Florence has 3 food commandments: 1) Bistecca alla fiorentina — a 3cm-thick T-bone from Chianina cattle, seared 5 minutes per side, served rare, salted, nothing else. If it's well-done, the chef has failed and you should have gone to McDonald's. 2) Lampredotto — tripe (fourth stomach of the cow), slow-simmered with tomato, onion, and parsley, served in a roll dipped in cooking broth with salsa verde. The most Florentine thing you can eat. 3) Schiacciata — flat focaccia with olive oil, or filled with prosciutto/mortadella. The Tuscan answer to pizza. This tour hits all three plus ribollita, gelato, wine, and the Oltrarno bars where artisans drink. Full Italy food map →
Plan my food Florence →Stop 1 (8:30am): Espresso at any bar near your hotel. Stand. €1.50. Cornetto with crema.
Stop 2 (9:30am): Mercato Centrale (Via dell'Ariento). Ground floor: food market since 1874 — meat, cheese, produce, Da Nerbone (since 1872, lampredotto sandwich €4, bollito €5 — the most famous market stall in Florence). Second floor: food court (modern, less authentic but good quality, €8-15/dish). Get the lampredotto from Nerbone. Eat standing at the counter. Green sauce. Pepper. This is the initiation.
Stop 3 (10:30am): Antico Vinaio (Via dei Neri 74r — or 65r for the original). The schiacciata sandwich that conquered Instagram: €5-8, fillings change daily (la Favolosa: crema di tartufo + pecorino + prosciutto crudo is the star). The queue is 15-40 minutes. Worth it. The sandwich is the size of your head.
Stop 4 (12pm): Trattoria Mario (Via Rosina 2, near Mercato Centrale). Since 1953. Communal tables. No reservations. Queue at 11:45. Ribollita (Tuscan bread soup — stale bread, cannellini beans, cavolo nero, tomato, olive oil) — €6. Or peposo (pepper stew, medieval Brunelleschi-era recipe). Cash only. Closed Sunday. The most Florentine trattoria in Florence.
Stop 5 (2pm): Cross Ponte Vecchio (look at the gold shops, don't buy) to Oltrarno. Gelateria La Sorbettiera (Piazza Tasso 11r — dark chocolate, pistachio, seasonal fruits). Or Gelateria della Passera (Via Toscanella 15r — tiny piazza, perfect gelato, €3). Gelato guide →
Stop 6 (3pm): Il Santobevitore (Via di Santo Spirito 64r) for afternoon wine — a glass of Chianti Classico (€6-8) with a tagliere of salumi and pecorino (€12). Sit in the medieval cellar dining room. The most atmospheric wine moment in Florence.
Stop 7 (7pm aperitivo): Santo Spirito piazza — sit on the church steps, buy a bottle of wine from the enoteca across the square (€8), join the evening crowd. This is Florence's living room. Florence 2 days →
Stop 8 (8:30pm — THE MAIN EVENT): Bistecca alla fiorentina. The rules: minimum 800g (for 2 people), Chianina or Maremmana cattle, 3cm thick, rare (ask for "al sangue" — if the waiter says "we only serve it rare" = correct restaurant). Best at: Trattoria Sostanza (Via del Porcellana 25r — butter-seared, legendary since 1869, €50-60/kg, book ahead). Buca Mario (Piazza degli Ottaviani 16r — since 1886, cellar dining, €45/kg). Perseus (Viale Don Minzoni 10r — where Florentine butchers eat, €40/kg). Budget: €35-50/person for bistecca + contorno + wine.
Stop 9 (10pm): Vivoli (Via Isole delle Stinche 7r — since 1930, crema Vivoli, the oldest gelateria in Florence). Or Gelateria de' Medici for a final cone.
Stop 10 (11pm): Nightcap at Mad Souls & Spirits (Borgo San Frediano 38r, Oltrarno — craft cocktails in an apothecary-style bar, €10-12) or Volume (Piazza Santo Spirito 5r — bookshop + bar, local crowd).