Pizzeria Antica Porta — Restaurant in Florence

This is the place the locals go, it's also where the queues get long fast... Either reserve or get there early (it opens at 7pm). Quite possibly the best pizza in Florence, maybe even this far north of Naples - the queues aren't for nothing. Thin crispy base; high quality thick and creamy tomato sauce; only the very best cheese. Nothing more is needed but if you have a topping, whether veg or meat, again this will be very high quality and delicious.

If you don't fancy pizza their other options (pasta, primo piati, secondo piati, etc) can be seen on the blackboards (not on the menu).

Good choice of wine, lots of local options and excellent Chianti. The waiters can help with this too.

Some English can be spoken but it's better to speak in Italian. The service is very friendly and helpful. Can sometimes get a little slow because it's so busy. You can go up to the till to speed up the payment process, just don't get in the way of...

If you walk about 1km south from the Arno, you may notice a shift from tourist zone to a more local flavour, which was apparent here. Antica Porta combines a neighbourhood feel with a very welcoming environment for tourists. The service was friendly and met my feeble attempts to speak Italian with English menus and interactions. There are a variety of pizzas to try. I got a little daring and tried one with some tomato water in the crust and no cheese with 5 types of tomatoes, which was a distinctive experience, but won’t keep me away from mozzarella. We also had more of a traditional margherita style with burrata that I preferred. I also sampled an Italian beer (I wish I had gotten the specific brand and type) which had a subtle hint of what reminded me of Hoegaarden (perhaps a touch of coriander?), which was a nice light complement...

A very, very good restaurant in Florence. It got recommended to us by the staff of our holiday home and we went there two times during our stay in Florence. It's at the Porta Romana, just near the south exit of the Giardino di Boboli. It's as typical a Italian restaurant may be in my imagination. They cook with fresh ingredients that are on showcase near the large oven, people and families drop by to get some dinner or take away pizza – which is excellent there! The staff is friendly and helps you choosing from the menu or the recommendations written on the board. Prices are fair, the house wine is great and we never felt more at holiday than at this finde...