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Alle
Murate
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Price:
€50 or €62 (set menu). Wine: €20.50. |
| The
Campanian-born owner-chef of the intimate Alle Murate,
Umberto Montana, is a huge wine lover – as testimony
to this, the perspex floor near the entrance displays
some of his bottles, embedded in the soil. With a complimentary
glass of spumante in hand, guests can peruse the menu,
which is a curious mix of invention and refinement.
Diners should not miss the delicious bean soup, the
tortelli stuffed with aubergine purée or desserts
such as crostada di limone, a lemon cream on a pastry
base, as well as Montana’s signature dessert,
a monster chocolate torte served with whipped cream. |
Via
Ghibellina 52r
Tel: (055) 240 618.
Website: www.caffeitaliano.it |
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| Cantinetta
Antinori |
Price: €45. Wine: €11. |
| Housed
in the family’s elegant palazzo near Santa Maria
Novella, this refined restaurant pitches super-Tuscans
and great Chiantis from the extensive Antorini estates
at wine lovers. Subtle food flavours, often using ingredients
grown on the same estates as the vines, predominate
on the menu and accompany diners in their vinous deliberations.
One example are the involtini (rolls) of glazed veal
and artichokes cooked in white wine with spring onions.
Seasonal ingredients are often used, while for dessert,
diners can sit around the dark wooden tables, musing
as they sip the sweet Vin Santo served with cantuccini
biscuits. |
Palazzo
Antinori, Piazza Antinori 3
Telephone number: (055) 292 234. Fax number: (055) 235
9877.
E-mail: antinori@antinori.it
Website: www.antinori.it
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Da
Stefano
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Price:
€45. Wine: €11 |
| For
the best seafood, many recommend Da Stefano, located
to the south of the city, in Galluzo, close to the classic
Tuscan countryside of cypress-dotted hills. The restaurant
is open in the evenings only and is especially popular
in summer for al fresco dining on the terrace. The atmosphere
is pleasantly casual and friendly – Stefano personally
advises diners on the catch of the day. In fact, his
motto ‘solo pesce, solo fresco, solo la sera’
(‘only fish, only fresh, only evenings’),
says it all. Dishes include spaghetti all’aragosta
(spaghetti with lobster) and il gran tegame, a huge
saucepan of hot seafood. |
Via
Senese 271, Galluzo
Telephone number: (055) 204 9105 |
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| Enoteca
Pinchiorri |
Price:
€125. Wine: €30. |
| Immaculate
linen and crystal glassware top the tables at Florence’s
most famous restaurant, which boasts two Michelin stars.
At the heart of the historic city, near Santa Croce,
finely dressed diners expect to be impressed by French
chef Annie Feolde’s haute cuisine matched with
owner Giorgio Pinchiorri’s collection of magnificent
wines. The uninitiated can select a menu degustazione
to enjoy the sophisticated harmony of flavour, born
of matchless French technique and Italian economy of
ingredients, such as winter red cabbage ravioli served
with pumpkin sauce. Portions are dainty, in true nouvelle
cuisine fashion. |
Via
Ghibellina 87
Telephone number: (055) 242 777. Fax number: (055) 244
983.
E-mail: enoteca.pinchiorri@pronet.it
Website: www.pinchiorri.it
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| Il
Cibreo |
Price:
€60 or €20 in the trattoria. Wine: €14 |
| Enjoying
an intimate, candlelit dinner with a loved one at the
Cipriani's signature restaurant is the quintessential
Florence experience and should not be missed by anyone
who can afford to splash out. Feast on homemade black
noodles served with clams, scallops, and broccoli sauce,
followed by a rack of lamb in a porcini mushroom and
black truffle sauce. The water from the lagoon gently
laps against the quay and the lights of San Georgio
and the Lido shimmer in the distance. Complimentary
transportation on the hotel’s private launch from
Piazza San Marco simply adds to the glamour of it all.
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Via
de’ Macci 118r
Telephone number: (055) 234 1100. Fax number: (055)
244 966 |
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