A local guide shares her tips for the city’s best bites.
It’s not always easy to love Florence when you’re vying for elbow room. This is especially true when you’re competing with the crowds following TikTok and Instagram’s endless “Top 5 Must-Eat” food experiences, which fill the city’s most photogenic (though not necessarily most authentic) spots.
So when I want to eat my way around Florence (my absolute favourite activity), and find the city’s hidden gem eateries, I reach out to Coral Sisk. For the past decade, Sisk has made navigating Florence’s culinary scene her passion as well as profession, with expertly curated walking tours that focus on the stories and heritage of Florence’s food scene.
First things first, though: “Step away from the phone!,” says Sisk. You need to hit the small spots dedicated to upholding regional traditions, “and skip the dish of the month trend.” Don’t worry about how to find these local markets and tucked-away trattorias, I convinced Sisk to share her insider tips to get away from the crowds and find the tastiest local secrets of Florence.
Club Culinario Toscano da Oswaldo Like most Florentine restaurants, seasonality is the key ingredient on the menu at Oswaldo, says Sisk of the small trattoria by Piazza Santa Croce. And I can pretty much guarantee that these aren’t dishes you’ve seen on social media. Expect foraged herbs and local game featured in the delicious, and often hard to find, regional dishes, including my favourite fall bites: gnocchi di zucca (pumpkin gnocchi with bitter chicory) and paté di fegatini e milza al ginepro (juniper flavoured chicken liver pate).
Il Magazzino – When I bring up my love for offal, my family tells me that I am a tough act to swallow, all puns intended. I love tripe, liver, heart and tongue, but apparently not as much as the Florentine do. With the exception of Il Magazzino, though, it’s hard to find a sit-down restaurant that truly celebrates the city’s beloved offal traditions. Sisk highly recommends the restaurant for “tradition with a twist.” Don’t miss the lampredotto (cow stomach)-stuffed ravioli. (I promise it’s great – really!)
Oltrarno Osteria – If I need a breath of fresh air and more elbow room, I head out of the centro storico to the more laid back Oltrarno neighbourhood. Here Sisk recommends Oltrarno Osteria located just across the Ponte della Grazie from Santa Croce. Although it may be one of the neighborhood’s newer restaurants, the menu features traditional Tuscan dishes that don’t usually appear on modern menus. Two to try: decadent tagliatelle al ragu di coniglio (tagliatelle in a slow-cooked rabbit sauce) and surprisingly light cervello fritto e maionese (fried veal brains with homemade mayonnaise).
