La Lampara

On a street with many, many hotels, including ours. A huge restaurant with many stone pizza ovens. A lot of tourists. Today my Italian professor informed me that restaurants in Italy that have menus in English should be avoided because prices will be so much higher. Ha! So, I didn’t eat at the right places but it’s very hard to find a non-​touristy joint in Florence as it isn’t very big and it is all so walkable. This is one of those restaurants with the English menu option but the food was good but a little higher priced than others. I got the spaghetti carbonara which I’m pretty sure is made with pure cream, real butter and Angel tears because it was a taste of heaven.

Comimos en La Lámpara después de visitar L’Accademia. Ya teníamos fichado el sitio porque nos recomendaron fervientemente las pizzas preparadas al fuego de leña y… ¡Menudo acierto! Algunas llevan cebolla caramelizada y otras, salami picante. La masa, bastante delgadita, lo que se agradece si normalmente no comes mucho y quieres acabarte la pizza.
Nos atendieron veloz y amablemente, y la comida llegó en poco tiempo. Decidimos comer en la terracita, que la tienen muy mona.
Otro punto a favor, los postres. Pedimos tiramisú y tarta de queso. La tarta de queso muy rica, aunque al tiramisú le faltaba sabor (Supongo que por el hecho de que no usan licor en la receta).
Referente a los precios, el estándar en Florencia.

Wow. What a secret wonderful and unsuspecting bliss!!! That is also so close to the train station is heaven sent! Delicious!!! And an absolute don’t miss!!! Not to mention the service was amazing! Did I mention delicious!

La Lampara is convenient to SMN train station and many hotels. Their service is attentive. With outside seating, inside garden seating and takeaway you can get a tasty meal any way you choose.
I suggest sitting with a nice glass or two of the house red wine, and the gnocchi in blue cheese and truffle sauce. Delicious.
Of course they have the obligatory WiFi too.
Buon Appetito.

We went here because it was convenient and near the SM Novella train station.
We got gnocchi with a tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.
The people working here were friendly and attentive. The food looked good too, but the tomato sauce straight up tastes like Spaghetti-​O sauce. I’m pretty sure that the cook opened a can of Spaghetti-O’s and served that sauce with some frozen/​pre-​made gnocchi from the supermarket.
Worst gnocchi I’ve eaten, not only in Italy, but everywhere. I don’t know about any other dishes

After exploring Firenze on our first day, we decided to check this place out for lunch. Since we are hungry Americans we basically went the moment they began serving lunch and were seated in the back of the restaurant. It is a really pretty interior! Right when you walk in, you walk past this huge wood burning oven that have steaks as big as your face roasting in it. And then there is a tree growing in the middle of the restaurant in the back! We ordered an appetizer and two entrees with the house table wine and although I cannot remember specifically what I ate, I can tell you that I enjoyed it! I can also say that although I enjoyed it, I don’t have the feeling that I absolutely LOVED it. Although, this feeling could have been caused by watching one of my fellow countryman pulling a bottle of Mrs. Dash lemon pepper seasoning salts from her bag and dumping it on her fresh pasta. Yes, yes you read that right. So maybe my feelings of «meh-​ness» are caused by witnessing that horror. Regardless, the food was good, service good and everything just generally good! I would recommend eating here if you are in need of a decently yummy lunch! Although, if you are here — just keep your eyes on your plate. You don’t want to need brain bleach while at lunch.

What caught my eye is the amazing smelling open wood fire grill at the front of the restaurant when you walk in! The steak display case clearly showed prime cut beef ready to be grilled in true florentine fashion. We ordered the special Tbone for 2, we asked for it medium but came more true florentine style –medium rare to rare– still tasted amazing. They have a huge wine selection and is a lively scene. Would recommend for a great steak. The reason for 4 stars… Service was meh.

They have a nice garden in the back (with a turtle!) where we enjoyed a pleasant outdoor lunch. The waiter was a bit scary, half-​barking «please» at us for everything (was he joking?). The food was good: good meat, fresh vegetables, and one of the better coffees I’ve had in Florence.

I decided to eat at La Lampara because it was near my hotel. It is a typical little casual ristorante in the streets of Italy. It seemed like a nice place to sit outdoors by the street to people watch. Apparently there is a hidden garden area you can eat in as well. I ordered penne pasta with a meat sauce. It was VERY good. Also at my table was a margherita pizza and roasted chicken with french fries. Both were good as well, but don’t expect the french fries to taste like they do in the U.S. Staff was friendly and the service was good. This is a great place to eat a meal while out in Firenze amidst the shopping and sight-​seeing.