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    Categories: 2018

Food: The 10 Hottest New Restaurants in Florence , Italy

Eater.com
          

Today Eater heads to Florence, Italy, to focus on 10 of the city’s buzziest new restaurants and bars. Food-tour curator, food writer, and sommelier Coral Sisk divulges the latest trends in the Florentine food scene.

“Florence lags behind most European capitals in terms of a progressive dining scene, but 2017 showed promising signs,” says Sisk. “While fiercely rooted in tradition and provincial habit, Florence boasts a strong international identity, which is becoming more and more evident — in spite of nationalist pushback and attempts to ban foreign food shops.”

Among Sisk’s picks is an Armenian-Georgian newcomer (Ararat Restaurant & Wine Bar), a haute-couture dining destination by megachef Massimo Bottura (Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura), a pub serving Italian craft beers and ramen (Pint of View), and a restaurant housed inside one of the city’s top butcher shops (Macelleria a Firenze Luca Menoni). Looking for the essentials? Head to the 38.

Without further ado, and in geographic order, the Eater Heatmap to Florence, Italy.

1 Kawaii

Setting up shop as Italy’s first sake bar, Kawaii is owned and operated by the team behind neighboring Japanese restaurant Momoyama on the hip drag of San Frediano. Diners will find not only a large range of sake but also plum wines, shochu, a sweeping selection of Japanese whisky, cocktails, and international beers to marry with poke bowls, rice burgers wedged with salmon or tuna tartare, spring rolls, and bao buns.

Kawaii bar
Kawaii/Facebook
Borgo S. Frediano
8/R, 50124 Firenze FI, Italy
+39 055 281400
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The brains behind lauded food and wine bar Enoteca Pitti Gola have opened a spinoff restaurant that offers fine wines and Tuscan food for modern appetites. Here, guests won’t just find one steak alla Fiorentina, but rotating options from different cattle breeds, along with dishes like spaghetti with braised artichokes; Florentine bechamel, ricotta, and spinach crepes; Tuscan soups; stewed wild boar; and other comfort-food classics. Osteria dell’Enoteca curates its wine wall with varietals like Brunello, Valpolicella, Barolo, and Chianti classico, while dinner is finished a complimentary post-meal digestivi (limoncello or herbal liquors) made by the owners.

Interior of Osteria dell'Enoteca
Osteria dell'Enoteca/Facebook
Via Romana
70/r, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
+39 055 228 6018
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Spun off by Florence’s artisanal brewpub Archea Brewery, Pint of View is a craft-beer pub and kitchen boasting Korean- and Japanese-inspired bar food such as ramen bowls, stir-fried glass noodles, fried tofu in a soy broth, and cooked ossobuco. Beers on tap hail from breweries around the country, including Archea’s own craft beers, plus there’s an inventive cocktail list with drinks like the Kyusan: a gin-based libation emulsified with matcha and softened with sake and simple syrup.

Borgo Tegolaio
17/r, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
+39 055 288944
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Florence has had a tough time merging Italian cocktails with well-made snacks, but Manifattura has filled this void. Tucked inside the tiny Piazza San Pancrazio, Manifattura is bringing “Made in Italy” back with its 1950s decor; a bar shelf brimming with exclusively Italian beverages, like the nearly forgotten citron soda Tassoni; and timeless Italian music playing in the background. No Tiki- or Prohibition-style drinks to be found on this menu (Italy never had a prohibition). Instead, Manifattura is a nostalgic option for locals and where visitors can discover the legacy of Italian cocktails with small plates to accompany them. Think classic Italian snacks like triangle tramezzini finger sandwiches, fried chickpea fritters, and roasted chestnuts, plus heartier options like a creamy baccala whip on a Parmesan waffle and spelt flatbread piadina.

Bar at Manifattura
Manifattura/Facebook
Piazza di S. Pancrazio
1, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
+39 055 239 6367
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Massimo Bottura, the famed chef behind the three-Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana, has come to Florence with his first branded Osteria outside of Modena. Don’t expect Bottura’s usual degree of experimentation here — this is small-plate fare in a tea-room setting. Dishes not to miss include the Caesar salad, with dressing wedged between every layer and topped with pieces of Parmesan crisp; the marinated pork belly Taka bun; and the tortellini drenched in a Parmigiano-Reggiano cream. And while prices skew high, the restaurant is housed in the the Gucci Museum in one of city’s most historical squares, with food created by one of the world’s most acclaimed chefs. In other words, you’re paying for the location and name as much as the food.

Interior of Gucci Osteria
Gucci Osteria [Official]
Piazza della Signoria
10, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
+39 055 7592 7038
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This bistro serves up wood-fired pizzas and small plates with a well-thought-out wine list spanning obscure Italian labels and a handful of natural and biodynamic wines. The simple but satisfying menu features prosciutto and burrata starters, grilled local seafood, cacio e pepe-filled ravioli, and gnocchi with gorgonzola. Dessert is quasi-obligatory, with slabs of cheesecake with chopped pistachios and dollops of creamy tiramisu.

Via Ghibellina
134r, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
+39 055 246 6318
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Europe has a tough time with authentic Vietnamese cuisine, but this Florence outpost is making earnest strides thanks in part to its chef’s close ties to Vietnam. (Representatives from Ho Chi Minh City came to oversee the early menu and kitchen training.) Here, regional Vietnamese dishes are served in a minimalist tearoom in the heart of Florence’s Santa Croce quarter. Expect delicate bowls of pho, vermicelli spring rolls, flat dumplings imbued with lemongrass, and tamarind shrimp plates. The imported tea selection includes unique lotus and artichoke varieties. Finish it off with a slice of banana-coconut cake.

Via dell'Agnolo
93/R, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
+39 055 263 8648
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Hungry market shoppers can now dine at one of city’s best butchers, Macelleria Menoni, which cooks local cuts from behind the case. Lunch here is a butcher-to-table, street-food-style experience on a tiny indoor terrace inside Mercato Sant’Ambrogio. Diners dig into hearty preparations like stewed beef in a Renaissance-style dolceforte sauce; fried meatballs; and Florence’s quintessential street food, lampredotto, or cow stomach, served on toast. To break up the protein-filled feast, sides include potatoes and a tangle of garlicky chard.

Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti
50122 Firenze FI, Italy
+39 055 248 0778
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Once hidden in the outskirts of Florence, one of the city’s favorite international dining options has now opened in the central Sant’Ambrogio quarter. Ararat serves Armenian-Georgian cuisine with bottles of full-bodied Georgian wine to match. On the menu are hand-formed Georgian dumplings called khinkali, stuffed with potato or spiced ground beef; a variety of grilled meats, including Armenian lula kebab accompanied by roasted tomato and eggplant mashes; a selection of Armenian flatbreads; and Georgian khachapuri, a cheesy bread bordered by a thick, soft crust with a runny egg buried in the middle.

Interior of Ararat
Ararat [Official]
Borgo la Croce
32/r, 50121 Firenze FI, Italy
+39 375 515 3626
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As the name suggests, Moderna positions itself as a modern Italian trattoria with revised twists on local classics. The menu strikes a chord between fine dining and bistro fare, featuring dishes like beef tenderloin with foie gras, guinea hen rolled with prosciutto and topped with truffle, and tagliatelle with ragu Bolognese in a Parmigiano-Reggiano fondue cream. Just off the pedestrian path yet reachable from Santa Croce, it’s worth the small detour.

Lungarno del Tempio
52, 50121 Firenze FI, Italy

Ani Tigranian: