The original business on this site opened in 1500 as a coach deposit and a meeting place for knights. It then became a wine shop where you could buy a goblet of wine and a bowl of bean soup.
In 1986 four young friends took on the restaurant and they still run it today. These days, Trattoria Bordino specialises in Florentine steaks cooked on the barbecue. I can happily report that the steaks are very good and very reasonably priced.
Trattoria Bordino
The restaurant is at 9r Via Stracciatella. It is on the Palazzo Pitti side of the Arno, not far from Ponte Vecchio. It is small and very busy at lunch time. If you can, grab a table outside as it can be quite cramped inside.
inside the busy restaurant
The walls are covered with old cooking implements and all manner of interesting things.
old things cover the walls
the wine selection
old baskets on the wall
The menu changes daily, and the waiter is just as likely to shout out the daily offerings. Not much English is spoken and you will be surrounded by Florentines enjoying a noisy lunch with friends. The food is good and inexpensive, the service is brisk and it is fun to sit with the locals.
the bread drawer
I ordered the Florentine steak. It was a good size, not huge like they are in some restaurants. This is a good thing, take a look at the dessert table.
dolce
this one had my name on it
I will leave you with some of the words of the trattoria has to say about itself. “The Florence dinner of the restaurant trattoria Bordino is a pleasure to live with happiness.” I don’t think I can add anything to this.
A considerable step up from traditional Dutch food (bread, cheese an herrings excepted)!
By: Richard Tulloch on June 23, 2011
at 8:20 am
I don’t mind the odd herring.
By: bagnidilucca on June 23, 2011
at 11:56 am
So many interesting places to eat. Makes our food & history seem (sigh)
By: Theresa Lauf on June 23, 2011
at 8:27 am
The only downside to the food in Italy is that the only food that is offered (mostly) is Italian food. While it is excellent, sometimes it would be nice to eat Thai, or Indian or Greek ….. In Australia we do have a great variety of food.
By: bagnidilucca on June 23, 2011
at 11:58 am
Love the look of those tarts…LOL. x
By: Liz Golding on June 23, 2011
at 8:35 am
Those tarts were mighty fine.
By: bagnidilucca on June 23, 2011
at 11:59 am
A bread drawer! Great idea – I think I have seen one of these in an uber modern kitchen design company, all lined with steel, why?
Love those baskets, wish we could have a holiday, prob not going to happen this year…. but I will feast vicariously with you until I can 😀
By: Joanna @ Zeb Bakes on June 23, 2011
at 8:37 am
I was very impressed with the bread drawer. The room was tiny, so it was a great space saver.
By: bagnidilucca on June 23, 2011
at 12:00 pm
We have been going to Bordino for years and it is a great place. It was recommended to us by one of the jewellers on the Ponte Vecchio, saying that it was excellent value for money. The daily menu is also very good and the price is ridiculous (less than 10 euros per person). We can strongly recommend the Vitello Tonnato, the Bollito Caprese and all the soups are delicious, particularly in winter. And for desserts, the Panna Cotta is to kill for!!!!
By: Mulino Dominillo on June 23, 2011
at 11:03 am
And it was you who recommended Bordino to me. I intend to become a regular.
By: bagnidilucca on June 23, 2011
at 12:00 pm
That fruit tart looks gloriously mouth-watering. La Dolce Vita! What more can I say!
By: Sandra H on June 23, 2011
at 1:03 pm
It looks very edible doesn’t it?
By: bagnidilucca on June 23, 2011
at 8:57 pm
Lovely. I have added this to “Debra’s List of Places to Enjoy” for our visit to Florence next week. Thanks!
By: Anonymous on June 23, 2011
at 2:47 pm
Go early, it is bound to be crowded.
By: bagnidilucca on June 23, 2011
at 8:58 pm
Sounds absolutely perfect.
Re your comment about food in Italy: I’m sure that’s true but I did have some amazing sushi while visiting Charlotte in Milano years ago..
By: Anna Harrison on June 23, 2011
at 5:54 pm
I have seen a few sushi places as well and they seem to be quite popular, but as a rule there is little good foreign in Italy.
By: bagnidilucca on June 23, 2011
at 9:00 pm
Table for four please 🙂
By: cityhippyfarmgirl on June 23, 2011
at 8:21 pm
I’ll organise it right now.
By: bagnidilucca on June 23, 2011
at 9:01 pm
Love the bread drawer
By: Roz on June 24, 2011
at 12:45 am
Florentine steak, yum! I’ll add Trattoria Bordino to my list of places to eat at next time I’m in Florence.
By: Tali on June 24, 2011
at 5:40 pm
[…] are lots of options for lunch. Florentine steak is a speciality. Most are huge. Go to Trattoria Bordino for one that is a reasonable size and an excellent price. steak and porcini mushrooms in the […]
By: A day in Florence « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on August 11, 2011
at 10:56 pm
What time is lunch? We usually somehow miss lunch in nice places and get stuck eating pizza-next month I vow to eat lunch that isn’t in a bar!
By: Melonie Carideo on August 14, 2011
at 6:56 pm
Trattoria Bordino would be a good place to start. It is not expensive and the food is great.
By: bagnidilucca on August 14, 2011
at 8:31 pm
Thank you for recommending Trattoria Bordino! It was everything you said it would be…and a bit more! We had a delicious dinner there. Sat inside and took pics of the bread drawer and the walls. When we were leaving, I mentioned that a friend had recommended them to us, and that we in turn would do the same. They then gave us both a limoncello on the house….was very tasty too!
By: Lesley on October 10, 2011
at 7:26 pm
It’s a great spot. I think I need to go to lunch there soon.
By: bagnidilucca on October 11, 2011
at 7:52 am
[…] lunch at Trattoria Bordino. Click here for more on the […]
By: A day in Florence | Bella Bagni di Lucca on August 16, 2012
at 11:24 pm
i was there for the first time in 1997, its a really typical food there… i love it , and every time i visit Firenze , i take my lunch at this trattoria….
By: tawi123 on November 28, 2012
at 2:30 pm
I love this restaurant, but don’t order the chicken livers…..they were horrible.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 29, 2012
at 12:24 pm