This is the 10th post in my Best Bites of Italy series, a round-up of the best eats during my 2 week trip through Rome, Venice, Florence and Cinque Terre. Previous posts include… Rome: highlighting Renato e Luisa, La Gelateria del Teatro, Fried Artichokes at Giggetto, La Pizza del Teatro in Rome and Osteria Le Mani in Pasta (truffle heaven!); Venice: Osteria Alla Frasca and Cip Ciap Pizza; and Florence: Uscio e Bottega, and Trattoria San Lorenzo.
Given that the last food recommendation from my foodie AirBnB hostess, Daniella, was BOMB.com, it only seemed appropriate that we hit up another spot on her list of good eats. The one that stuck out to me the most was La Beppa Fioraia. “Modern casual atmosphere, always full of locals and their pizza is very, very good. Garden seating as well,” she promised. I was instantly sold. Considering we haven’t had pizza since Rome, I definitely wanted to get my fix.
Thanks to social media (Foursquare check-ins FTW), I found out that Christine was in Italy at the same time we were. I barely missed her when we were in Venice, so I was super excited to find out that we were going to have a day overlapping in Florence! I haven’t seen Christine since she was in New York over a year ago, so I was more than excited to catch up and hear about her travels.
Also, don’t get me wrong, but after spending over a week of couple romantic time with J, we were starting to speak our own strange language. We couldn’t help it – Italy was just too romantic for us to not develop some type of weird lovey-dovey language mixed in with Clash of Clans slang. Gag (but kinda cute too right? lol) It was becoming a problem. We needed outside intervention to bring us back to reality.
We met up with Christine and her travel companion, also Christine (two Christines!!) to figure out our game plan for the day. The only request that the Christines had was to go to the Boboli Gardens across the river to explore. Yes, the same ones that Kimye got married in just a few days prior. It just so happened that La Beppa Fioraia was also across the river and on the way to the gardens. Woohoo! Love it when things just work out.
When we got to the restaurant and were taken out to the back outdoor seating area, I was blown away. It was the cutest secret little garden tucked away in an unassuming location. It felt instantly relaxing, not that the whole vacation hasn’t been relaxing, but you know, even MORE relaxed. Since it was a weekday, the restaurant was pretty empty and we almost had the entire yard to ourselves.
We were quickly seated and immediately offered something to drink. A liter of the house white? Sure! Why not? Truly the delicious and affordable house wines are one of the best parts of eating in Italy. After looking through the menu, we were sad to figure out that they actually didn’t serve their house made pizzas until the evening. While we didn’t get what we came for, I think we might have discovered something even better. Something I will call THE BEST CHEESE PLATE EVAS. The restaurant calls it the GRAN TAGLIERE BEPPA. Either way, I just want to be with this plate forever.
There was something for everyone on this plate. Cured meats, several types of cheeses, nuts, and to top it all off, the most amazing fried dough to dip into all kinds of sauces and jams.
As we took in the serene atmosphere, enjoyed our glasses of white, nibbled on the plate and swapped stories of our travel, I was a bit jealous (okay, a lot) to hear that the Christines were just enjoying the beginning of their 5 week post-MBA summer vacation trip. I could only dream of what a whole month of traveling in Europe would feel like. Almost made me want to go to Business School. You know, until I realized how much I actually disliked school.
After stuffing our face with what felt like an endless plate of food, we were finally ready for our entrees.
The pastas here were just okay, the two ladies weren’t a fan of theirs. I believe they thought it was a tad salty. My seafood risotto was pretty good, it was on the sweeter side, and the excess of lime zest made me think of a key lime pie. I think if I were to come back, I would only order the amazing charcuterie plate and wine, enjoy the garden and skip the entrees.
J’s dish could be described as a Paleo-dieter’s dream. He had a hamburger which was cooked medium rare, topped with a few thin slices of meat (but look at it, it’s mainly fat), and topped with fried artichokes and caramelized shallots.
Once again, a recommendation from Daniella didn’t disappoint. I truly loved the garden seating outside, obviously I loved the shared plate. Being there that afternoon was just a dream. If only we were able to try the pizza… mmm…
La Beppa Fioraia | TripAdvisor
Via dell’Erta Canina 6/R, 50125 Florence, Italy
