At the markets, at lampredotto carts and in small trattorias on both banks of the Arno, often at shared tables next to market vendors, artisans and office workers. The food is Florentine and plain: ribollita, bollito, tripe, lampredotto in a roll. Our twelve start at Mercato Centrale and Sant’Ambrogio, then cross the river to San Frediano, Santo Spirito and Porta Romana.
The short list
12 places, in the order they appear below.
- 01Trattoria MarioEarly lunch at communal tablesOpposite Mercato Centrale
- 02NerboneLampredotto panino, bollito, peposoMercato Centrale
- 03Trattoria da RoccoLunch from the daily boardSant'Ambrogio market
- 04Trippaio del PorcellinoLampredotto from a cartMercato Nuovo
- 05SchiacciavinoFilled schiacciata and a glass of redSanta Croce
- 06Antico Forno GuastiPlain schiacciata in the morningPorta Romana
- 07Trattoria SabatinoBig lunches at shared tablesVia Pisana
- 08Il BrindellonePasta e fagioliSan Frediano
- 09La CasalingaTrippa alla fiorentinaSanto Spirito
- 10Alla Vecchia BettolaRagù and penne alla vodkaPorta Romana
- 11Fuor d'AcquaFish dinnerPorta San Frediano
- 12La SorbettieraFruit gelatoPiazza Tasso
Where do Florentines eat lunch near the markets?
Inside and opposite the two big food markets, Mercato Centrale and Sant’Ambrogio, where much of the lunch crowd works the stalls. Our three are Trattoria Mario across the street from Mercato Centrale, Nerbone’s stall inside it, and Trattoria da Rocco, the lunch counter inside Sant’Ambrogio. Expect to share a table.
Market vendors and office workers fill Mario’s communal tables, and there are no reservations, so come before the queue forms. The bistecca has its fans, but we judge the kitchen on its ribollita and pappa al pomodoro.
Trattoria Mario
Hours: Mon–Thu 12:00–15:00 · Fri 12:00–15:00, 19:30–21:00 · Sat 12:00–15:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Rosina, 2r, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia
Nerbone has worked its ground-floor stall since 1872, and the order is the lampredotto panino: the fourth stomach, slow-cooked with herbs, in a roll dipped in the broth, with extra salsa verde and a pinch of peperoncino. The bollito and peposo are just as serious.
Nerbone
Hours: Mon–Sat 08:30–15:00 · Sun closed
Address: Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia
There’s no printed menu at Da Rocco: the board changes every morning, you point at the ribollita, roast meats or contorni that look good, and you sit with whoever is already at the table.
Trattoria da Rocco
Hours: Mon–Sat 10:00–14:45 · Sun closed
Address: Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti, 50122 Firenze FI, Italia
Where can you eat lampredotto and schiacciata like a local?
Standing up, at a cart or a narrow counter. For lampredotto, go to the Trippaio del Porcellino cart near the Mercato Nuovo. For schiacciata, go to Schiacciavino in Santa Croce if you want it split and filled with a glass of wine beside it, or to Antico Forno Guasti near Porta Romana for the plain version from the oven.
Orazio Nencioni is the fourth generation of his family in the trade, and he has been perfecting this sandwich for more than 25 years. There are no seats and no menu.
Trippaio del Porcellino
Hours: Mon–Sat 09:00–18:30 · Sun closed
Address: Piazza del Mercato Nuovo, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia
Schiacciavino has been filling thick-cut schiacciata for more than ten years. Order the Bomba Atomica (Tuscan sausage, stracchino and friarielli) with a glass of red and eat it on the pavement, because the shop is barely wider than its counter.
Schiacciavino
Hours: Mon 11:00–16:00 · Tue–Thu 11:00–23:00 · Fri–Sat 11:00–00:00 · Sun 11:00–22:30
Address: Via Giuseppe Verdi, 6/red, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
The Mocarini family has run Guasti for over 30 years, and its schiacciata all’olio comes plain, never filled: thin, crisp at the edges, soft in the centre. The first trays come out around nine in the morning.
Antico Forno Guasti
Hours: Mon 05:30–14:00 · Tue–Fri 05:30–19:00 · Sat 05:30–14:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via del Ponte alle Riffe, 15-red, 50133 Firenze FI, Italia
Which trattorias in the Oltrarno are still full of locals?
Trattoria Sabatino, Il Brindellone, La Casalinga and Alla Vecchia Bettola, spread from San Frediano to Santo Spirito and out towards Porta Romana. Tables are often shared and the cooking sticks to Florentine basics. At all four, most of the room is regulars.
Sabatino’s door is unmarked, its room hasn’t changed since the 1950s, and pensioners, students and artisans eat lunch there every day. Take what they bring you, ribollita, bollito or pasta, and you’ll eat very well for very little money.
Trattoria Sabatino
Hours: Mon–Fri 12:00–14:30, 19:15–22:00 · Sat–Sun closed
Address: Via Pisana, 2R, 50143 Firenze FI, Italia
Il Brindellone sits in the part of San Frediano where artisans still outnumber tourists, and its pasta e fagioli is what brings the neighbourhood back week after week. The room is small, so reserve for dinner.
Il Brindellone
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Fri 12:00–14:00, 19:15–22:00 · Sat 12:15–14:00, 19:15–22:00 · Sun 12:00–14:00, 19:00–22:00
Address: Piazza Piattellina, 10, 50124 Firenze FI, Italia
Just behind Piazza Santo Spirito, La Casalinga serves generous portions and a textbook trippa alla fiorentina to a lunch crowd of Santo Spirito regulars. If the ground floor is full, head upstairs for the same food.
La Casalinga
Hours: Mon–Sat 12:00–14:30, 19:00–22:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via dei Michelozzi, 9R, 50125 Firenze FI, Italia
Alla Vecchia Bettola is far enough from the centre that the room is almost entirely local, with shared tables, paper placemats and a ragù that takes all morning. Order the penne alla vodka, the dish the place is known for.
Alla Vecchia Bettola
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sat 12:00–14:30, 19:30–22:30 · Sun closed
Address: Viale Vasco Pratolini, 3/5/7, 50124 Firenze FI, Italia
Where do locals go for a fish dinner or a gelato in Florence?
Across the river, in the Oltrarno. For fish, Fuor d’Acqua near Porta San Frediano, where the room is full of Florentines who have been coming for two decades. For gelato, La Sorbettiera on Piazza Tasso, which locals cross the Arno for. Each scoop tastes of concentrated fruit, not diluted cream. Both pair easily with an evening in San Frediano.
Fuor d’Acqua opened in 2000 in an old carriage depot, and its menu follows what the boats landed at Viareggio, so ask what came in that afternoon and order from that rather than the printed list. There’s parking right outside, which is rare for a fish dinner in this city.
Fuor d'Acqua
Hours: Mon–Sat 20:00–01:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Pisana, 37r, 50143 Firenze FI, Italy
La Sorbettiera makes its gelato from natural ingredients on a seasonal rotation. Stick to the fruit flavours, and ask about the seasonal specials every time.
La Sorbettiera
Hours: Mon–Sat 12:30–00:00 · Sun 11:00–00:00
Address: Piazza Torquato Tasso, 11r, 50124 Firenze FI
