Buca Mario & the Bistecca Fiorentina Tradition
Florence's culinary identity is inseparable from the bistecca alla Fiorentina — a thick T-bone of Chianina beef, charred over oak coals, seasoned with nothing but salt and a thread of Tuscan olive oil. Buca Mario, operating since 1886 in a vaulted cellar near Piazza della Repubblica, is the oldest restaurant in the city and one of the best places to understand why this dish has a near-religious fo
The Bistecca Ritual
A proper bistecca alla Fiorentina is cut at least 4 cm thick, always from the Chianina or Maremmana breed, served rare to the point of rawness in the centre — ordering it 'ben cotto' (well done) is considered a serious cultural offence and most kitchens will politely refuse.
The steak is sold by weight, typically 800 g to 1.2 kg, and is designed to be shared between two people alongside a flask of Chianti Classico and a plate of white cannellini beans dressed in olive oil.
Beyond the Steak
Begin with a crostino nero — chicken-liver pâté on toasted bread — which is the canonical Florentine antipasto and a world away from the pale supermarket version most people know.
Ribollita, the twice-cooked bread-and-cavolo nero soup, is the other dish that defines Florentine cooking: dense, almost savoury-sweet, it should be thick enough for a spoon to stand upright in the bowl.
Other Reliable Addresses
Trattoria Mario near the Mercato Centrale has been serving lunch since 1953 at shared tables with no menu choices — you eat what the kitchen cooked that morning, and it is consistently excellent.
For a more contemporary take, Buca dell'Orafo near the Ponte Vecchio uses the same traditional ingredients but plates them with modern precision — a good middle ground for travellers who want quality without the tourist-trap risk.
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