The line to get into Il Latini.
Dinner at Florence's Il Latini is a marathon feast of typical Florentine and Tuscan dishes that'll leave you wonderfully stuffed for days
Dinner at Il Latini.
Although a bit touristy, this down-home trattoria opeend by Uncle Narcisso Latini in 1950 has stayed genuine in the most important aspect: the food.
If you are looking for that archetypal Tuscan feast, the one that lasts for hours and has more courses than you can count, this is place the to make a reservation.
That said, even if you book ahead (and you should to ensure you get a table) you'll have to join the scrum around the front door at 7:30pm and wait until someone finds an empty space to squeeze you in at a sturdy communal table under the ceiling's wood beams from which hang ranks of prosciuttos. In fact, getting thrown together with strangers and sharing a common meal is part of the fun here.
There is a menu—somewhere—but most everybody opts for the unofficial set meal: €45 buys you a primo—usually ribollita and pappa al pomodoro or penne strascicate (in a ragù mixed with cream)—a helping from a heaping platter of arrosto misto (roasted meats) for your main course, plus dessert, biscotti with vin santo, and all the house wine you can drink.
Tips & links
Details
Il Latini ★★★
Via del Palchetti 6r (off Via della Vigna Nuova)
(Santa Maria Novella)
tel. +39-055-210-916
www.illatini.com
Closed Mondays
€€€
Bus: 6, 11; 12, 36
Hop-on/hop-off: Stazione FS SMN (A, B), Piazza Stazione (C); Guicciardini (A)
Nearby...
SIGHTS
- Santa Maria Novella
- Santa Trìnita ★
- Piazza della Repubblica
- Duomo group ★★★
- Medici Chapels ★★
- The Orsanmichele ★
PLACES TO STAY
- Residenza Fiorentina [€€]
- Hotel Helvetia and Bristol [€€€]
- Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci [€€€]
- Hotel Santa Maria Novella [€€]
- Westin Excelsior [€€€]
- Grand Hotel Minerva [€€€]
- Antica Torre di Via Tornabuoni 1[€€€]
OTHER PLACES TO EAT
- Osteria Numero 1 [€€€]
- Trattoria Belle Donne [€€]
- Coco Lezzone [€€]
- Cantinetta Antinori [€€€][quick]
- Trattoria Croce al Trebbio [€€]
General dining tips
- "Pane e coperto" is not a scam: Nearly all Italian restaurants have an unavoidable pane e coperto ("bread and cover" charge) of anything from €1 to €15—though most often €2 to €5—per person that is automatically added onto your bill. This is perfectly normal and perfectly legal (though a few trendy restaurants make a big deal about not charging it).
- Find out if service (tip) is included: Don't double-tip by accident. If the menu has a line—usually near the bottom of the front or back—that says "servizio" with either a percentage, an amount, or the word "incluso" after it, that means the tip is automatically included in the price. (If it says "servizio non incluso," tip is, obviously, not included.)
Even if the menu doesn't say it, ask É incluso il servizio? (ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo)—"Is service included?" If not, tip accordingly (10%–15% is standard).
Don't be stingy about tipping, though. If il servizio is, indeed, already included but the service was particularly good, it's customary to round up the bill or leave €1 per person extra—just to show you noticed and that you appreciated the effort.
- Tourist menus: The concept of a bargain prix-fixe menu is not popular in Italy. Some restaurants do offer a menu turistico ("tourist menu"), which can cost from €8 to €20 and usually entails a choice from among two or three basic first courses (read: different pasta shapes, all in plain tomato sauce), a second course of roast chicken or a veal cutlet, and some water or wine and bread. With very few exceptions, tourist menus tend to live up to their name, appearing only at the sort of tourist-pandering restaurants that the locals wisely steer clear of.
However, a menu à prezzo fisso ("fixed-price menu") is often a pretty good deal, usually offering a bit more choice than a tourist menu.
Then—especially at nicer (and pricier) restaurants—there is the menu degustazione ("tasting menu"), usually far more expensive (anywhere from €25 to €110) that is a showcase of the chef's best, or of regional specialties, and can make for an excellent way to sample the kitchen's top dishes.
- Book ahead: For restaurants that I am truly eager to try, I go ahead and book a table—at least at dinner. I find that a corollary of Murphy's Law seems to apply. If you prudently book ahead, you are likely to show up to a half-empty restaurant and feel a bit like a fool for having worried about finding a table. If, on the other hand, you just show up at the door expecting to find a free table, the place will inevitably be packed and its bookings full for the evening.
Culinary tours of Florence
- Wine tasting
- Cooking classes
- Vineyards
Walks & Seminars
- Florence for Foodies
- Florence Foodies Walk
- Florence Market Walk
- Florence for Foodies: A Small Group Tour
- Truffle Hunting in Tuscany: A Full-Day Excursion in the Crete Senesi
- Small-Group Florence Food Walking Tour
- At the Florentine Market
- Olive Oil from Tree to Table
- Balsamic Vinegar Tasting
- La Dolce Vita: Tuscan Chocolate Walk
- Decadent Indulgence - Wine & Chocolate in Florence
- Gelato and Vino
Wine tastings
Cooking classes
- Small-Group Italian Cooking Class in Florence
- Florence Cooking Course and Local Market Visit
- Handmade Italian Pasta Cooking Course in Florence
- Become A Tuscan Chef for A Day
- Learn to Cook a Florentine Meal
- Italy's Most Glorious Creations: Pizza & Gelato
- From Market to Table: A Small Group Tuscan Cooking Class
- At the Florentine Market
- Tuscan Cooking Class and Dinner in Florence
- Florence Cooking Class: Learn How to Make Gelato and Pizza
Special meals
Vineyard excursions
» Chianti
- Chianti Region Wine Tasting Half-Day Trip from Florence
- Chianti Classico - Group Guided Tour
- Chianti Region Wine-Tasting and Dinner Half-Day Trip from Florence
- Private Tour: Chianti Region Wine Tasting
- Small-Group Tuscany Wine-Tasting Tour from Florence
- Chianti Nord Wine Tour: Half Day
- Chianti Nord Wine Tour: Full Day
- Tuscany in One Day Sightseeing Tour
- Super Tuscan Wines: A Small Group Guided Tour
- Winery Visit & Tasting at Cantina Antinori in Chianti Classico
- Small Group Chianti Wine Region Day Trip from Florence
- Winery Visit and Lunch in Chianti
- Winery Visit & Guided Visit of Siena and San Gimignano
» Other Tuscan wine regions
Italian dining phrases
- Basic phrases (below)
English (Inglese) | Italian (Italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
Good day | Buon giorno | bwohn JOUR-noh |
Good evening | Buona sera | BWOH-nah SAIR-rah |
Good night | Buona notte | BWOH-nah NOTE-tay |
Goodbye | Arrivederci | ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee |
Excuse me (to get attention) | Scusi | SKOO-zee |
thank you | grazie | GRAT-tzee-yay |
please | per favore | pair fa-VOHR-ray |
yes | si | see |
no | no | no |
Do you speak English? | Parla Inglese? | PAR-la een-GLAY-zay |
I don't understand | Non capisco | non ka-PEESK-koh |
I'm sorry | Mi dispiace | mee dees-pee-YAT-chay |
Where is? | Dov'é | doh-VAY |
...a restaurant | un ristorante | oon rees toh-RAHN-tay |
...a casual restaurant | una trattoria un'osteria | oo-nah trah-toar-RHEE-yah oon ohst-air-EE-yah |
I would like to reserve... | Vorrei prenotare... | voar-RAY pray-note-ARE-eh |
a table for two | una tavola per due | oo-nah TAH-voal-lah pair DOO-way |
...for 7pm | per le sette | pair lay SET-tay |
...for 7:30pm | per le sette e mezzo | pair lay SET-tay eh MET-tzoh |
...for 8pm | per le otto | pair lay OH-toh |
I would like | Vorrei... | voar-RAY |
...some (of) | un pó (di) | oon POH (dee) |
...this | questo | KWAY-sto |
...that | quello | KWEL-loh |
chicken | pollo | POL-loh |
steak | bistecca | bee-STEAK-ah |
veal | vitello | vee-TEL-oh |
fish | pesce | PEH-shay |
meat | carne | KAR-neh |
I am vegetarian | sono vegetariano | SO-no veg-eh-tair-ee-YAH-no |
side dish [veggies always come seperately] | cotorno | kon-TOR-no |
dessert | dolce | DOAL-chay |
and | e | ay |
...a glass of | un bicchiere di | oon bee-key-YAIR-eh dee |
...a bottle of | una bottiglia di | oo-na boh-TEEL-ya dee |
...a half-liter of | mezzo litro di | MET-tzoh LEE-tro dee |
...fizzy water | acqua gassata | AH-kwah gah-SAHT-tah |
...still water | acqua non gassata | AH-kwah noan gah-SAHT-tah |
...red wine | vino rosso | VEE-noh ROH-so |
...white wine | vino bianco | VEE-noh bee-YAHN-koh |
...beer | birra | BEER-a |
Check, please | Il conto, per favore | eel COAN-toh pair fah-VOAR-eh |
Is service included? | É incluso il servizio? | ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo |
Related pages
- Florence dining homepage
- Florence hotels
- Florence sightseeing
- Florence planning FAQ
- Florence homepage
- Tuscany homepage
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