Florence might be most famous for its art and architecture, but its lesser-known coffee culture is undergoing a renaissance of its own.
Tradition and innovation stand side by side as shabby express bars and trendy artisan coffeehouses compete to win over the city’s choosy clientele. And to ensure you know where to go to get the best of both worlds, I’m here to spill the beans on where you can find the best coffee in Florence.
From a macchiato made in heaven to the most crave-worthy cappuccino (the consumption of which after breakfast will earn you social ostracism in this country), this post takes you through the traditional bars, chic cafés, and artisan coffeehouses that brew up creations to please even the most discerning of coffee connoisseurs.
But first, here are some things you need to know about ordering coffee in Italy
If you’re a seasoned veteran of Italian (coffee) culture, feel free to skip this part and head straight to our list. But if this is your first time in the bel paese, you might want to bear some of these things in mind. For just as there’s an art to being a barista, here in Italy there’s an art to ordering from one. And should you stray from any of these commandments, you could find yourself in a latte confusion.
Stand to save – Sit to savour
Have you ever noticed that in Italian cafés there are always people standing at the bar? Part of this is because Italians are innately sociable, but another reason—and little-known fact when it comes to Italian bars— is that you actually pay more to sit down. Quite a lot more in fact. Taking a seat to sip your coffee can cost anywhere in the region of 20-50% extra (how much depending on what there is to see outside). But hey, if you’re in a café and everyone’s standing at the bar just do as the Romans do and join them.
“We no speak Americano”
If you ask for a coffee in Italy and expect an Americano prepare to be disappointed. Coffee (or “caffè”) in an Italian bar is just that—coffee: a small but delicious drip of what we know outside Italy as an espresso. To say that Italians are pretty particular about their coffee is an understatement. There might be as many variations of coffee as there are residents in Florence, but in the eyes of many the drip (or filter) coffee that’s so beloved back home in the UK is considered acqua sporca or “dirty water”.So where does this leave you? You can always order a caffè lungo (equally strong; twice as long) or a cappuccino senza schiuma (pronounced “SKEW-mah”), which is a little bit like a flat white. Or, if you’re determined to get your filter coffee and you’re willing to break some balls, just ask for it while specifying that you want it al vetro or “in a glass cup” (apparently there’s a difference).
How to pay
It’s now been seven years since I moved to Italy, and I’m still not sure what the procedure is for paying at a bar. Sometimes you have to tell the barista what you want and they serve it up along with the receipt so you can pay on your way out. Sometimes you pay the cashier first before presenting your barista with the receipt. As a rule of thumb, just watch what the locals do and go with the flow.
A tale of warm milk
This common pitfall is best explained through an anecdote. In Spring 2015, three of my former uni flatmates came to visit me for a long weekend in Florence. Unfortunately, I had to work on Friday, so left them to their own devices. After climbing Piazzale Michelangelo for its famous panoramic over the city, they decided to recharge their batteries by taking a pit stop outside a café in Piazza Santo Spirito. One of them ordered a cappuccino, the other an espresso, and the third one asked for a “latte”.
The one who ordered the latte told me that their waitress—whom he described as the most ravishingly beautiful woman he had ever seen—looked somewhat taken aback when he asked for the latte, and diligently checked to see if he did in fact just want a glass of milk.
Clearly he did not. But whether out of sheepish shame, misplaced male pride, or that quintessentially British tendency to avoid awkward situations at any cost, he obediently agreed that he did. And that’s just what he got—a warm glass of milk for a warm vernal day.
Here’s the pitfall: the Italian word for latte is milk, and what we can “latte” is the shortened form of lattemacchiato (pronounced “mah-kee-AH-toe”) which is a coffee with a generous topping of milk.
Where to find the best coffee in Florence
Ditta Artigianale (Via dei Neri 32/R & Via dello Sprone 5/R)
The joint that became such a hit they had to open two, Ditta Artigianale has boldly gone where no Florentine coffee bar has gone before in offering a modern menu (featuring flat whites and daily-updated filtered coffees) and delicious, unpretentious food within a sleek, urban setting. The original, more spartanly furnished establishment is on the Via dei Neri near the Basilica of Santa Croce. But the larger (and in my opinion better) branch is nestled between Palazzo Pitti and Piazza della Passera—a small square that’s also home to hands down the best gelato in Florence. What this coffee house’s success boils down to is more than just the quality of its beans. Its owners have managed to tap into the market by serving delicious food and drink within a comfortable environment—something conspicuously lacking in many of Italy’s rather more rundown and shabbily furnished suburban bars.
To lay my cards on the table, I generally don’t advocate the arrival of chains like Starbucks in Florence (least of all in the area around the Duomo). But I have no doubt that, if they were to arrive, it’d be precisely for their comfort, convenience, and—dare I say—plug sockets that they’d be a roaring success, especially among unbearable millennial freelancers like myself.
Il Caffè del Verone (Museum Degli Innocenti, Piazza della Santissima Annunziata 13)
You do have to pass through the museum’s entrance to get there, but you don’t have to buy a ticket to visit the café. I know this because it was the first thing my mother asked the receptionist when she came to visit. Which was all the more mortifying because I used to work there.
Anyhow, as you can imagine from a café situated on the rooftop of the world’s first secular institution devoted to child rearing, here the history is matched only by the view. In fact, the only café where you can get a better view of Brunelleschi’s great dome is the far more frenetic, student-busy Caffetteria delle Oblate.
Believe me when I say Il Caffè del Verone is better. Not only is it the ideal place for a caffeine injection before heading down to their remarkable museum, but it also serves up some great traditional Tuscan food. Just remember that according to the strict rules of Italian coffee culture, when it comes to coffee and food never the twain shall meet!
Caffè Concerto Paszkowski (Piazza della Repubblica 35/R)
- Old Photo of Caffe Concerto Paszkowski, Florence
- Caffe Concerto Paszcowski
If you’re looking for a café that oozes class, chic, and elegance, Paszkowski is the place for you. The café is to Florence’s coffee culture what the Uffizi is to Florence’s art scene—an institution. In fact, just like the Uffizi the building has been designated a national monument, having been in constant operation as a beer hall, music venue, and café since 1903. It’s not hard to see why it was once the favourite of the Florentine intelligentsia.
Sprawling onto the monumental Piazza della Repubblica right in the beating heart of the city centre, the inside is a haven of chic wooden décor, chandeliered ceilings, daily baked pastries and—most importantly—espresso to die for. Head there early in the morning or afternoon to make sure you don’t miss out on their scrumptious pastries. Or make your way there late to be treated to one of their nocturnal piano recitals.
Le Murate Caffè Letterario
Drinking your morning coffee within the confines of Florence’s most famous prison might not sound like the ideal way to spend your holiday. But as the happening place of the moment favoured by Florence’s young and beautiful, Le Murate really is the place to be. It’s quite difficult to find though. Despite living just five minutes away, the first time I tried to go there I typed “Le Murate” into Google Maps and was directed to an upmarket Fish and Chips shop of the same name about a 15-minute walk west (a bad workman always blames his tools – I just have a poor sense of direction). But it’s well worth checking out. Like Ditta Artigianale, it’s less the traditional Italian bar where you grab a coffee on the go or stand uncomfortably at the bar and more a place to linger, browse the Internet, and slowly sip your way through a dreamy cappuccino.
Mo’ Si Caffetteria alla Vecchia Maniera
This Neapolitan bar might not adhere to Naples’s tradition of the caffè sospeso, in which customers sometimes pay for an extra coffee to be enjoyed by the next stranger who wanders in off the streets. But it’s widely regarded as the only place in Florence where you still get what the Neapolitans call a coffee of the three Cs, calda, comoda, e carica (warm, comfortable, and fully-charged).Of all the coffees characterised by these three Cs, their cappuccino comes out on top. And while you’re there, why not treat yourself to one of their freshly baked pastries or brioches, especially the cornetti al cioccolato (chocolate croissants) or bombolini (cream-filled doughnuts). Heavenly.
