Manifattura — Restaurant in Florence

We were so excited to try this place - but to sit inside and enjoy their cozy, classy space, or to sit outside and soak up the summer evening? They had some tables open across the small piazza, so we couldn't pass that up. Reading about Manifattura online definitely drew us in with their exclusive use of Italian spirits and from what we found, owners that are supposedly architects with amazing taste. What's not to love? The menu of drinks and bites was impressive, making for another difficult decision. My husband initially had a basic G&T with local tonic while I started with the Sotto Questo Sole - a wonderful amaro cocktail. Imagine my joy when it came with a chunky parmesan garnish! They also had a great wine list and nonalcoholic options. For snacks, along with the complementary little bites, we also ordered the orange-fennel salad along with the zucchini & mint polpette. For our second round, the bartender worked with me to make another lusciously beautiful, refreshing drink - a White Lady, but with one of my favorites - Italicus instead of Cointreau - and a lightly salted rim, Margarita-style. Since they only serve Italian spirits, it was so fun to see the creativity and sample local flavors. Go for the night, expect to pay a little more than what you would at other aperitivo bars because you just want to try everything, but also expect to leave completely satisfied. What a fun night - we'd definitely return if...

This is one of the best cocktail places in Italy - absolutely recommended.

The place: Situated west of Florence’s city center, the place is vibrant and well visited throughout the whole week. And still, you can have a nice chat with the mixologists during all the business in the background. The vibe is very chill, but the team takes their drinks very seriously though. A perfect combination.

The menu: Those guys are putting a lot of effort and creativity into their drink menu. All main cocktails on the menu are custom made, perfectly balanced and fair priced as well. The menu is updated regularly - it followed an Italian pop music theme when we visited the bar.

The drinks: Top notch, hand-crafted, high-quality cocktails. The shelves are filled with old and new classic liquids - everything you should and would expect from a perfectly prepared bar. An interesting detail to mention: Manifattura features only Italian liquors and uses only Italian ingredients for their drinks, which adds an authentic touch. They usually have several customized Negronis on the menu, and because I love a good Negroni, I had a few - all variations were delicious, perfectly balanced and beautifully garnished.

Overall: Manifattura is one of THE places for cocktails and...

Four of us stopped in for a quick drink before dinner at Il Latini around the corner. The menu is very creative and seems to be entirely based on riffs of classic drinks. The menu is in Italian, so don’t hesitate to ask for recommendations/explanations. The bartender was very patient (not the norm) and provided helpful descriptions.

We received 2 small plates of house olives and taralli that were delicious. The drinks themselves were prepared quickly and were some of the best cocktails we had in Florence, especially if you want a change of pace from spritz and Negronis.

A note about the menu: all of the spirits are made in Italy, which means that a classic drink, like a sazerac, will be prepared with entirely Italian spirits. This means everything will have a bit of an Italian flavor profile, with prolific use of digestifs and aperitifs to make up characteristics found in spirits that can’t be made in Italy (tequila, mezcal, some whiskies). This could be a feature or a bug depending on your perspective. Overall, our table enjoyed the drinks, but they were fairly significant departures from the base...