16 Best Restaurants in The Oltrarno, Florence

This wine bar on the way up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo serves cured meats and cheeses, pastas, salads, and daily specials. Crostini and crostoni—grilled bread topped with a mélange of cheeses and meats—are the house specialty, and its grilled vegetables are divine. The lengthy wine list offers great options by the glass and terrific bottles from all over Italy and beyond. All this can be enjoyed at rustic wooden tables and seated outdoors when weather allows.

Though it has only four tables and four small stools at an equally small bar, Il Santino is blessed with a big wine list and superior cheeses, cured meats, and other delicacies. It's the perfect place to have a snack or a light meal.

Florentines and other lovers of good food flock to "The Holy Drinker" for Tuscan-inspired dishes—perhaps the exceptional verdure sott'olio or the terrina di fegatini (a creamy chicken-liver spread) to start, followed by one of the divine pastas. Unpretentious white walls, dark wood furniture, and paper placemats provide the simple decor. The extensive wine list is well priced.

Casalinga means "housewife," and this place, which has been around since 1963, has the nostalgic charm of a mid-century kitchen with Tuscan comfort food to match. If you eat ribollita anywhere in Florence, eat it here—it couldn't be more authentic. Paintings clutter the semi-paneled walls, tables are set close together, and the place is usually jammed. The menu is long, portions are plentiful, and service is prompt and friendly. For dessert, the lemon sorbet perfectly caps off the meal. Making reservations for this place isn't a bad idea.

An oenophile's dream, this spot—whose name translates as "the foxes and the grape" and is based on one of Aesop's fables—is off Piazza Santa Felicita. Here, affable, knowledgeable "volpi" (foxes), pour wines by the glass and serve equally impressive cheeses and bite-size sandwiches.

The name doesn't exactly mean "old dive," but it comes pretty close. The recipes here come from "wise grandmothers" and celebrate Tuscan food in its glorious simplicity—prosciutto is sliced to order, grilled meats are tender, service is friendly, and the wine list is well-priced and good. This lively trattoria has been around only since 1979, but it feels as if it's been in existence much longer. Reservations are a good idea.

While you wait for your pizza or other trattoria fare, enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail.

Founded in 2013 as a micro coffee roaster on Via de' Neri, Ditta Artigianale now has four spots throughout Florence. Follow a side street off the Palazzo Pitti to take a coffee break with a classic espresso, drip coffee, or the inventive Coffemisu (espresso, cookies, cocoa, and mascarpone cream) in a space that's more like an airy mid-century modern living room, than a coffee shop. There's a full brunch menu from pancakes to avocado toast, an extensive cocktail list, and a selection of sweets including brownies, cookies, and cakes.

This little wine bar combines the best of Italian and French cheeses with wine from the same places to create true gustatory pleasure. The list of crostini is creative and offers some unusual pairings (like French Brie with Italian Speck, which is dotted with a spicy tomato chutney). Bottles of wine and artisanal foodstuffs are also available for purchase. All this can be enjoyed while sitting outside.

At the foot of Ponte Carraia, two bridges down from the Ponte Vecchio, find standard gelato flavors or creative options such as delizia carraia (white chocolate with pistachio sauce).

If you're brave enough to try lampredotto, get in line at this food truck. Popular with construction workers, the filling Florentine sandwich of a cow's fourth stomach, slow-cooked with tomato, parsley, onion, and celery, is served on crusty bread with a signature spicy salsa verde. Lasagne, tortellini, coccoli (fried dough balls served with prosciutto), daily specials, and trippa alla fiorentina (stewed tripe served with bread on the side), are also on offer. There are a few tables to eat outside.

This innovative, charming place serves up remarkable food and is a must if you're looking for a sublime bistecca alla fiorentina. The wine list, as befits the love child of a fine enoteca, is divine.

Always crowded this osteria is next to San Niccolò church, and, if you sit in the lower part, you'll be in what was once a chapel dating from the 11th century. The subtle but dramatic background nicely complements the food, which is simple Tuscan. The pollo con limone is tasty pieces of chicken in a lemon-scented broth. In winter, try the spezzatino di cinghiale con aromi (wild boar stew with herbs). Reservations are advised for dinner.

At Pitti Gola you can order tasty tidbits to accompany your choices from the extensive and impressive wine list. The outdoor seats have a view of Palazzo Pitti.

The eclectic staff perfectly matches the diverse menu at this trattoria, where, in winter, you can eat in one of two rooms with high ceilings, and, in summer, you can sit outside and people-watch. Traditional Tuscan favorites, such as tortelli mugellani (potato- and cheese-stuffed pasta in a wild boar meat sauce), are on offer, as are less typical dishes such as the earthy cabbage salad with avocado, pine nuts, and drops of olio di tartufo (truffle oil). Reservations are advised.

"Zeb" stands for zuppa e bollito (soup and boiled things), but you can't go wrong with anything at this small alimentari (delicatessen) with high-quality ingredients at a reasonable price. It's homestyle Tuscan cuisine at its very best, served in intimate surroundings (there's room for only about 20 diners). Giuseppina and her son, Alberto, insist on cooking what's fresh that day, reflecting the season's best offerings.