Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tional Florentine eatery should be. Cuisine is as traditional as decor and the €12.50 lunch
deal - two courses plus water and wine - is a steal. Advance reservations essential for din-
ner.
TUSCAN
€€
Il Teatro del Sale
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 055 200 14 92;
www.teatrodelsale.com
; Via dei Macci 111r; breakfast/lunch/dinner €7/20/30;
9-11am, 12.30-2.15pm & 7-11pm Tue-Sat, closed Aug)
Florentine chef, Fabio Picchi, is one of
Florence's living treasures who steals the Sant' Ambrogio show with this eccentric, good-
value members-only club (everyone welcome, annual membership €7) inside an old
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 actress
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
MAP
TRATTORIA
€€
GOOGLE MAP
(
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: perhaps ricotta and potato flan with a
rich meat sauce, puddle of olive oil and grated parmesan (divine!) or a simple plate of
polenta, followed by homemade sausages, beans in a spicy tomato sauce and braised cel-
ery. No advance reservations, no credit cards, no coffee and arrive early to snag a table.
TUSCAN
€€
Francesco Vini
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 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. But it's the wine list, packed with
Tuscan greats, that steals the show.
