Trattoria Sostanza — Restaurant in Florence

I first dined here when I was 14 years old on a school trip, again when I was visiting Firenze at age 18, 19, 20, and a fifth time last week on vacation. Every time someone from home (NYC) mentions Firenze, I ask “Have you ever ate at Sostanza?” because this is the best restaurant I’ve ever been to in my entire life. I honestly cannot fathom the negative comments — the waiter at Peter Luger comment? I’ve been to both Peter Luger locations and sure their beef is good to American standard, but it’s no Fiorentina. The service? I’ve nothing bad to say. In fact, after indulging myself in the low-ratings, I’ve come to the decision that those who’ve left poor reviews must have either not know good food or clearly has a Michelin-restaurant chef as a private home cook. I wish I could order every single thing on this menu. It’s all so amazing.

This trattoria is located STEPS away from the Piazza Santa Maria Novella. Why is anyone complaining that there are non-Italians dining here? It would be like asking why there are non-native New Yorkers in Manhattan. Yes, there are tourists, but that’s because like myself, am here to eat good food. In February, it is still busy. In the summer, it is near impossible. Make a reservation. There are many restaurants in the area that don’t require one, but this is a popular restaurant — because the food is SO GOOD. So secure a spot. And bring cash. Listen, I never carry around cash, let alone Euros since my home currency is the dollar, but take this as an opportunity to take out some euros at the ATM for emergencies + a meal here.

The staff is so friendly and they don’t mind speaking English to you. But personally, I make it a point to try to communicate in Italian when possible. Ciao, buona sera, prenotazione per due, il nome e __. Learning a little bit of a foreign language can take you miles in terms of kindness, gratitude, and appreciation. Google translate is key. I’ve ordered almost everything on this menu. If you’re here to try what it’s famed for, skip the antipasti and start with a pasta dish. I can’t say the pasta is going to be amazing, but it is to be treated like an appetizer. My favorite is tortellini en brodo (tortellini in broth). It is chicken soup or matzoh ball soup but instead of the ball or other things, it’s tortellini. It’s service with grated parmiggiano that you can sprinkle on top to taste. It’s a simple, clean, and excellent way to enter a meal. Then is tortino di carciofi, which is unique. Italy is known for carciofo (artichokes). Personally, the best is in the Jewish Ghetto in Roma. But because it’s done so uniquely here, I can’t miss it. It’s fried artichoke in a soft and tender egg scramble-situation. Have you ever seen those cool Japanese omurice eggs? It’s that, but with fried artichokes. My godddddd. It’s delicious. Now, if you’re 2 people, get both Pollo Al burro and bistecca alla fiorentina (chicken in butter and florentine beef). The chicken is a skin-on butter braised breast in a skillet finished with lemon. It’s delicious. It’s decadent. The steak is NOT even comparable to any steak you’ve had in the US or UK or wherever. It is essentially a porterhouse, but from a specific cow raised in a specific region with a specific diet. That is what makes the flavor of the meat unique, and it is also a process that is not followed by any national food standard so I can’t believe anyone when they say they have had “the same thing in New York”. Unless it was imported, it’s impossible. And to my knowledge, it is not important to the US. It’s cooked generally rare. It’s uncommon for to cook beef past medium-rare as it changes the texture and flavor too much and it is very safe to consume. Their fresh beans in oil and green chicory salad are my favorite as a side. Also get a mezze red house wine. It’s cheap(-er than the US) and tastes great. Lastly, the only dessert that matters is their dolce con fragoline. It’s so light, I promise you will have room for this. I even asked them to wrap a slice to-go for me. This is how I wish every eating...

I feel bad giving this place 3/5 but here we go. Upon arriving at my hotel I requested for a reservation here for the next night. If you are going for dinner there are two waves, one at 1900 and one at 2100 (7 or 9pm). I chose 9pm thinking that there would be less people and I was wrong. Even though I was there promptly the place is itty bitty and the first wave of people were still eating. I did, however, get sat very quickly. The tables fit multiple people and as it turns out multiple parties. Since I was solo I was sat at the other end of 4 people and then eventually right next to a couple. Onto food: I was given a complete suggestion of what to order so I in a way ordered blindly. 1: Tuscan Crostini. For those that don't know Crostini is a toasted bread with a spread on it. TUSCAN Crostini (at least here) is an un toasted price of bread with chicken liver pâté. I am indeed a fan of pâté even though I wasn't aware that it was what I had ordered... I was very very unpressed with this even though I tried to give it a few bites. The waiter took it away and did not make me pay for it. Later I looked up what it was and the difference between Florence Crostini and FC is cheese. I would give that a chance. 2: I ordered white beans. The white beans came out so quick and PIPING hot. They were delicious. They were in a light tomato sauce with basil and rosemary and they were incredible. I was around 3 bites in when my main course came out and I stopped eating them only to return when I had finished my main meal... they were still very good but eat them while they are hot. 3: There were two recommendations given to me about this place... the chicken with butter and the Tuscan Steak. I decided on the Tuscan steak. It was IN-CRE-DI-BLE. I had ordered it medium rare but it was a very rare medium rare. It came out hot and delicious. Super thick and juicy and cooked to perfection. I weight about 108 lbs and I finished the entire steak on my own for fear of letting this go to waste. All in all it was a very good place. Service was attentive and friendly and food was great. The Crostini kind of ruined it for me as well as the prices. It is a very good spot but I've eaten...

I'd like to hop on the bandwagon and award this much-discussed and highly regarded Trattoria five stars- and believe it IS worth five stars on a few fronts, such as the professional and attentive bilingual servers, the freshness of ingredients, and authentic vibe and menu-, but the actual food itself left something to be desired... at least to my palette. The thing is, I can't really fault the food in any way since it's all made fresh to order using the highest quality local ingredients and is deeply authentic Florentine fare, which certainly is a must while visiting town. The only thing that kept this legendary establishment from getting five stars from me was the fact that I found most of the dishes, save for the favoured artichoke omelette/pie, to be quite under-seasoned. I'm not a smoker and don't crave heaps of salt, but can pretty objectively say the buttered chicken and Florentine steak were lacking it. Of course it's a quick remedy sprinkling some on yourself, so no issues there. But again... 5/5 for freshness and authenticity, which is probably all most patrons would ask for! The vibe/aesthetic of the place is absolutely incredible- you can tell why generations of patrons have chosen this hidden gastronomic gem as their eatery of choice. I was so set on going here on my last visit to Florence after having a friend from NYC/Tokyo rave about it and actually got lost on my way back to the car- long story... I will go again on my next visit for sure. Oh, and I managed to get in with no reservation right at opening- there were three of us. Next time I'll make a reservation since there was already a line and it filled up...