Secret Food Tours: Florence - Sant’Ambrogio

Our Experience - Secret Food Tours Florence: Sant'Ambrogio

Secret Food Tours Florence: Sant'Ambrogio ended up being one of our favorite food tours of our entire Italy trip, right alongside our Secret Food Tours experience in Palermo. Rather than concentrating on Florence's busiest tourist areas, the tour took us into Sant'Ambrogio for a much more local introduction to the city's food culture and the neighborhood surrounding it.

Our guide, Gerardo, was originally from the region but had also traveled extensively around the world, giving him an incredible perspective when talking about Florence, Tuscany, and Italian food culture. We also happened to have only one other person on our tour, making the entire experience unusually personal. Gerardo spent plenty of time talking with us, answering questions, and sharing the history behind both the neighborhood and what we were eating.

We started with biscotti and espresso — dipping the biscotti, of course — before moving on to easily the most adventurous food of the tour: lampredotto. This traditional Florentine sandwich is made with part of the cow's stomach, and despite how that description may sound, it became one of our favorite bites of the experience.

In fact, I apparently enjoyed it a little more than most people. Because we had an odd number of people, Gerardo mentioned that there was an extra half sandwich. Just before we left, I asked, "Did you say there was another half?" He seemed genuinely stunned that I wanted it. I happily collected my bonus lampredotto from the vendor, at which point Gerardo informed me that I was the first person on any of his tours who had ever asked for the extra half. I'll happily accept that distinction.

From there, we explored Sant'Ambrogio Market, where one of the biggest surprises was also one of the simplest. A fruit vendor prepared a platter of local fruit for us, and despite how ordinary that might sound compared with some of the other foods on the tour, it was genuinely one of the highlights. We followed that with a platter of local meats, cheeses, and olives before continuing through the market and learning more about the ingredients and traditions surrounding Tuscan cooking.

Our next stop brought us to a family-run restaurant serving fresh pasta made every morning. After spending the tour tasting individual ingredients and traditional foods, sitting down for a delicious plate of freshly made pasta felt like the perfect progression. And because no great Italian food tour should end without dessert, our final stop was an award-winning gelato establishment.

This was an outstanding food tour from beginning to end. Between Gerardo's knowledge and personality, our incredibly small group, the atmosphere of Sant'Ambrogio, and a lineup of foods ranging from fresh fruit to lampredotto and handmade pasta, we felt like we experienced a side of Florence we might never have discovered on our own. If you want to explore beyond the city's most tourist-heavy areas and experience Florence through its food culture, this tour is an easy recommendation from us.