Florence is special. After all, this Italian city has been touched by Botticelli, Da Vinci and Michelangelo as well as the Medici family and Galileo. But it’s not just art and history – the food is special in Florence too. And not just the pasta and pizza!
Discover 12 must-eat Florence food favorites that you simply should not miss in Italy’s renaissance city.
1. Bistecca alla Fiorentina
Not your typical slab of steak, bistecca Fiorentina is thickly cut, served on the bone and flame grilled with a charred outside and rare (some would say raw) center. The meat itself comes from grass-fed white Chianina cows raised in Tuscany’s hills and its simple preparation involves salt, pepper and fire.
Discover more iconic Italian dishes.
2. Ribolita
Ribolita is a bread-based soup. Legend has it that Florentine peasants cooked rioblita centuries ago by reboiling stale bread and adding cannellini beans, cabbage, kale and whatever veggies were on hand. Nonnas and chefs have continued the tradition of using day-old bread to create this classic dish at homes and in restaurants around the city.
Discover more global soups.
3. Lampredotto Panini
Eating lampredotto (i.e. cow stomach) is a must for all who can stomach eating tenderly cooked meat from the cow’s fourth stomach. It’s a Florentine dish created by peasants which has withstood the test of time. Today, locals queue at the city’s many street vendors and order portable lampredotto panini.
Discover more global sandwiches.
4. Tagliere
Typically eaten as aperitivo, a tagliere is a board topped with cheese and charcuterie. Typical boards include Florentine salumi like Finocchiona and Lardo di Colonnata as well as other Italian favorites like Prosciutto, Mortadella and Sopressata. Cheese, olives and cannellini beans take it to the next level.
5. Pasta with Truffles
Anybody who loves fresh truffles will want to eat pasta with truffles when the expensive black and white gems are in season. While many choose to pair truffles with taglioni, almost any local pasta works.
Discover more global noodle dishes.
6. Tagliatelle Funghi Porcini
Foraged from local forests, meaty fungus adds umami earthiness to pasta and other dishes. However, a true genius added truffles to the mix in a dish called tagliatelle funghi porcini e tartufo. This combination of pasta, porcini and truffle shavings is nothing short of divine.
7. Pappa al Pomodoro
Pappa al pomodoro ia another Florentine soup that features bread as a key ingredient. However, unlike ribolita, this starchy red soup adds tomatoes as well as basil, garlic and olive oil. It tastes great whether it’s served piping hot in the winter or refreshingly chilled in the summer.
Discover a pappa al pomodoro recipe.
8. Crostini
Don’t be confused by crostini’s literal translation to toast. This aperitivo staple comes adorned with toppings like anchovies, cured meat, cheese, pate and sun-dried tomatoes. Not only do crostini pair well with wine, but they’re also affordable and fun to eat.
9. Pizza
Pizza is easy to find in Florence. Like most Italians, Florentines clearly love pizza. Based on the number of pizzerias serving Neapolitan pies in Florence, they may like Neapolitan pizza most of all.
Discover the best pizzerias in Naples.
10. Gelato
Sure, you can eat great gelato in Italian cities like Bologna, Naples, Rome, Venice and Verona, but there’s nothing like licking cones in the city where modern gelato may have been invented by either Bernardo Buontalenti or Cosimo Ruggieri centuries ago.
11. Bomboloni
While we typically wouldn’t eat American-style donuts in Italy, we were more than happy to eat a terrific bombolone at Ditta Artigianale in Florence. After all, bomboloni were invented in Tuscany and Florence is in Tuscany. Using this logic, not eating a bombolone in David’s city would simply be wrong.
Discover more global donuts.
12. Zuccotto
The zuccotto has a long and storied history in Florence that dates back to the 16th century. It’s a tasty dome-shaped sponge cake with tasty fillings like ricotta, whipped cream, chocolate and even gelato. It reminds us of Emilia-Romagna‘s zuppa inglese in a good way.
Discover more Italian desserts.
Read Next: The Best Florence Coffee Shops
Florence has a lot of cafes and they’re all great. However, the best ones serve specialty coffee as well as tasty treats.
More Great Food Cities in Italy
There’s no such thing as an Italian city with bad food but some are better than others. Plan ahead and visit as many as possible.
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About the Authors
Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers a unique taste of the world.