Close to Santa Maria Novella, the cosmopolitan alley via Palazzuolo has long been home to some of the most interesting and affordable eateries in town.
Il Bacaro Fiorentino
Case in point. Twenty odd years ago, Kilimanjaro was The Place to Aperitivo in Florence. Rocking an enigmatic vibe, room after room and bowl after bowl of exotic Moroccan delights bewitched at a time before Ryanair (and related) flights made pastilla, couscous and tagines infinitely more accessible. Now at street number 80R, another cuisine, this time of eastern promise, has taken up residence on the same sprawling premises. Il Bacaro Fiorentino serves Veneto-inspired dishes. Doing so is chef Luca Marin, born and bred in Treviso, albeit a long-term Florence resident. Nondescript leaf-flanked streetside seating aside, the locale is all curves, natural tones, bricks and wood courtesy of a lightning-fast renovation. A sleek elongated bar for a Veneziano and cicchetti, rotund seating nooks in standalone rooms for private dining, a winter garden complete with a contemporary hearth and bookcases, and an innermost courtyard mean that return visits need never be boring. On to the food. What’s not to love about sarde in saor, minuscule sardines fried to crispiness, while sweet and sour onions cut through the oil. Garlicky and substantial, the chef’s baccalà mantecato with fried polenta saves you on the train fare north. Clearly, it’s straight out of his nonna’s recipe book. Wines from Veneto and Tuscany fill our glasses (a sage and hay Pinot Grigio, a tart Sauvignon and a toasty Franciacorta) as we move onto the northeastern take on spaghetti: bigoli with a salty sardine ragù. Luca’s forever been a fan of desserts from his days at historic Pasticceria Perbellini in Verona, so his strawberries and cream puff pastry is blessed with lightness, while the star anise crème brûlèe remains a highlight from his former head chefing at Il Santo Bevitore in the Oltrarno.
Cecchini in Città
After dinner, we gaze at the street art shutters mid-painting Palazzuolo Strada Aperta before popping into the monolithic 25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino to peer at Cecchini in Città. Framed around the oversized fireplace (shortly to become operational with grilled meat galore), legendary butcher Dario Cecchini has opened his first ever restaurant in Florence. There’s a backstory, of course. One day, a ravenous tourist was roaming Chianti, looking for somewhere to eat. He walks into a butcher’s shop and the meat vendor, dressed in the colours of the Italian flag, insists on making him something to eat. They get chatting and swap phone numbers. Christoph Hoffman, CEO and partner of 25hours Hotels, was that hungry traveller. Opening on September 19, diners can sit down together at a communal table for a near-carbon copy of Dario Cecchini’s Officina della Bistecca without having to navigate their way to Panzano. (Think flasks of Chianti and hunks of quality meat.) The grill will be fired up for lunch and dinner as the butcher and his team barbecue a meat extravaganza that pays tribute to the animal. If you fancy a more flexible meal or meal time, the Cecchini Famiglia menu lets you savour satisfying dishes like Dario’s grandma’s pasta sauce whenever you want.
Other favourites
Other “old classics” we love in via Palazzuolo include La Tana, an “authentic as it gets” Japanese home cooking experience owned by Aichi-born Tatsuhiko Tanaka, as well as the no-frills Trattoria Il Contadino, Trattoria Da Giorgio and Ostaria dei Centopoveri for affordable fixed-price menus featuring simple, well-cooked pastas and meats.
