9 Best Restaurants in Florence, Italy: Where to Book

This guide is part of our Florence Travel Guide — start there for the overview, itineraries and costs.

The best restaurants in Florence run from Enoteca Pinchiorri, the city's only three-Michelin-star dining room, to century-old trattorias such as Sostanza, Buca Lapi and Sabatino. For a cheaper meal, Trattoria Mario, a lampredotto sandwich at Da Nerbone in the Mercato Centrale or a schiacciata from All'Antico Vinaio show the everyday side of Florentine food.

The nine picks below cover every budget, from street food to a tasting menu. Each entry gives the address, what to order, opening days and how to book. Hours were checked in October 2026, but Florentine restaurants change their hours often, especially in August and over holidays, so confirm before you go.

Florence Restaurants at a Glance

Price levels are a rough guide: € is street food or a cheap lunch, €€ is a moderate trattoria meal, €€€ is upscale and €€€€ is fine dining.

1. Enoteca Pinchiorri

Enoteca Pinchiorri holds three Michelin stars in the 2026 guide and is the only restaurant in Florence at that level. It occupies a palazzo on Via Ghibellina, near Santa Croce, and is known as much for its wine cellar as for its cooking. The restaurant describes its approach as balancing past, present and future, with close attention to ingredients and cooking technique.

• What to order: one of the two tasting menus, "Espressione" or the vegetable-led "Madre Terra". Both are served to the whole table. An à la carte menu is also offered, with starters from €85 to €135.
• Price: tasting menus are €390 per person, wine excluded, according to the restaurant's current menu.
• Address: Via Ghibellina 87, 50122 Firenze.
• Hours: dinner only, Tuesday to Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.
• Booking: essential. Book through the restaurant's website or by phone on +39 055 26311. The restaurant also runs separately booked blind wine tastings in the afternoon.

2. Trattoria Sostanza

Sostanza has been on Via del Porcellana, a narrow lane near Santa Maria Novella, since 1869. It is a small, plain room with shared tables, and its short menu has barely changed in generations. Two dishes made its name: petto di pollo al burro, chicken breast cooked in foaming butter and served sizzling in the pan, and a tortino (baked omelette) of artichokes. For more detail, see the full Trattoria Sostanza guide.

• What to order: the butter chicken and the artichoke tortino. Bistecca is also on the menu.
• Price: €€€. Listings describe it as upscale for a trattoria, and it prefers cash.
• Address: Via del Porcellana 25r, 50123 Firenze.
• Hours: Monday to Friday, 12:30–14:00 and 19:30–21:45. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
• Booking: essential, and done the traditional way, by phone on +39 055 212691. Call several days ahead for dinner.

3. Il Santo Bevitore

Il Santo Bevitore is on Via di Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno, a short walk from Ponte Santa Trinita. The Michelin Guide lists it in the €€ category and describes it as a Tuscan trattoria that serves classics such as pappa al pomodoro and cured hams, alongside some dishes given a contemporary twist. The same owners run two sister venues nearby, Santino and Sforno. More detail is in the Il Santo Bevitore, Florence: A Restaurant Guide.

• What to order: pappa al pomodoro, a board of Tuscan cured meats, and the seasonal pasta of the day.
• Price: €€, per the Michelin Guide.
• Address: Via di Santo Spirito 64/66r, 50125 Firenze.
• Hours: lunch (12:30–14:30) and dinner (from 19:30), according to its Michelin listing. Check the restaurant's booking page for any closures.
• Booking: recommended, especially for dinner. Book online through the restaurant's website or call +39 055 211264.

4. La Giostra

La Giostra is on Borgo Pinti, north of Santa Croce. It was opened by Prince Dimitri Kunz d'Asburgo Lorena, a descendant of the Habsburg-Lorraine family, and is now run by his family. Diners eat under 16th-century brick arches, and the menu mixes Florentine tradition with Austrian touches, including a Sacher torte made from a family recipe. It is a popular choice for a romantic dinner.

• What to order: ravioli filled with pecorino and pear, followed by the Sacher torte.
• Price: €€€.
• Address: Borgo Pinti 10r, 50121 Firenze. Some guides give the number as 12r; the entrance is near Piazza Salvemini.
• Hours: lunch Monday to Friday and dinner every day. No lunch on Saturday or Sunday.
• Booking: essential. Call +39 055 241341. Even with a booking, expect a short wait at busy times.

5. Buca Lapi

Buca Lapi opened in 1880 in the cellars of Palazzo Antinori, just off Via de' Tornabuoni, and describes itself as the oldest restaurant in the city. The first room has frescoes and looks onto an open kitchen. It is best known for bistecca alla fiorentina, cooked over charcoal so it is well charred outside and soft and warm inside, then finished with Tuscan olive oil.

• What to order: the bistecca, offered for two or for one, with white beans (fagioli all'olio) on the side. Ribollita, pappardelle with wild boar and the tripe are also on the menu.
• Price: the bistecca is priced by weight. Ask for the weight before ordering (see the tips below).
• Address: Via del Trebbio 1r, 50123 Firenze.
• Hours: dinner only, Monday to Saturday, 18:45–23:00. The kitchen closes at 22:00. Closed Sunday.
• Booking: recommended. Reservations are taken for 18:45–21:00 through the restaurant's website or by phone on +39 055 213768.

6. Trattoria Sabatino

The Buccioni family has run Sabatino since 1956. It sits just inside the old Porta San Frediano and is a neighbourhood trattoria with home cooking and modest prices. The menu changes every day and covers Florentine and Tuscan dishes, and the restaurant notes that bistecca is rarely missing.

• What to order: whatever is on the day's menu. Regular dishes include rice and cabbage minestrone, oven-baked pork liver (fegatelli), stewed cardoons (gobbi), pears baked in wine and zuppa inglese.
• Price: €. The trattoria describes its prices as modest.
• Address: Via Pisana 2r (Porta San Frediano), 50143 Firenze.
• Hours: Monday to Friday, 12:00–14:30 and 19:15–22:00. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
• Booking: advisable for dinner. Call +39 055 225955. The official website posts the menu of the day.

7. Trattoria Mario

Trattoria Mario has been feeding market workers, locals and visitors behind the Mercato Centrale since 1953. The Colzi family has run it for three generations. It serves lunch only, seats diners at communal tables and does not take bookings. That is part of its appeal: there is a queue, the room is loud, and the food is cooked with ingredients from the market next door.

• What to order: ribollita, bollito (boiled meats) and the bistecca.
• Price: €–€€. Cash only.
• Address: Via Rosina 2r, 50123 Firenze.
• Hours: lunch only, Monday to Saturday, 12:00–15:30. Closed Sunday.
• Booking: no reservations. Arrive close to noon and expect to share a table.

8. Mercato Centrale and Da Nerbone

The Mercato Centrale in San Lorenzo works on two levels. The ground floor is the traditional market. The upper floor is a food hall where independent vendors sell fresh pasta, fritto, cheese and cured meats, pizza, vegetarian and vegan dishes and lampredotto, and diners can sit anywhere. On the ground floor, Da Nerbone is a market stall dating to the 1870s and one of the city's best-known places for lampredotto, the cow's-stomach sandwich that is Florence's signature street food.

• What to order: at Da Nerbone, a lampredotto sandwich, served on a roll dipped in the cooking broth with green sauce and chilli, or a bollito panino. Upstairs, anything from the fresh-pasta and lampredotto counters.
• Price: €–€€.
• Address: Piazza del Mercato Centrale, entrance on Via dell'Ariento, 50123 Firenze.
• Hours: the upstairs food hall is open every day, 9:00–23:00. Da Nerbone is open Monday to Saturday, 8:00–15:00, closed Sunday, and accepts cash only.
• Booking: not needed. The food hall takes reservations only at its pizzeria and its restaurant; details are on the Mercato Centrale website. Queues at Da Nerbone build from about 11:30.

9. All'Antico Vinaio

All'Antico Vinaio is one of the best-known sandwich shops in Florence. It makes schiacciata, Tuscan flatbread, filled with cured meats, cheeses and spreads. It has expanded across Italy and abroad, but the original is on Via dei Neri, two minutes from Piazza della Signoria, where it now runs from several shopfronts.

• What to order: a schiacciata with mortadella, or with salami or prosciutto, plus a cream or spread.
• Price: €.
• Address: Via dei Neri 65r, 74r, 76r and 78r, 50122 Firenze. There are also branches at Piazza San Marco and Santa Maria Novella station.
• Hours: daily, 10:00–22:00.
• Booking: none. The queue moves quickly. Eat on your feet or take the sandwich to a nearby piazza.

Florence Dining Tips

Coperto and servizio

Almost every Florentine restaurant adds a pane e coperto (bread and cover) charge, usually about €1–€5 per person, according to Reid's Guides. It is normal and legal, not a scam. If the menu shows a servizio line with a percentage, an amount or the word incluso, service is already included in the bill.

Bistecca alla fiorentina is sold by weight

The traditional bistecca comes from a young Chianina steer or heifer. It is cut 5–6 cm thick, grilled rare and priced by weight, at anywhere from about €20 to €100 per kilo. A typical restaurant bistecca weighs 0.9–1.2 kg, which is why it is usually shared. Ask the weight of the cut you are shown before you agree to it.

Book dinner, not lunch

The places that matter most to book are the dinner-led ones: Pinchiorri, Sostanza, La Giostra, Buca Lapi and Il Santo Bevitore. Several classic trattorias still prefer bookings by phone. Lunch counters such as Trattoria Mario and Da Nerbone take no bookings, so arrive before the midday rush.

Check closing days

Sunday is the most common closing day: Sostanza, Sabatino, Mario, Buca Lapi and Da Nerbone are all shut. Sostanza and Sabatino also close on Saturday. On a Sunday, the Mercato Centrale food hall and All'Antico Vinaio are reliable options.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best restaurant in Florence?

By Michelin's measure, Enoteca Pinchiorri is the only restaurant in Florence with three stars in the 2026 guide. For a traditional meal, Trattoria Sostanza (since 1869) and Buca Lapi (since 1880) are two of the city's most established trattorias.

Where can I eat cheaply in Florence?

Trattoria Sabatino in San Frediano and Trattoria Mario in San Lorenzo serve home-style Tuscan food at modest prices. For street food, try a lampredotto sandwich at Da Nerbone in the Mercato Centrale or a schiacciata at All'Antico Vinaio.

Do I need reservations for restaurants in Florence?

For dinner at popular restaurants, yes. Enoteca Pinchiorri, Sostanza and La Giostra should be treated as essential bookings. Sostanza takes bookings by phone. Trattoria Mario, Da Nerbone and All'Antico Vinaio do not take reservations.

Where should I eat bistecca alla fiorentina in Florence?

Buca Lapi is a classic choice for bistecca, served at dinner only, Monday to Saturday. Trattoria Mario serves it at lunch, and Sabatino usually has it on the daily menu. It is priced by weight and a typical steak weighs 0.9–1.2 kg, so it is normally shared.

What is the coperto in Florence?

The coperto is a per-person bread and cover charge, typically around €1–€5, added at nearly all restaurants. It is legal and standard. It is separate from servizio, a service charge that some restaurants include and list on the menu.

Which Florence restaurants are open on Sunday?

Of the places in this guide, the Mercato Centrale food hall (9:00–23:00 daily), All'Antico Vinaio (10:00–22:00 daily) and La Giostra (dinner daily) open on Sundays. Il Santo Bevitore's Michelin listing also shows Sunday service. Sostanza, Sabatino, Trattoria Mario, Buca Lapi, Da Nerbone and Enoteca Pinchiorri are closed on Sunday.