Food & drink · San Miniato al Monte

Buca Mario & the Florentine Bistecca Tradition

A trip to Florence without eating a proper bistecca alla Fiorentina — a thick-cut T-bone from Chianina cattle, grilled over oak charcoal, served blood-rare and finished with nothing but coarse salt and a thread of olive oil — is a trip half-lived. The ritual is serious, the portions are enormous and the flavour is unlike any steak you have eaten elsewhere.

Where to Eat It and What to Expect

Buca Mario, tucked into a vaulted cellar off Piazza Ognissanti and trading since 1886, is one of the oldest restaurants in Florence and does the bistecca with proper ceremony — the raw steak is often brought to the table for inspection before cooking. It is a splurge (expect €50–€60 for the steak alone, sold by weight at around €60 per kilogram) but the setting and the theatre are worth it for a special occasion.

For a more relaxed, wallet-friendly version head to Trattoria Mario near San Lorenzo market, where communal tables, paper tablecloths and a rotating daily menu keep things honest. The bistecca here is smaller but the quality is high and the atmosphere is pure old Florence.

The Rules of the Bistecca

A true bistecca alla Fiorentina is cut at least 4 cm thick, includes both the sirloin and the tenderloin on either side of the T-bone, and is grilled to no more than medium-rare — asking for it well-done will earn you a polite but firm refusal in any serious establishment.

Pair it with a carafe of young Chianti Classico or a glass of Morellino di Scansano, and order the cannellini beans in olive oil as a side — a combination that has been on Florentine tables for centuries.

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