Florence & Rome Restaurants

Wife and I will have two nights in each of Florence and Rome as bookends to a week in the Tuscan countryside in the first half of May. We love good quality food and being part of the local (non-tourist) scene.

Would appreciate recommendations - across the cost continuum - for must do dinner/lunch restaurants in Florence & Rome, again keeping in mind that food quality and non-touristy is of most importance. Thanks!

There have been a couple of threads on Florence and Rome in the past few months, try searching for those. I probably posted this in one of those threads already:

We had several nice meals in Florence, though didn’t go to any of the “high end” places. The one restaurant I would strongly recommend is La Pentola dell’Oro: www.lapentoladelloro.it
Not particularly fancy, but really interesting and local food. The chef/owner was already up there in age (70s I think) when we were there in 2007, but from tripadvisor it looks like the place is still in business and doing well. I would highly recommend it.

Another place we ate that we enjoyed:
Perseus restaurant for Bistecca Fiorentina. Fun place, nothing fancy, good food.

Cantinetta Antinori - for lunch. This is a small restaurant that is part of the famous Antinori winery. Nice food, and you can get their top wines by the glass (not cheap, but very good). We had a fabulous, simple grilled asparagus plate that I can still taste :slight_smile:

While I was searching, I found this site which looks to have pretty good descriptions and recommendations for restaurants
http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/dining_directory/europe/florence.htm

In Florence there are numerous museums. Of course you’ll want to go to Accademia Galleria for Michelangelo’s David. But my favorite was the museum across from the Cathedral, Museo dell’Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore. There is a wonderful late Michelangelo there, and then the simply stunning Mary by Donatello. Do not miss it. Uffizi gallery is the most famous, but frankly it is so huge, and takes so much time to get through, plus it is crowded and a very long line if you don’t purchase tickets ahead. I’m glad we did it, but I wouldn’t go back. If you have limited time, do the Cathedral museum for sure, then the Accademia.

If you’re going to Rome, all the normal tourist stuff is great. Do not miss Galeria Borghese for the Bernini sculptures. You need to buy tickets in advance.
http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/it/default.htm

This little place was right across the piazza from the Pitti Palace - great homemade pasta and an incredible wine cellar.

I also highly recommend Roscioli in Rome:

http://www.salumeriaroscioli.com/

One of my favorite meals in Italy was at La Giostra in Florence.

+1
sister used to live in firenze and we ate there as often as we could. have sent countless people there since and always gets a rave review. maybe not the same since the prince passed away, but the sons do a good job. besides having awesome food, it is also a fun, bustling place.

If you happen to make it out towards Tivoli (outside of Rome), a lunch at Sibilla outside near the ruins is a great experience. Oh and the Villa d’Este is pretty nice too :slight_smile:

1 Like

+1 on Roscioli in Rome.

We also, enjoyed Pier Luigi for their octopus carpaccio. Tons of fresh seafood as well.

Thanks guys. This place looks terrific and perfect spot for our final night in Firenze.

We’re going to some of the other board favorites

La Bussola for lunch
Parione and Cibreo along with La Giostra for dinners


When were you there? It used to be on my list, but fell off due to subpar visit in 2019.

Recent tripadvisor reviews still seemed strong for what that’s worth.

Amazing bistecca at Osteria Vecchio Cancello in Florence, raised on their own farm, along with most of the produce. Had an excellent meal at L’Osteria Di Giovanni, also.

Pier Luigi in Rome also was a very nice experience.

We ate here three times while in Rome for a week in November 2019. https://pizza-florida.business.site/#testimonials

y’all this thread is from 2014

I was there in 2009…

Everyone wants to go back.

we have to go back, Kate!!

+2 for Roscioli in Rome. The best carbonara I’ve ever had.

And add in Armando al Pantheon, order the cacio e pepe!!!