we ate beef EVERY SINGLE DAY while in Florence haha. when you're in florence, the florentine steak is a must!!!! that's their specialty ^^ and it's huge, and damn awesome :D two people can share that 1kg of goodness. it was actually smaller than i expected though, i guess cos most of it was a huge bone haha so it wasn't thaaaat much meat.
the place to get your florentine steak fix (actually there are MANY places) would be 4leoni (: look at this HUGE slab of meat :O super juicy, aromatic and tender! florence does their steaks very close to rare (they don't ask you whether you want it rare/medium/well-done), looks really red, but it doesn't taste raw at all, which was amazing! gotta be prepared to spend on this steak though. the size is always standard, so you'll be paying for a 1kg steak, which doesnt come cheap. at this restaurant, the bistecca alla Florentina al kg costs €41!! quite expensive actually, compared to other places where you can get your steak fix as well (see below). but this definitely comes highly recommended anyway! (:
we also ordered a small salad - rucola e pomodorini (€6) to balance out all the meat. very nice and refreshing! (:
this restaurant is super popular, so you have to make reservations online here, under 'prenotazioni'.
Trattoria 4 leoni
Via de’ Vellutini, 1r
(Piazza della Passera)
50125 Firenze
Tel.: +39 055218562
many restaurants have become increasingly commercialized as the number of tourists in a city increases. however, Mario, is one such restaurant which has kept true to its roots, with its methods of cooking, the whole atmosphere of dining and everything! (: expect no menu, sit on stools at tables crowded with people, and no reservations are taken, so be prepared to queue (especially if you reach there after 1pm)! the food makes it well worth the wait though ^^ you'll see newspaper cuttings at the entrance recommending you all the possible dishes you can try, and you will be literally spoilt for choice!
besides the Florentine steak, another specialty that you must try in Florence is their Ribolita (€4.50), which is a very thick creamy vegetable soup with beans, carrots and various ingredients in it. it's pretty heavy in my opinion, so it's good for sharing! (otherwise you don't need to eat your main course already haha). but i loved it!!!! try it ^^
it was my first time trying rabbit! :O oh yeah one thing i forgot to mention is that the food here is super affordable :))) my roast rabbit cost €8, and we ordered a 500ml bottle of wine for a mere €3.50 if i remember correctly!! the taste of the rabbit was simple, but flavourful, albeit a little tough.
their boneless beef steak (€12) comes highly recommended as well! (: very tender and juicy as you can see from the picture!!!! their florentine steak was also a very popular dish at this restaurant - we could see everyone ordering it :O it's slightly cheaper than 4leoni at €35, looks slightly bloodier, but no less awesome ^^
Trattoria Mario
Via Rosina, 2, 50123 Florence, Italy
Tel.: +39 055 218550
we had our first meal in florence at Ristorante Accademia and i was so impressed by their food and service!! (: okay, maybe the food was because i was really hungry, but it was definitely GOOD. and of course, good service always augments a dining experience (: sam's Chianina beef stew with potato puree (€16) was totally drool-worth with its melt-in-your-mouth texture and a flavour that enveloped our taste buds and spread through our mouths so smoothly ^^
i loved my choice of paccheri pasta with Chianina beef meat sauce (€13) as well! though nothing really outstanding about the range of pastas to choose from (italy's italian food is really quite boring zzz not much variety), the execution of this dish was amazing (: super tasty!!!!!
Ristorante Accademia
Piazza San Marco, 7, 50121 Florence, Italy
Tel.: +39 055 217343
one thing i really like about italian pastas is how they do their spaghetti carbonara (€7). i don't really like carbonara, because i always feel super jer lat after eating it. and although i haven't actually tried eating a whole plate of it on my own here, i've decided to make this a MUST-TRY before i leave italy. and i will tell you how it goes after that heh! (: the best thing about their carbonara here is that it's only made with eggs and NO CREAM! which makes it wayyyy lighter, and i really like it! i might really be able to finish a whole plate of it on my own after all!!
anyway, i totally forgot to mention. this restaurant is Ristorante il Pennello. i had the tortelloni with tomato and cream, and i have to say that i really like this sauce!! ^^ although it's creamy, but the tomato sauce somehow makes it kinda lighter. and the tortelloni is delicious with its filling within (:
sam also ordered the Peposo (€14) which is beef cooked for three hours in red wine, pepper and garlic. oh boy, he was so happy with this dish!! haha. you could totally tell from the softness of the meat that it had really been tenderly boiled for hours, and the sauce it was cooked in was so robust and tasty!
Ristorante il Pennello
Via Dante Alighieri, 4r, 50122 Florence, Italy
Tel.: +39 055 294848
finally, our last stop for food was at Trattoria Sergio Gozzi. we read lots of reviews of it online and tagliata di manzo (€12.50). we heard that after eating this steak, you wouldn't want to get a steak anywhere else! :P and IT WAS REALLY AWESOME. super duper juicy, flavoured with salt and spices - just squeeze some lemon on top and voila! you've got an amazing steak :D
i opted for the braciole rifatte in salsa (€10.50) which is a pork chop i think. and the salsa was lovely!! (: i really liked how it had such a mesh of flvaours within it.
gosh the food in florence is sooooo good :D this place can get really crowded, especially on weekends, so do make a reservation beforehand if you can! (: apparently their Florentine steak here is really famous too!
Trattoria Sergio Gozzi
Piazza San Lorenzo, 8r, Florence, Italy
Tel.: +39 055 281 941
and of course, not forgetting the gelato!!! ^^ hehe. HELLO SAM. so unglam cos he couldn't wait for me to take a picture before diggin' in :p hehe. this place has the best chocolate gelato!!!! (: haha. his friend recommended it, and we didn't reallyyyy believe it until we tried the chocolate gelato, and it was soooo creamy (just look at it!!) which was so yumms! and guess what!! they had peanut butter flavoured gelato OMGGGGG *drools* mega plus points for that! (: grab this on your way up to michelango hill! ;)
Cantina del Gelato
Via de Bardi, 31, Florence, Italy
this gelato shop is really near to Ristorante il Pennello, so you can check it out for a post-dinner sweet snack! ^^ loved it for the unique flavours it had. can't really remember what we ordered, but they had GREEN TEA! omg shiokkkk. so happy that i had unique flavours of gelato in florence! (: LOVED IT. tasted pretty authentic i must say!
Perche no
Via dei Tavolini, 19-red, 50122 Florence, Italy
aaaaaand finally! when you're in italy, you HAVE to try Grom gelato! it's EVERYWHERE in italy, just go to the website to find your nearest location. there is only one outlet in florence though (but tonnes in milan & rome), and the queues were crazy long when we were there! i actually preferred the one i had in milan though! (bigger portions). but taste-wise, it's one of the yummiest, despite being a chain (:
Grom
Via del Campanile, 2, 50122 Florence, Italy
Website: www.grom.it/
okie dokes! that's all for my gastronomic adventures in florence! ^^ really long post i know. haha such a glutton :p
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