ph. Dario Garofalo

May 20, 2023

Food

The 15 best Florentine steaks in Florence

Our definitive selection of restaurants where you can eat the most famous Florentine dish

What is Bistecca alla Fiorentina? Fiorentina is an adult Tuscan beef steak cut 3-4 fingers high in the loin and cooked rare on the grill.

The first official document is from the Accademia della Crusca in 1750, but you can go back to 1624 and to the Uffizi, in the Dispensa by Jacopo Chimenti known as l'Empoli who, with his 16th century Florentine reformed type of painting, depicts a rib-eye steak with lucid naturalism. Discover the secrets and anecdotes about steak in the book La Fiorentina, Osti, butchers and wines of the real steak, published by Gruppo Editoriale. (Buy it HERE).

BUY THE BOOK

In Florence, it is now common knowledge that a cut under four fingers it is not a steak but carpaccio. In reality, tradition calls for a height of about three fingers "otherwise it won't cook inside", confirms Vasco Tacconi, Grand Master Butcher of the Steak Academy.

But where can we eat the best Bistecca alla Fiorentina in Florence? After careful tastings, we have our final selection.

Buca Lapi
Via del Trebbio, 1r
055 213768
MATURATION: FROM 20 TO 30 DAYS
HEIGHT: 3 FINGERS

One of the most powerful symbols of true Florentine cuisine. At Luciano's, under Palazzo Antinori, the real Fiorentina is cooked in fillet steak, almost to the point of exaggeration, usually from white Italian veal, mostly from Chianina or Marche. One of the secrets is cooking over hot, sweet and fragrant olive wood embers. The Fiorentina comes to the table on heavy wooden cutting boards and is "split", not cut, into two or three pieces, depending on the diners.

Atrium Bar - Four Seasons Hotel Florence
Borgo Pinti, 99
055 2626460
MATURATION: 55 DAYS
HEIGHT: 3 FINGERS

The meat is the Chianina of Fracassi del Casentino, one of the best and healthiest on the market. Not without abundant maturing to increase the flavor. It is cooked in the Josper oven, which has become a cult among chefs all over the world. So the steak is cooked both directly and indirectly, served thick, but without exaggeration and rare even for tourists.

Regina Bistecca
Via Ricasoli, 14r
ph. +39 055 2693772
FROLLATURA: 20 GIORNI
ALTEZZA: 4 DITA

Beautiful, indeed wonderful. The idea of opening a restaurant in a former antiquarian bookshop has produced one of the most fascinating restaurants in the center of Florence in recent years. It is on two floors, with a mezzanine, a gallery with books and works of art. Simone Arnetoli, with his experience in the world of catering, has also understood a crucial step for Fiorentina lovers: what to eat while waiting. A mini-sandwich with lampredotto, for example. Have you ever seasoned it with just Extra Virgin olive oil? The steak here is mostly Marchigiana or Chianina, but there are even cheaper options. Cooked in exposed charcoal embers, and even on the bone so it stays hot. Accompanied at the table on beautiful cutting boards and with knives from Scarperia.

Antico Ristoro di' Cambi
Via Sant'Onofrio, 1r
055 217134
MATURATION: 15/20 DAYS
HEIGHT: 4 FINGERS

At the Cambi counter there are traditionally steaks in plain view, complete with a foreign stamp on the rind. If you love Fiorentina steak, you'll find great meat here. Soft and barbecued and four fingers high in today's fashion.

Buca dell'Orafo
Via dei Girolami, 28r
055 213619
MATURATION: FROM 20 TO 30 DAYS
HEIGHT: 3 FINGERS

Here Giordano, the innkeeper, is a peculiar character. You can recognize him by his well-cut shirts and gruff look. But the real respect for the customer can be seen on the plate and on the quality. Today, the kitchen is equipped with the Josper, the oven most coveted by chefs in recent years. It has replaced the griddle, giving the Fiorentina steak a definite smoky flavour.

Buca Mario
Piazza degli Ottaviani, 16r
055 214179
MATURATION: 14 DAYS
HEIGHT: 3/4 FINGERS

Here the Fiorentina has a fixed price and is not priced by weight: 39 if you're there alone, 78 for two etc... Cooked on lava stone, we are still in a Buca after all, but with excellent raw material. Also, it's "cooked only rare", so be careful. The wine selection is also good, with not only the usual labels.

La Giostra
Borgo Pinti, 10r-18r
055 241341
MATURATION: 11 DAYS
HEIGHT: 4 FINGERS

The food by the 'Prince' is so good that you should try the Fiorentina not before tasting Signora Liliana's homemade ravioli with cacio cheese and pears with butter and sage. The Fiorentina, cut 4 fingers thick, of high quality and cooked on the grill, must always be accompanied by the legendary sautéed potatoes.

Osteria dell'oca
Via delle Oche, 21r
055 2396244
MATURATION: 15 DAYS
HEIGHT: 2/3 FINGERS

Here we eat Angus, not exactly typical for the short supply chain, but when it arrives on the table raw, with that heart shape instead of a T shape, it conquers all. A tender and fragrant meat, easy to appreciate, imported by the Gerini sisters of Pontassieve and cooked on a lava stone grill. A gem for being just a stone's throw from the Duomo.

Perseus
Viale Don Giovanni Minzoni, 10r
055 588226
MATURATION: 28 DAYS
HEIGHT: 3 FINGERS

Who better than a butcher to serve a proper steak... The style is on the softer side rather than the savoury one and is lightly matured. A steak for everyone.

Frescobaldi Restaurant
Piazza della Signoria, 31
055 284724
MATURATION: 20 DAYS
HEIGHT: 3 FINGERS

In addition to being a very nice but informal English-style café, it offers an excellent Fiorentina from Maremma meat. One of the best tasted in our trip. With side dishes or other dishes which are nearer to haute cuisine rather than to a trattoria.

Trattoria 13 gobbi
Via del Porcellana
055 284015
MATURATION: FROM 14 TO 28 DAYS
HEIGHT: 3/4 FINGERS

The steak is served with leaves of lettuce and lemon in dishes of a style between Vietri and majolica, already cut and always as a fillet to respect the tradition of Fiorentina. The breed can vary, giving preference to meats that tend to be soft and can be cut almost with just a fork.

Trattoria Baldini
Via Il Prato, 96r
055 287663
MATURATION: 20 DAYS
HEIGHT: 2/3 FINGERS

Well-kept in the kitchen. Just look at the suppliers. The Gerini sisters of Pontassieve have some of the best meat around. At 40 euros per kilo, for a Piemontese, it borders on the best value for money. Accompany it with the "fritto di stagione". If you were to divide trattorias into the ones to go on special occasions and everyday, Baldini would be for everyday. With some exceptional wines to drink with it.

Trattoria Coco Lezzone
Via Parioncino, 26r
055 287178
MATURATION: 20 DAYS MINIMUM
HEIGHT: 4 FINGERS

Coco Lezzone is one of the most famous trattorias in the city centre, named after the old owner Corrado. What's really nice about it is an old wood-burning stove on which the steak itself is cooked, opening the plate and laying the Fiorentina on a grill. A couple of fingers high, the old-fashioned way, and drizzled with oil.

Trattoria da Burde
Via Pistoiese, 6r
055 317206
MATURATION: 21-28 DAYS
HEIGHT: 3 FINGERS

In Via Pistoiese they make Fiorentina 'on wheels' because in the blink of an eye you can say: "I'd like a steak", and the brothers Andrea and Paolo Gori have already brought it to the table sizzling. Hot, measured to the heart until it sees 60 degrees. Small attentions that demonstrate the culture for steak of the new Burde generation.

Trattoria Sostanza
Via del Porcellana, 25r
055 212691
MATURATION: 23 DAYS
HEIGHT: 3-4 FINGERS

This is the most literary address in town. Here Piero Annigoni had his table across from the kitchen. There is still the traditional kitchen, with no stove, but with wood embers, where the best artichoke pie in town is cooked. The steak, Croatian, is first beaten and then cooked by splitting the bone to favour heat absorption.

Fratelli Briganti
Piazza Giovanbattista Giorgini, 12r
ph. +39 055 475255
MOLDING: 22 days
HEIGHT: 2-4 FINGERS

The Briganti brothers are famous for spaghetti with tomato sauce, an essential specialty of the restaurant. Beautiful and al dente. However, the seriousness and tradition of hospitality of this family, the renovated premises and the passion make it one of the most loved addresses by Florentines, even for steak. Not without reason. Very few tourists come here. The Fiorentina, strictly grilled, is medium-aged. Leonardo solves the classic diatribe of the thickness of 2-3-4 fingers by explaining that he cuts the sirloin according to the number of diners.