21. Zeb
Zeb is a small, sleek, diner-style restaurant in the San Niccolo district serving delicious traditional food in contemporary surroundings. Two long counters with high stools face each other across a narrow space where mother-and-son team Giuseppina and Alberto prepare, serve, and pour wine. Dishes of the day fill the serving counter, and shelves stacked with wines line the walls. The menu changes daily according to what’s good at the market, but you can expect fresh pasta like fat cappellacci stuffed with ricotta and fresh truffles, or pappardelle with wild boar sauce. Mains might include pork rib with dried apricots and prunes, stuffed roast turkey, or eggplant parmigiana. Then there are the delicious desserts, including cheesecake and a to-die-for chocolate cake.
Address: Via S. Miniato, 2r, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
Website: zebgastronomia.com
22. Osteria Tripperia Il Magazzino
Florence is famous for its offal dishes, and this is one of the best places in town to sample them if you have the, er, guts. The menu features tripe, either fried or alla Fiorentina (stewed with tomatoes and topped with parmesan); lampredotto (the fourth stomach of the cow) rolled into sushi; or stuffed into ravioli and served with a sweet Tropea onion sauce and mixed boiled meats with pungent salsa verde. If offal isn’t your thing, go for the maltagliati pasta with vegetable carbonara, eggplant parmesan, or rabbit alla cacciatora. The serious wine list here is composed entirely of Tuscan labels. Prices are extraordinarily reasonable, making it easy to order something special – say, a Brunello or a Super Tuscan from Bolgheri. If you don’t feel like splashing out, though, the house red (a Tuscan Sangiovese) is a perfect, rustic match for the hearty food.
Address: Piazza della Passera, 2, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
23. Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura
Part of the Gucci Garden museum and retail outlet, this exuberant restaurant (which has a Michelin star) is all forest-green velvet, pea-green boiserie, and custom-made Ginori porcelain in the brand’s pretty floral Herbarium design. The “unique and cosmopolitan” dishes are a palate-teasing combo of reworked Emilian and world classics along with influences from both chefs’ backgrounds; Lopez has done time at Pujol in Mexico City and Central in Lima while Kondo’s passion for Italian food lead him to Modena. Magical, inventive dishes with whimsical names such as “Rossini Thanks” (Chianina beef, caviar and Brazilian farofa) and “Memories of a Summer in Versilia” (turbot and fennel) change regularly,y but fixtures include Lopez’s famous Purple Corn Tostada served with citrussy bonito and Bottura’s signature “Journey to Modena,” tortellini in a luscious parmesan cream sauce. To wind up, try Lopez’s nostalgic take on a Banana Split, seemingly topped by twisting red and green ribbons.
