Gelateria De 'Medici — Restaurant in Florence

I’ve been around. Tokyo yakitori bars at 2 a.m., Beirut backstreets with a cold Almaza in hand, New York diners that smell like history and burnt coffee. But sometimes—when you’re not looking for it—you stumble on something so honest, so goddamn good, it pulls you in five times in three days. That’s what happened to me at this gelato shop.

It wasn’t flashy. No influencer line out the door. No twelve-dollar waffle cones that taste like cardboard and regret. Just a little shop, maybe a bell above the door, and the smell—sweet cream and roasted pistachio in the air like a promise.

The first taste? It hits like a memory you forgot you had. Real gelato doesn’t shout. It doesn’t try to impress you. It whispers. It seduces. And this place? It knew exactly what it was doing. The pistachio? Nutty, earthy, not that fake neon green nonsense. The dark chocolate? Bitter, bold, unapologetic. Like a Roman cigarette at midnight.

I kept going back. Not because I’m a glutton (though maybe I am), but because this gelato wasn’t just dessert—it was therapy. It was proof that the best things in life are simple, crafted with care, and made to be devoured slowly under the sun or shamelessly at night.

If you ever find yourself near this place—don’t think. Just walk in. Order two scoops. Maybe three. Eat it with your hands if you have to. Because for a few glorious minutes, that little cup of frozen poetry will make the world feel just right.

And you’ll come back. Again. And...

Hands down the best gelato I had in Florence (and Rome for that matter). Tried a lot of different places, but this felt like hidden gem. And probably the least expensive out of all. I found here the best pistachio gelato plus a delicious crema de pistachio version, one of the few places that had coconut flavour and their crema de medici flavour is out of this world. The service was also excellent, the lady had patience with us being very undecided on what to choose and offered some great recommendations. Portions was also very generous, two scoops definitely seemed bigger than three or four scoops elsewhere. The only place I would have gelato in Florence if I am to visit again...

Best Gelato. It’s amazing, Pity is so far from central, however, that might be one of the reasons it doesn’t cost you 20 euro per ball of gelato. The prices are moderate and the gelato is great. I paid 2.20 for two generous scoops with a cone. The young lady serving was polite and kind being the only gelataria where they actually let me try any of the flavours before my purchase. It’s 3 stations on the T1 from the centre of town so not that much of a travel is you take transportation. Walking is 20 min give or take from central Florence. Would definitely go again and am glad I don’t live close by otherwise I’d be a whale (or more of a) by the end...