Cantinetta dei Verrazzano

About the most perfect meal I have had in my life! And just wonderful warm service too. We went here as its a top pick in the Lonely Planet Italy guide, and while there was an option to takeaway, we lucked out as gave our name to the lovely lady and waited around 15mins for a table. (The location is in a side alley, off a main square and the first time we walked past and had to backtrack).
While waiting, I had a front row view of the huge brick oven that was producing heavenly smells and it was torture having to wait while other folks got serves, but gosh, the wait was absolutely worth it when we finally got to our table and got our own sampler focaccia menu. To accompany the variety of focaccia breads which were just super delicious and filled with various hams and cheeses and served perfectly warm from the oven, we also got wine made at the Verrazzano castle which was just perfectly pared with our food. The marble table had a lovely design and the fresh pap are coasters were so lovely, i wished could have taken one as a momento.
There was superb friendly English speaking service and while waiting, we also saw a lot of folks paying first at the cash desk and then exchanging the eceipt at the focaccia counter for an instant picnic to take away.
Absolutely recommend! Go! Go! Go!

Yummy gluten-​free lunch! Enjoyed our lunch of cecina (thin chickpea fritters) with prosciutto and vegetables and cheese, fresh salad and delicious wine from the Verrazzano vineyards. The service was attentive and helpful, and as New Yorkers, we enjoyed the connection between this the Cantinetta and their ancestor who discovered the New York harbor (the Verrazzano bridge is named after him). There are only a few tables, so we had to wait a bit, but the restaurant is in a very central and beautiful location on a side street.

Our favorite bakery in Florence. Try the scone with raisins and almonds; they’re ethereal.

In Italy, there is a huge span of time between lunch and dinner… so large you can probably fit 200 hungry Americans in it or at least that’s how my stomach felt. It’s normal to start eating dinner at 8 pm or 8:30 pm. So what is a person to do during that time? Find a wonderul hidden little wine bar that serves tortes, cookies, crostini, panini, and flat breads topped with freshly charred vegetables or salty proscuitto.
There’s a choice between standing at the bar or sitting down to rest your feet. This is not a hole in the wall… rather the marble and polished brass gives this an upscale feel. The menu is not in English and a lot of nonnas and Italian men constantly arrive to get their fill before heading back out into the busy streets of Florence. Italian is mostly spoken here and this is a lovely oasis from the touristy crowd.
Though the hot chocolate is not as good as Rivoire, it’s still quite good. All the great deep dark chocolate flavour and none of the overly sweet sugary notes found in the North American version. Wine flows easily from the super friendly staff and the chocolate pear torte is a perfect hit to fill up your stomache to handle the 8 hour gap of time before dinner.
We sat down and did hosted our business meeting at a table for 2 hours and never got harrassed to leave. Gracious service kept the glasses filled and the free wifi helped a lot to connect back to the office. Definitely better than any starbucks off site meeting!

My favourite is now the family’s fave…
I used to go as a single girl living in Florence…
We went twice… this trip… well…we were in Florence only two days!
Everything from service to food was exceptional. Hats off to the cameriere who doles out great customer service.
Even Italian born and raised mom-​in-​law had NO bad comments! ;-) Oh… except that their torta di nonna is not as great as the one from the bakery she frequents… well…
Their lardo is lovely… wine…the Sicilian tuna was delicious…

Tolle Antipasti und Weine, leckere Kuchen.
Sehr schönes Ladenlokal.

This is my Italian version of Cheers, Where everybody knows your name… sing along people…
But instead of beer, it’s glasses of wine.
Down home service where you will hear Italian (Ciao Manuella!) and American (Hi John!) coming from the workers. They basically welcome you with open arms, and sometimes I literally run into them. They have a long counter filled with tarts, and pastries to choose from and a menu consisting of foccacia sandwiches/​crostinis and a great way to grab a glass of wine for apperitivo. Three euro. They don’t have the usual mountains of food to stuff your stomach until your full kind of «apperitivo» so you don’t have to really go to dinner, but remember, quality over quantity. So the glasses of wine poured here are of better quality than the other places. There’s this unbelievable pecorino cheese that they drizzle with honey that they serve. It just gave me the chills.
It’s good. trust me.
mangiare felice.