Florence
Restaurants, Cafés and Bars |
Food is one of the great Italian passions, and eating out on a lovely summer's evening can be a memorable experience. Few restaurants in Tuscany serve anything but Italian food, and most concentrate on the robust fare that typifies the region's cuisine. Most Tuscans take their lunch (pranso) around 1pm, and have dinner (cena) from 8pm. Restaurants may shut for several weeks during the winter and also during the holiday season in summer. If in doubt, phone first to check that the restaurant is open.
Types Of Restaurants and Bars |
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Italian restaurants have a bewildering variety of names, but in practice there's little difference between a trattoria, osteria or ristorante in terms of price, cooking or ambience. Both a birreria and spaghetteria are more down market establishments, and sell beer, pasta dishes and snacks. A pizzeria is a cheap, informal restaurant with pasta, meat and fish on the menu as well as pizzas. It is usually open only in theevening, especially if it has wood-fired ovens.
At lunchtime you could visit a tavola calda, which will offer a range of hot and cold pasta dishes, vegetables and meats. A rosticceria offers spit-roast chicken to take away, often with other fast foods. |
Most bars sell filled rolls (panini) and sandwiches (tramezzini) and small pizza bars sell slices of pizza (pizza taglia) to eat on the street.
Old-fashioned wine bars (vinaii or fiaschetterie) are a dying breed, but they are atmospheric places to grab a snack or a glass of wine.
Ice cream parlours (gelaterie), by contrast, are thriving, and Florence has some of the best in Italy.
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Light Meals and Snacks In Florence |
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The traditional pavement café is not as much a part of local life in Florence as in other Italian cities. However, small, hole-in-the-wall bars can be found on most of the city's streets. Here, you can have alcoholic and soft drinks, as well as a range of tempting breakfast and lunchtime snacks. Old fashioned wine bars provide alternative eating and drinking venues, and the city has plenty of take-away restaurants, especially near Santa Maria Novella station, if you want to eat on the run. |
| Sitting down at a bar or café can be expensive, as there is a charge for taking a table. If you only want a quick snack, it may be cheaper to eat at the stand-up counter. It is also worth noting that some cafés and bars may close during August. |
Most Italians find it hard to understand vegetarianism, and Florence boasts only a couple of vegetarian restaurants. However, in the wake of mad-cow disease, restaurants are offering a wider vegetarian selection and you should have no trouble assembling a meat-free meal, particularly if you eat fish and seafood. Starters (antipasti) will usually include some suitable dishes. There are also vegetable based soups and pasta sauces, but check that they have been cooked with vegetable stock (brood vegetariano).
| Prices are often higher in Florence than elsewhere. In the cheaper eating establishments and pizzerias you can have a two-course or a fixed price (menu turistico) meal with half a litre of wine for around €15-€20. Average prices for a three-course meal are €20-€30, and in up-market restaurants you could easily pay as much as €40-€50. |
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Nearly all restaurants have a cover charge (pane e coperto), usually no more than €3. Many also add a 10 per cent service charge (servizio) to the bill (il conto), so always establish whether or not this is the case. Where leaving a tip is a matter of your own discretion, 12-15 per cent is acceptable.
Restaurants are obliged by law to give you a receipt (una ricevuta). Scraps of paper with an illegible scrawl are illegal, and you are perfectly within your rights to ask for a proper bill. |
| Cash is the preferred form of payment in most cafés and bars, but many restaurants, particularly the more expensive, will accept major credit cards. Check which cards are accepted when booking. |
Florence's best restaurants in all price ranges are well patronized. It is therefore advisable to try and reserve a table, even in more down-market places. Where restaurants do not accept bookings, try to arrive early to avoid queuing.
Italians are relaxed about eating out, but nevertheless like to dress up to dine.
A meal in a restaurant will usually start with antipasti, or hors d'oruvres (hams, olives, salamis, crostini), followed by primi (soups, pasta or rice). Main courses- secondi- will be meat or fish, either served alone or accompanied by vegetables (contorni) or a salad (insalata).
To finish, there will probably be a choice of fruit (frutta), cheese (formaggio), puddings (dolci), or a combination of all three. |
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Coffee- always espresso, never cappuccino- is ordered at the end of a meal. In cheaper restaurants, the menu (il menu or la lista) may be written on a blackboard and in many establishments the waiter (cameriere) will recite the chef's daily specials at your table.
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House wines will usually be Chiantis. The cheaper restaurants will usually have only house wine, or a small choice of other Tuscan wines. Those in the €40-€50 price range will have a fuller selection of regional wines, as well as wines from other part of Italy. At the top of the scale, there should be a wide range of Italian and local wines. |
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Children are generally welcome in restaurants, but less so in the evening an in more up-market places. Special facilities such as high chairs are not commonly provided. Check the menu for the option of a small portion or "kids menu" (una porzione piccola): most restaurants will prepare a half portion (mezza porzione) if requested. |
| In 2005 new legislation came into force and now restaurants and bars throughout Italy must provide separate no-smoking areas or they will be fined. At cafés and restaurants that do not provide sealed-off areas, smoking is limited to outside tables. |
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Few restaurants make special provision for wheelchairs, thought a word when you are booking should ensure a conveniently situated table and assistance on arrival.
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