the wine pairing tilts toward the Borgo Santo Pietro estate wines.
TipClosed Sunday and Monday. The estate-wine pairing adds €110; book the chef's counter for kitchen view.
Borderline on Corso Italia, between the station and the river, is a Tuscan restaurant run by three brothers: bistecca, truffle pici and 30-day dry-aged Angus.
OrderPici cacio e pepe al tartufo nero, then bistecca alla fiorentina or the 30-day dry-aged Angus loin.
TipLunch and dinner Monday to Friday, dinner only Saturday, closed Sunday. Book through TheFork; the room is small and the design draws a local crowd.
Trattoria Marione in Florence's Santa Maria Novella quarter runs the unfussy lunchtime carte locals queue for, with the four pillars of Florentine cucina.
OrderRibollita, pappa al pomodoro and the bistecca alla fiorentina by the etto.
TipCash and card; queue from 12:30. Closed Sunday; lunch and dinner both seat at 12:30 and 19:30.
Cantinetta Antinori in Florence's Palazzo Antinori is the wine-bar-and-trattoria for the 26-generation Antinori wine family, with a 150-bottle list focused.
OrderCrostini misti, pici al ragu, the tagliata and a glass of Tignanello.
TipClosed Saturday and Sunday. Book the front room for the Antinori cellar tasting flight.
Buca Lapi in Florence's Santa Maria Novella has cooked the bistecca alla fiorentina in the Palazzo Antinori cellar since 1880, a candlelit basement of long.
OrderThe bistecca alla fiorentina (1.2kg for two) and the tartufo pasta in season.
TipCash and card; book three weeks ahead. The cellar is hot in summer; ask for the front room.
Trattoria Sostanza in Florence's Santa Maria Novella quarter has cooked the same bistecca and butter chicken on a coal grill since 1869. Priced at €€.
OrderThe bistecca alla fiorentina (1.2kg for two) and the pollo al burro butter chicken.
TipCash only; book three weeks ahead by phone. Two seatings at 19:30 and 21:30.
Giovanni Latini's Osteria di Giovanni in Florence's Santa Maria Novella sits opposite the family-original Latini room. Kitchen leans florentine, tuscan.
OrderBistecca alla fiorentina, pici cacio e pepe and Giovanni's pappa al pomodoro.
TipBook a fortnight ahead; the front room is the one to ask for. Dinner only.
Procacci in Florence's Via Tornabuoni shopping street is the 1885 truffle bar, with the white-tile counter, the panino tartufato and a Prosecco glass for €5.
OrderThe truffle panino (€7), a glass of Antinori Prosecco and a tagliere of Tuscan salumi.
DrinkTruffle panino and Prosecco
TipClosed Sunday. Counter only; standing-room two-deep at 18:00 aperitivo.
Pasticceria Buonamici in Florence's Santa Maria Novella has run a family-owned pasticceria since 1971, with the daily cantucci, the schiacciata con l'uva.
OrderCantucci con mandorle, schiacciata con l'uva in autumn, the chocolate panforte.
TipClosed Monday; cash only on small purchases. Cantucci ship vacuum-packed.
Cantinetta Antinori in Florence's Palazzo Antinori is the 26-generation Antinori family's wine bar and restaurant on Via Tornabuoni, with a 150-bottle list.
OrderCrostini misti, tagliere di salumi, a glass of Tignanello.
PourTignanello by the glass
WineMarchesi Antinori estate Tuscan reds
FoodTuscan small plates and tagliere
TipClosed Saturday and Sunday. Book the cellar tasting flight (€45) two weeks ahead.
Procacci in Florence's Via Tornabuoni is the 1885 truffle-panini standing bar, owned today by Marchesi Antinori, with a Tuscan estate wine list.
OrderTruffle panino (€7), Antinori Prosecco at the bar, a tagliere of Tuscan salumi.
PourAntinori Bianco di Cervaro
WineAntinori-owned, Tuscan family wines
FoodTruffle panini, salumi
TipClosed Sunday. Counter only; standing-room two-deep at 18:00 aperitivo.
Atrium Bar at Florence's Four Seasons Hotel sits inside the 15th-century Palazzo della Gherardesca cloister, with a Negroni programme by Edoardo Sandri.
OrderNegroni, the Italian-aperitivo flight, an aperitivo plate of salumi and crostini.
DrinkNegroni and aperitivo plate
FoodAperitivo plates and small plates
TipOpen daily 11:00 to midnight. The 15th-century cloister courtyard seats 60 in summer.
Procacci in Florence's Via Tornabuoni is the 1885 truffle-panini standing bar, owned by Marchesi Antinori today, with a Prosecco glass for €5 and the panino.
OrderAntinori Prosecco glass, panino tartufato, a tagliere of Tuscan salumi.
DrinkProsecco at the counter
FoodTruffle panini
TipClosed Sunday. Counter only; standing-room two-deep at 18:00 aperitivo.
Cordon Bleu Firenze in Florence's Sant'Ambrogio district is the city's longest-running professional cooking school, founded 1985, with one-day Tuscan classes.
Tuscany Cooking Class in Florence's Santa Maria Novella runs the three-hour and five-hour Tuscan-classics workshops, with a bistecca-and-Chianti dinner.
Atrium Bar at Florence's Four Seasons runs a Sunday brunch buffet inside the 15th-century Palazzo della Gherardesca cloister, with a €95 all-you-can-eat.
OrderThe Sunday hotel buffet with garden seating, a Negroni from the bar.
TipSundays only; book a fortnight ahead. The 15th-century cloister courtyard seats 60 in summer.
Atrium Bar at Florence's Four Seasons keeps the cocktail-and-cloister programme running until midnight, with Edoardo Sandri's Negroni list and small plates.
OrderNegroni, the Italian aperitivo flight, an aperitivo plate of salumi and crostini.
TipOpen daily 11:00 to midnight. The 15th-century cloister courtyard seats 60 in summer.
Space Club has held a corner of Via Palazzuolo near the station since 1969 and runs as the largest dance room in the historic centre, with two floors, a small VIP privee and a programme that swings between commercial dance, hip hop and reggaeton on weekends.
TipThe crowd skews student and young tourist on weekends. Free entry before midnight is the cheapest way in; the upstairs floor pulls the dance crowd while downstairs leans hip hop.
Cosimo opened in summer 2025 on the sixth floor of the Excelsior on Piazza Ognissanti, taking over the rooftop that traded for years as Se-Sto on Arno, with a glass-walled dining room, open-air terrace seating and a 360-degree sightline that picks up the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio and the Oltrarno hills across the Arno.
TipThe bar runs from midday to 01:00, so a terrace drink does not need a dinner booking. Restaurant main courses run €40 to €90 and the dress code is smart casual.
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