Mangiafoco

Convenient to Ponte Vecchio and all the main shopping in the Duomo area, this restaurant was a great find. We decided on a wine tasting with 4 wines and fell in love with the Brunello. Even ordered 6 bottles to be shipped to us in the States for a very reasonable price!

My wife and I came across Mangiafoco after straying just a little bit off the main streets of Florence, looking for a place to recharge after spending our day either in a train or walking in the punishing heat of an Italian heatwave.
It’s a fairly small place but has a very cool, modern design which I found refreshing after eating at a lot of places that were older and/​or didn’t pay as much attention to the interior design. With one look inside you can tell that it’s a wine bar, as there’s bottles stacked all over the place, but with care and not just stacks of wine boxes due to a lack of storage. There’s a cooler with meats and cheeses and a small food prep area in the back of the dining room, and a bar in a slightly raised area to the left of the main room.
The menu is fairly compact, with several appetizers (a few being Tuscan charcuterie, of course), pasta dishes, and a few main course type options. I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry, so my wife and I split an order of their prosciutto bruschetta to start and I got a little bit adventurous and got their steak tartare for my «main», Asking for a suggestion on the wine, we went with the waiter and got a 2012 Montalcino. Their wine list is large, but not an unmanageable behemoth, so there was plenty of selection but not overwhelmingly so. Most of the list was in the 25 – 35 euro range, so quite affordable as well.
The bruschetta came topped with a generous slathering of black truffle, cheese and prosciutto, on thick, thoroughly toasted bread. Given the truffle spread, it was very rich and had a lot of big flavours. It was actually the tipping point for me deciding that after three weeks of having more truffles than I’d ever had before, I wasn’t a truffle guy, at least in large quantities like this.
When my tartare came, it was an intimidating sight. I had done my mental math a little wrong, and thought that the very precise description of 150g of meat wasn’t that much. Well let’s put this in context: a quarter pound of meat is 110 grams, and a burger loses about 20% of its mass when its cooked, so my steak tartare was 70% heavier than a cooked quarter pound patty. I’ve had steak tartare before, and liked it obviously, but this was a lot of raw meat to put back as you just naturally have that voice in the back of your head telling you that its a risky proposition. So needless to say, I took it a bit slow with my mound o’ meat, mixing in bites of the tasty fennel and carrot salad, and putting our bread basket to good use. The meat was good though; seasoned nicely, with a slight bit of acidity and herbiness, although I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t an egg yolk on top.
Our Montalcino was a big bodied red, with just a bit of a sour bite that all paired well with the equally big flavours of the truffle and beef.
Service was very attentive for an Italian place, and very helpful.
I’d definitely suggest Mangiafocco if you’re in Florence, as the combination of old world food in a modern atmosphere is a great combination.

Pretty good restaurant in the heart of Florence. My friends and I decided to eat here because it was literally right across from our hotel (Hotel Alessandra) and it was a pleasant find.
The food was overall good. Certain dishes were just ok but all in all it was good in my books. I’ve tried the Black Truffle Pasta and it was delicious. They gave a pretty hefty amount of truffle and the price wasn’t too bad. Their pastas were al dente which I love. We also tried one of their bruschetta and meat/​cheese platter and it was good. They have a decent wine list and tasting so that was awesome! We also tried their panna cotta and cheesecake. LOVE THEIR CHEESECAKE!!! Soooo good!!! It’s so rich and cheesy but not sweet. Only sweet by the berries that accompany it! So good! :)
Definitely a good eatery in Florence! :)

We had a great meal here. My wife had been going here every day for café for months a few years ago when they were smaller.
But this was my first time eating here. We were seated by the sidewalk which was a good spot. We started with a nice tuscan dry white and a cheese + salumi plate. It had 3 cheeses: A Robiola, a saffon infused blue, and a hard pecorino. All were very good. There were 2 kinds of salami, a prosciutto, and a mild coppa.
My wife ordered a taglierini with black truffle. It had a nice portion of shaved truffle. I felt the pasta was a bit overcooked for my taste but she liked it. I had a meatball dish which was meatballs with some grilled eggplant and zucchini and a tomato sauce. I liked it. Staff was great.

Nice ambiance. Good food. Cozy. Enjoyed the truffle bruschetta very much. Had the house white wine and was very happy for 10£.

Delightful discovery located next to our hotel. Ordered wine and cheese/​meat samplers and discovered some very nice Tuscan whites which we ordered to ship back home. Our server Ana was very accommodating and provided us the list of all cheeses and meats so we can try to repeat this wonderful experience with friends back in San Diego.

This cozy restaurant was recommended to my sisters and I by 2 women who were sitting at the bar at our hotel in Florence. (Hotel Berchielli). We LOVED it here. It’s a bit tight as you walk from the front to the rear, but VERY cute. We were seated downstairs. The staff could not have been more wonderful AND the food as well. We highly recommend you stop here when you are in Florence! CIAO!