Here’s Everything You’ll Eat on This Walking Food Tour in Florence

Should I spend money on this food tour? What kinds of food will I get to taste?

Why do these tour operators so adamant on telling you how long the tour will last, but never how many tastings you’ll get?

No foodie will ever care for the length of the tour, right? We all want to know which “dishes” we’re paying for, and exactly “how many” of them!

That was the answer I failed to get while trying to decide on the best walking food tour in Florence with regional dishes. I was weighing my options without a valid factor for HOURS.

I did book something in the end, and I got to try Cantucci, Coccoli, truffle oil, my now-favorite truffle honey, and several other yummy things. I’ll give you the full list.

That’s not all! I have opinions, and I’ll share them with you most honestly, so you can decide for yourself whether this tour is right for you or not.

What You Should Expect From a Food Tour

One of the top reasons I love joining a food tour as soon as I hit a new city is the knowledge it gives me on the local food scene.

Cuisine is a huge part of a culture, and as a cultural traveler, I hate blindly trying dishes somewhere, then realizing later that those aren’t even truly local.

A solid food tour in a city should focus on introducing you to the traditional dishes, drinks, and desserts originating from its country.

In Italy, with each province having its own culinary tradition, the food tour should include regional dishes.

Nine times out of ten, I’d leave a food tour with a handful of recommendations on where to eat the best local food, too. That’s like a super nice bonus you can get from interacting with your guide.

Tour Overview

• Length: 3 hours
• Stops: 7
• Menus Tasted: 14
• Group Size: There were 14 of us
• Price: US$44 per person

Here’s A List of Everything I Got to Eat

We all know that we’ll get a lot of food with 15+ tastings. But what food are we paying for? Right?

Here are all the dishes I got to try on this tour.

Disclaimer: This tour runs twice a day, at 11 AM and 5 PM. I took the daytime version, so I can’t guarantee that the 5 PM tour will give you all the same menus.

• Cantucci + Vin Santo
• Coccoli
• Truffle oil
• Truffle cream
• Pure black truffle
• Truffle honey
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Types of balsamic vinegar
  • 6-year aged
  • 10-year aged
  • 15-year aged
• Pistachio cream
• Penne ragù
• Panino con salame
• Gelato

That’s 14 tastings in total. The penne ragù is basically a sit-down lunch, so there’s no need to plan a meal for that afternoon.

Stop-by-Stop Recount of My Experience

I showed up at the meeting point (Piazza dell’Unità Italiana) right at 10:50 AM.

Our guide, Francesco, was waiting for the tour mates in the middle of the square, right under the obelisk so you’ll spot in from a mile away.

A few folks arrived late, but we started at 11:02 AM with 14 people total. Not too bad.

Francesco started by giving us a quick rundown of the tour agenda, which way we’ll be walking, what dishes we’ll get to try, etc.

I also caught my very first piece of local advice during this introduction: Eating at Mercato Centrale is the most touristy thing you can ever do. The locals are too good for that market. They only go there to pick up produce.

We set off on the tour course at 11:15 AM, heading east towards San Lorenzo.

Stop 1: Buchetta del Vino (No Tasting)

We first stopped at some random Buchetta del Vino on the way to San Lorenzo.

If you’ve done a bit of research on what to do in Florence already, you’ve probably heard of wine windows. We stopped here for some historical background.

In as short a version as possible, the Medici family basically allowed noble families to sell wine directly from their estates tax-free in the 1400s.

These little windows are big enough just to fit a fiasco (wine bottle) through.

After enduring for a few centuries, they completely died out after the great flood of 1966. Then came back into popularity during Covid, with the help of Stanley Tucci’s show.

Be careful which wine window you pick when you go, though.

Thanks to its renewed popularity, many new ones were carved especially just to receive unsuspecting tourists and are not authentic. The real ones are smaller, and are part of a prestigious palazzo building.

With that, we continued to our first stop with a tasting.

Stop 2: Il Cantuccio di San Lorenzo

Starting the day with sweet snacks and alcohol is exactly my vibe 😂

Il Cantuccio di San Lorenzo is one of the most popular spots to get Cantucci and Vin Santo.

I visited for the first time during this tour, and loved watching cantucci being made fresh through the window.

Props to the baker for smiling at everyone, even though he must have had his photos taken a thousand times a day. I’d be real upset if that were me, so I gave him a break by leaving his face out of it 😅

The best way to enjoy cantucci is to take a bite first, then dip it in wine for a few seconds, and then take another bite to notice its flavor changing.

Stop 3: Forno Canapa di Bruschi Ivana

Next, we stopped at the oldest bakery in the city, which has been in business since 1770.

That’s not the most exciting thing about it. Ivana Bruschi, the owner, is still working there, and at 96, she’s also the oldest worker in Florence!

She only comes in in the afternoon, so we didn’t get to meet her on the tour.

I went back a few days after and met her in person, though. She’s the sweetest, and she dresses as if the bakery were her runway. No wonder why Francesco calls her a diva!

Anyway, back to the tour. Here, we each got a small piece of Coccoli, a type of fried dough, eaten with cheese and prosciutto, like a sandwich.

The dough itself reminded me of Pa Tong Go in Thailand (Youtiao in Singapore, whichever you’ve tried).

Stop 4: Mercato Centrale

We wandered into Mercato Centrale, which is where the biggest batch of tastings will happen.

As we walked through the aisles, Francesco gave us bits of information on the local produce, like how to properly eat Bistecca alla Fiorentina (always rare) and how to spot natural-fed chicken.

The real tasting stop is Conservo, a shop selling high-quality Tuscan products.

We crowded in around the counter, each getting a stool to sit on, as we listened to a short introduction on truffle and olive oil production in the region.

I also found out why Tuscans use dogs on their truffle hunts. They originally used pigs, but unlike dogs, pigs didn’t wait for the people. As soon as they found truffles, they’d just eat them 🤣

Anyway, here, we tasted a bunch of truffle products, like truffle oil, truffle cream, and pure black truffles on bread. These were all amazing, but I’ll always be partial to oil on bread.

We also tasted a teaspoon of truffle honey, which I’d never even heard of before. I was completely converted on this one.

I bought a jar to take home with me, and I’m still making my way through said jar.

Next was a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, which Tuscans are very proud of.

There are only two regions in Italy that produce extra virgin olive oil, Tuscany and Puglia, that’s how special it is. Unlike virgin olive oil, these smell way stronger, with a spicy aftertaste.

Then we got to taste balsamic vinegar, which is not from Tuscany, but included because it’s always paired with olive oil.

We tasted three different versions, aged for six years, ten years, and fifteen years. I loved the ten-year version the most. The fifteen was way too thick for my taste.

As a bonus, we each got a small bite of the shop’s Pistachio cream. Did not buy that one because I probably would have finished the whole thing in a few days, and that’s not… great.

By the end of this epic series of tastings, it was almost 1 PM. We got to walk by the Duomo complex on our way to the lunch spot.

Stop 5: Lunch @ Zio Gigi

Lunch was a simple plate of Penne Ragù, but we learned an important distinction. While Bolognese Ragù is made with a bit of milk, the Florentine Ragù is made with a bit of wine.

And man, as simple as the penne looks, it was delicious, especially with the extra cheese.

Stop 6: Da’ Vinattieri

The next stop was at a hidden sandwich shop that’s quite popular among the locals. It’s also right next to Dante’s House Museum, and the church where he allegedly met his muse, Beatrice.

We each got a very small cut of a panino con salame. It was good, but too ordinary, considering the adventurous regional dishes available in Florence, like Lampredotto.

Francesco said that the tour originally let people try that stuff, but most of them wouldn’t touch it, so they had to adjust to a more common menu.

That was a shame, and I secretly rolled my eyes at people who wanted to travel, but refused to get out of their comfort zones in a different culture. But I’m not going to rant about that here.

Stop 7: RivaReno Gelato

Of course, the tour has to end with gelato. Florence is where gelato was born, after all!

I chose Crema Buontalenti and Contessa, because Francesco said that Buontalenti is a Florentine flavor, and that Contessa is “interesting.”

Buontalenti was delicious, but Contessa was interesting in a semi-negative way for me. It smelled entirely of almond and was a bit too strong.

The tour ended at 2 PM.

My Honest Opinion: Should You Book This Tour?

Honestly, it largely depends on how much of a “local cuisine” stickler you are.

Despite getting to taste all the local produce and menus from Florence, having to eat a normal panino with salame instead of a super Florentine delicacy like Lampredotto left a bad taste in my mouth.

I loved every other part of the tour, though, and I can thoroughly understand why the operators felt the need to change up the menu. But I’d have just preferred it if they stood their ground on what tourists should try.

More Adventurous Alternative

If you’re exactly like me and you’re ready to eat anything, as long as it stays true to the local culture, then I found this tour that definitely gives you Lampredotto (and possibly other super Florentine menus).

It’s very new, so there aren’t a lot of reviews yet. I personally would have chosen it if it had existed then. 👇

Can You Try These Places On Your Own?

You absolutely can take note of these stops and DIY your own food route, but if you only have a few days in the city but want to taste as much local cuisine as you can, you’ll end up wasting too much time on food.

There are too many other amazing things to do in Florence, you can’t spend all your hours on food.

• ✅ Book this tour here ➡️ Florence Street Food Tour With Wine & Local Guide
• ✅ Book the more adventurous tour here ➡️ Taste Florence: A Food Lover’s Tour

Also into wine? Check out this Tuscany wine tour too! Or continue planning your time in Florence with these guides below 👇

• Where to stay in Florence without cars or bus rides
• Sample 3-day itinerary for Florence
• Churches you must visit in Florence
  • Ultimate guide to the Duomo Complex
• Italy travel tips for first-time visitors

Check out my Italy Cultural Travel page for guides on Bologna if that’s also in your plans.

Get Ready For Your Trip to Italy

Below are resources to help you get ready for your trip. Don’t forget to check visa requirements.

• Make sure you have travel insurance
• Stay connected in Italy with this eSIM
• Must-have Apps: City Mapper, Google Maps, AppTaxi

Grab My Trip-Planner Template

To help streamline your planning process, I’ve decided to share the template I’ve created and have personally used to plan my own trips. You can grab a copy of it for free below!

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