Il Tartufo Luciano Savini

Amazingly kind and friendly chef at front counter of this shop on the top floor of Central Mercato. I had two different truffle mini panino’s both perfect. Ask to taste anything you might be interested in. You can also buy a large assortment of truffle paste, oil to take away.

When I arrived at the Market on a Saturday and was told that Nerbonne was closed due to a holiday (it’s usually closed Sundays, and open Saturdays), I was briefly sad. Then I found the truffle-​centric pasta and risotto stand and my mood quickly improved.
Not inexpensive, but 20E for a creamy tagliolini smothered in finely shaved tartufo was a fantastic meal and great bang for the buck. If I had any regret, it was not coming back for the same dish with WHITE truffles (tartufo bianco) instead of black, for another 10E.
Of all the indulgent dining I partook of in Italy, this was a standout, and better than my meals at Perseus (famous steakhouse) and even my 110E tasting menu at Il Palagio! The fact that a simple, food court type option accomplished perfect execution of a dish that a Michelin-​starred restaurant could not (with its risotto) is a real accomplishment.
I would not travel to Firenze again without a visit to «Il Tartufo Luciano Savini».

OMG the sunny side eggs with white truffles shaved on it was sooooo good that I ordered a second one! Like immediately! I gotta admit, I’ve had plenty of shaved truffles, truffle oil dishes, etc in the past and they are mostly overall very good as long as it’s the real thing.
This dish was not overly trufflesque — it wasn’t trying too hard, it was super fragrant and tasted divine! Best truffle dish I’ve ever had. Of course, I’ve also never had it so close to the source in the perfect season for truffles either. Apparently, this year there were lots of rains in August and many trees fell over. There have been local stories of truffle hunters walking away with 100 truffles in one search! So the truffles this year were suppose to be cheaper … Who knows, they were still amazing. Our dish was not exceptionally cheap but it was affordable. I have no idea if it was cheaper this season vs previous years.
This is a must try for those who have never eaten a truffle or even ever mildly accused by others of being a foodie, especially if traveling to Tuscany in the fall or winter.
And just fyi, truffles are a fungus like mushrooms but they are super rich in flavor and taste nothing like mushrooms. It is more like really yummy animal lard except without all the horrible fats. Regardless, most people aren’t rich enough to consumer a large amount of truffles beyond that of a well used spice anyway.
Most people cook with them by topping dishes with a handful of thinly sliced shaved pieces of this mushroom that looks like a rock. They don’t cook it because the flavor is the most potent raw.
This cute little stall at the central market also sells truffle sauces and oils if you’d like to take some home. Though the fragrant taste of truffles supposedly first stick around long after the underground mushroom is removed from its natural hiding place so use quickly when you get home!
If you’re really a big fan of truffles already, rent a car and go to the annual San Minatro white truffle festival weekends in November. There, you’ll find truffles goods, local wines, cheeses and dried curies meats of the local area for local prices. Literally. Like be prepared that people may not know how to speak English at this festival. And locals are jostling with you buying up the sauces cases at a time. It’s like 1/3−½ the price vs Florence. But of course, it’s an almost full day investment to go and may take some figuring out with the shuttle bus’s and overall being an adventurous spirit. Of course … At that rate, you’ve rented a car and spent your valuable vacation time so you should really go for the experience, not for the cheap truffle gifts unless you are actually planning on a case.

If you love truffles, have a satisfying snack here; if you have not had truffles, try them here. You will regret that you waited so long.

IL TARTUFO LUCIANO SAVINI on the second floor of Merkato Centrale — Central Market is an AWESOME place to have a blast ;)
If you are in to truffles like me this is the place to be, for a very reasonable price you can feel you appetite/​hunger for truffles :)
Staff super friendly, easy going, prompt.
Go and have a good food for a VERY, VERY reasonable price for truffle plates.
Got:
Appetizer — Bruschetta with chicken liver pâté with shaved black truffles, eggs with shaved black truffles, prosciutto with shaved black truffles, shrimp salad with shaved black truffles.
Cream risotto whit shaved white truffles.
Beef tartar with porcini mushrooms and shaved black truffles.
Tuscan prosecco.
Whole thing costed me 105 euros plus 20 euro tip totaling 125. Cheapest and most satisfying truffle meal I had in my life :)