Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
theatre. He cooks up breakfast, lunch and dinner, culminating at 9.30pm in a live perform-
ance of drama, music or comedy arranged by his wife, artistic director and comic actor
Maria Cassi.
Dinners are hectic: grab a chair, serve yourself water, wine and antipasti and wait for
the chef to yell out what's about to be served before queuing at the glass hatch for your
primo
(first course) and
secondo
(second course). Dessert and coffee are laid out buffet-
style just prior to the performance.
Trattoria Cibrèo
TRATTORIA
€€
(
www.edizioniteatrodelsalecibreofirenze.it
; Via dei Macci 122r; meals €30; lunch & dinner Tue-Sat,
closed Aug)
Dine here and you'll instantly understand why a queue gathers outside before it
opens. Once in, revel in top-notch Tuscan cuisine served in small-ish portions. No ad-
vance reservations, no credit cards, no coffee, and arrive early to snag a table.
Francesco Vini
TUSCAN
€€
( 055 21 87 37;
www.francescovini.com
; Piazza de' Peruzzi 8r, Borgo de' Greci 7r; meals €40;
9am-midnight Mon-Sat)
Built on top of Roman ruins, this wine specialist has two entrances -
one with pavement terrace on people-busy Borgo de' Greci and a second, lovelier one on
a hidden, quintessentially Florentine square. Winter dining is between bottle-lined wall
and red brick and in summer everything spills outside.
Osteria del Caffè Italiano
TUSCAN
€€€
( 055 28 93 68;
www.osteriacaffeitaliano.com
;
Via dell'Isola delle Stinche 11-13r; meals €45; lunch
& dinner Tue-Sun)
The menu at this Florence dining veteran is packed with classics like
moz-
zarella di bufala
with Parma ham, ravioli stuffed with ricotta and
cavolo nero
(black cab-
bage), and the city's famous
bistecca alla fiorentina
(per kilo €60). End with the devilish
profiteroles, with hot chocolate sauce ladled at the table from an old-fashioned copper pot.
