The Grand Hotel Baglioni Firenze (4 stars, 192 rooms) is located in the very centre of Florence in an impressive building dated from the 19th-century, where past and present coexist in perfect equilibrium. On the fifth floor, one feels overwhelmed by the beauty of the magnificent panoramic view enjoyable from the restaurant-bar-terrace B-Roof, from where you can admire the skyline of Florence and contemplate the splendour of the city.…
Heir of Lo Sverso, at PanicAle (Via Panicale, 7/red) one can drink special cocktails and draft beers, and have tapas. PanicAle is one of the more authentic places among the outdoor premises of the San Lorenzo Market, where it is located in Florence. Its waiters were trained at the Jerry Thomas Academy in Rome, one of the most prestigious schools for bartenders, in which the old style of mixing prevails. The best of PanicAle is its unique seasonal cocktails, created after personal experiences, travels, songs … their flavours resemble the ones from the drinks created during the Ottocento.…
I guess the last thing a vegan would eat in Florence is a trippa sandwich … The sandwich of the working class is the lampredotto — the Florentine fast-food par excellence. The panino di trippa o lampredotto consists of flour sèmelle local bread roll, stuffed with boiled and sliced beef entrails, rolled and seasoned with spicy sauce. This speciality is served in the trippai (little stands in the street which only serve guts). It is quite cheap and generous in size, prepared to kill hunger on the spot but providing a bunch of calories and cholesterol, as the sandwich is dripping grease.…
Although I am not a big fan of pasta, I must admit that I have started to look at it differently after my regular lunches at Il Giova in Florence. The place is small, modest and there is nothing remarkable in the decoration, but the food … the food is simply amazing! At Il Giova, the menu is so varied that they can serve spaghetti alle vongole, salmon ceviche or frying fish and seafood.…
Due to the tangle of streets that makes up the medieval layout in the historic part of Florence, with its narrow, winding and cobbled alleyways, it is not easy to find a terrace where you can sit and sunbathe, drink a beer, and read a short novel by Stefan Zweig or Italo Calvino. This is only possible in certain large squares and in the upper lodges of some Florentine hotels and palaces, such as the last floor of the Ospedale degli Innocenti (piazza Santissima Annunziata).
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I feel a deep sadness every time I pass by the piazza della Repubblica; the modern and air-conditioned buildings and its terraces do not allow the contemplation of at least four classic splendorous cafes in the city: Le Giubbe Rosse, Gilli, Donnini, and Paszkowski. It is almost a total eclipse; there is no room for bias. As a general rule, the tourists are the ones using most of the modern facilities in town. Based on my regular visits to the premises of Le Giubbe Rosse, on the «outside» old terrace and in the interior you will always see mature local Florentines taking Amaro, Negroni or simply a cup of coffee. It touches me deeply that there are still some genuine places in this city. A city that increasingly chooses to please tourists instead of respecting its legitimate and long-standing culture.…
Following the success of previous editions, Florence Cocktail Week 2019 is back in May for a week dedicated to custom cocktails. The event, which runs from May 6 to 12, is promoted by Paola Mencarelli and Lorenzo Nigro and will feature masterclasses, roundtables, and tasting sessions at 30 cocktail lounges around town with notable bartenders such as Santa Rosa Bistrot, Mad: Souls & Spirits, Winter Garden Bar, La Menagère, and Rasputin.
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This family-run trattoria, semi-hidden in Piazza San Lorenzo, shows a lot of stickers from Tripadvisor, Yelp and all of those platforms, which prepare respectable reviews of commercial establishments for tourists to visit in droves. The number of stickers on the door normally corresponds to the length of queuing. However, such claims seem to me of doubtful value, as I never had much faith in the reviews written even by acquaintances. «Casalinga» is related to the sort of cuisine, in this regard, not only homemade and Tuscan, but also highlighting the quality of the food, rather than the presentation of the dishes or the decoration of the premises. Trattoria Sergio Gozzi displays an interior design with a genuinely rustic and modest personality. The menu of the day is brief but compelling. Affordable prices.
Trattoria Sergio Gozzi (since 1915), piazza di San Lorenzo 8R, 50123 Florence | Open only at noon, no reservations | Best after 2:30 p.m.
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Taking a cocktail surrounded by pink flamingos is precisely what happens in Gosh, the coolest (and a bit pretentious) cocktail bar in Oltrarno. I like to ascertain if its decoration is the result of an in-depth and well-paid interior design studio or simply due to the exquisite taste (or not) of its owner. In fact, it is noted that the owner of Gosh, Alexander Vartivarian, comes from the fashion world (he worked for Elie Saab and was trained in Polimoda). In Gosh there´s vintage furniture and the original cocktails are based on ginger, spices, flowers and mezcal, all served in metal jars, in my opinion, with too much ice. Not only the decoration of the place is the choice of Alexander himself, but also the menu and the music — «Gosh» is actually the name of his favourite song. Aperitivo, snacks are served between 18 and 21 hours. Cocktails are better when in twilight, in its relaxed atmosphere. They also offer boring cocktails without alcohol.
Gosh – Via di Santo Spirito 46R – Florence – from 6p.m. to midnight, even later on weekends.
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The Osteria-Ristorante Fratelli Briganti has been recently renovated, I do not know how it looked like before, but this is how it looks like now. Any case, in this family run restaurant the appearance is the least important, in fact, what matters is the exquisite service, and above all, the quality of the homemade dishes. According to my local confidant, it is a restaurant commonly visited by journalists and by theatre and cinema-goers, as it is open until late. Its atmosphere is very familiar; one feels like being at home. “In the past, Florence was full of places like this one, but they have been disappearing slowly… this has its positive and negative sides, as always”, she tells me. Nevertheless, beyond these nostalgic perceptions, the best dish in this restaurant is the spaghettini al pomodoro, one has to try them at least once in a lifetime!
Fratelli Briganti – Piazza Giovanbattista Giorgini 12/R, 50134 Florence
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