Buca Dell’Orafo

A friend recommended this place when she lived in Florence years ago. I highly recommend making a reservation, it is a popular place among the locals.
It’s so quaint! Hidden in a neat ally way close to a lot of things like the uffizi, it was a perfect place to have a great dinner. The menu is in all Italian (solid sign the place is legit) but I just asked the waitress whatever her favorite is I’ll get, I trust Italians and know they’ll serve me something amazing regardless. I had an Alfredo based sauced tortellini that was so tasty. My husband had an amazing roast beef type dish with Italian white beans in a tomato sauce. Man. That was amazing. Wonderful place for authentic food. Highly recommend.

AWESOME! Lovely Resturant. Quaint and tucked in a small basement. Excellent food. Filled with Florentines as well as us tourists. Patient staff for this tourist who did not know enough menu nouns. Menu is only in Italian; as it should be. Awesome selection. My primi was the Parapadelle with duck. It is the best pasta dish I have had in my first 8 days in Italy. I need to die now, I have two more days to go! I also had the chicken breast with potatoes. I loved how I waited. You need a little time between a heavy primi and a heavy secundi. The secundi was well executed. It had a crisp skin and the potatoes were also crisp and wonderful. I normally don’t like chicken skin. Wow. Amazing. I then ordered desert. Not as good as the meal. It was too rich. I had a chocolate covered cream puff (essentially).
Can one go wrong with Tuscan wine? Yes, but it’s hard and I had a wonderful selection here. The olive oil is almost worth drinking itself. It is rude to lick a plate, but I thought about it.

Came in based on a recommendation and was impressed. My Italian friend said just told the waiter what you like and they will fix you up (no English menu), and they sure did. I got the pancake artichoke which was heaven! It seems like artichoke is their signature — so don’t miss. Also got the veal chop, perfectly cooked and seasoned. House of red is the only choice for wine by glass, otherwise the dinner will be even more enjoyable. Hope to have chance to come back and try more dishes!

Has a small hobbit-​like doorway leading down from an arched alleyway. I was invited to join with a few kind strangers while checking the menu outside. This was in late summer of 2004! Sounds like it hasn’t changed a lot since.
Pasta with seasonal mushrooms in cream sauce, and lamb loin chops roasted with herbs. The most memorable food (and perhaps nicest experience) of that week in Italy.
Unassuming, warm and charming underground place; one in my small group was a younger Sicilian woman, and one old gent working there was showing her like he she was his own grand-​daughter how to swirl a bit of olio into her white bean (fagioli) soup.
As you can probably tell I vividly remember being there (serendipitously, as Buca Dell’Orafo wasn’t in the excellent Rick Steves guide & didn’t seem very touristy.)

First night in Italy and this spot really set the bar high. Small, simple restaurant that delivered on all fronts — great service, good wine and incredible food. Menu was in Italian but waiter was very accommodating/​friendly and answered all our questions. To my mind a gem. Don’t be fooled by the alleyway or entrance. Highlight was the fried zucchini flowers (the woman at the next table shared with us).

Not your typical tourist place. Perfect size small restaurant, mostly locals. The pasta with peas (piscelli) is fantastic. You need two hungry people to finish the Bistecca Fiorentina, a good buy at 70 Euros. Went twice in two days.

Best meal I’ve had in Florence. Hole in the wall and easily missed but the food is worth every effort. Favorite dish was the sphaghetti with artichoke which was right on point. Tender pasta and perfectly seasoned artichoke hearts. Followed by their Pollo dish which had amazeballs potatoes wedges. And mustn’t forget the asparagus cooked in butter and Perrcorino… Dinner was a dream. Make reservations in advance, space is tight and they fill up

if place has no english menu, its a challenge but then you know its not touristy. Food spoke for itself — phenomenal. I had braised beef and fried artichokes.
I would totally come back here again! Grazie!

Forget about the menu. Talk with the waiter, ask what are the specials and enjoy a truly authentic Florence osteria.
We had so many different pasta, meat and veg I can’t even remember. The food was great, the atmosphere lovely. Overall: unforgettable. Remember to book.

We were the first people here before hounds of tourists arrived. Ate here for lunch, and I really don’t know how the one waiter managed to serve everyone — at least 30 people… so service was quite slow.
Food was good. The husband seemed to really enjoy his chicken livers, and my pappardelle was decent, if a little heavy on the sauce. The menu is traditional Tuscan, but unfortunately when we were there artichokes were no longer in season.

I’ve been here twice for lunch. Absolutely a gem of a place. Family run. Small. Personal. Fabulous food. Don’t know what to order? Tell them to surprise you.

We made a reservation at 9:30, because that was all that was available. We promptly showed up at 9:30 only be told very rudely that the person before us had arrived late and that «it wasn’t his fault.» We completely understood that with the dinner rush, not everything goes according to plan; therefore, we waited and were told to wait outside, because the restaurant was small. Another couple arrived after us and were hovering inside the restaurant and they were obviously Italian. After waiting 20 min on the bench outside, I poked my head in to see if there were any tables empty, because we saw people leave. The couple who had arrived after us was sitting down and having their first course/​wine even though they clearly had no reservation and had arrived later than us. The server became very angry and kept complaining that «it wasn’t his fault.» They moved the first couple to a smaller table to accommodate our party of three and throughout the whole dinner, we were thoroughly ignored. We had to ask for menus, for plates, to order, for water, etc. The restaurant’s bad service and organization rubbed off on the other customers, who promptly started making disparaging remarks towards us Americans. Too bad we could speak Italian and understood the rude commentary. «Well, at least this is highly rated and the food will be good, so this service and environment will be worth it.» False. The food was mediocre and we were extremely disappointed, having looked forward to good food as this place’s one saving grace. We tried hard to eat as much as we could stomach but barely finished half of our food. I would never recommend this shoddy establishment. This was our last night in Italy after having studied in Florence for four months and the terrible service, mediocre food, and hostile environment concluded our Italian experience on a hurtful and disillusioning note.

Our favorite meal in florence. The highlight was the artichoke omelette (forget what you know about an omelette, this is actually a great appetizer. The sliced beef with pecorino and herbs, covered with fragrant olive oil was savory and satisfying. We also had two excellent pasta dishes (fish lasagna and a pappardelle with meat sauce). I don’t think you can go wrong here but get the omelette and sliced beef (groppa con pecorino).

My favorite dinner spot from a recent trip to Florence. Inside it’s somewhat of a «hole in the wall», but the food is legit and the crowd had way more locals than tourists. It was one of the few restaurants where service was nearly as prompt as back in the States. Perhaps this was because it was so busy (with many people waiting) so they actually cared about turning over tables. Be sure to call ahead and get a reservation.

Our family’s favorite place to eat in Florence! We went there twice when we were in town in 1999 and then in 2012 when my wife and I had a day in Florence during a shore excursion from a cruise, it’s the one place we chose to eat. Fantastic! I apologize that I can’t recall enough about what we had to make recommendations about specific dishes to get.

A small restaurant with a nice mix of locals and tourists. Reservations necessary. Traditional Tuscan food. Menu varies with the season. We had an excellent lasagne of duck and mushrooms almost without sauce. Also a pappardelle with a sauce of veal, chicken and rabbit. Main courses included a very light mixed fry of chicken, rabbit and zucchini flowers and one of meatballs with beet greens. grilled veal chop, bistecca, brains, tripe etc also on the menu. Excellent wine selection, but the house red and white are more than acceptable. A perfect Florentine dinner.