alla vecchia bettola {florence}

Alla Vecchia Bettola is that old fashioned kind of Florentine restaurant you’re hoping to find. Cozy, cramped, full of good food and good cheer. But unlike the more well known places around the San Lorenzo neighborhood, Alla Vecchia Bettola is also still a place that Florentines regularly go to. I’m not saying there won’t be tourists. There are tourists everywhere in Florence. But at least here you’re just as likely to be seated next to someone who’s Florentine accent is so strong you can’t understand him, as someone who only speaks Finnish.

Be prepared to squeeze your way onto one of the wooden stools or benches at one of several communal tables. The menu is printed on butcher’s paper and changes daily. The antipasti include classic trattoria fare like burro e accuighe (butter and anchovies served with bread) and marinated mushrooms (my personal favorite). But there will also be seasonal treats like fresh fave beans served with a chunk of pecorino cheese in the spring.

The primi are usually varied and usually offer everything from a risotto to a baked pasta like lasagna. But rest assured, there is also excellent pappa al pomodoro. Meat is a huge deal here, and you’ll see many Florentines going straight to that side of the menu. Classics like Trippa, Arista and bistecca alla Fiorentina. The home made desserts are rustic and delicious.

Despite its rustic appearance and cramped quarters La Vecchia Bettola is not cheap. With antipasti starting at 10 Euros and secondi at 14, it’s more restaurant prices than you’d expect from the setting. But the food, which is excellent, is well worth it.

Alla Vecchia Bettola
Via Vasco Pratolini 3, Florence
+39.055.224.158
Monday-Friday
Lunch: 12-2:30
Dinner: 7:30-10:30

For more information on dining in Florence and Italy download my app, EAT ITALY. EAT ITALY is a free app, and contains guides to Venice, Milan, Rome, Florence and Umbria (and an ever expanding list of regions and cities) available as in-app purchases for both iPhone and iPad

(NOTE: if you bought the previous version of EAT FLORENCE, which I first published in 2011 as a stand alone app, thank you! I hope you enjoyed it, but that version is now officially obsolete and will no longer be updated. If you have it on your device, it will continue to work, more or less, but the content will be outdated. For the new version, and future updates, I invite you to download EAT ITALY. ) (grazie!)