Trattoria Mario

Trattoria Mario is one of Florence's best-loved lunch institutions, run by the same family since 1953 and tucked into Via Rosina beside the Mercato Centrale in the San Lorenzo district. It is a small, no-frills room where strangers share long communal tables covered in paper, the open kitchen sends out plates at speed, and the daily menu is chalked up according to what the family bought at the market that morning. The cooking is unpretentious Florentine home food: ribollita and other thick Tuscan soups, pasta with simple ragu, lampredotto and trippa alla fiorentina from the offal tradition, roast chicken, and, on certain days, the bistecca alla fiorentina grilled to order. The atmosphere is the main attraction alongside the food, lively and crowded, with regulars and travellers packed elbow to elbow during the brief midday service. Mario takes no reservations and serves lunch only, Monday to Saturday, which means a queue forms outside before the doors open around noon, and latecomers may have to wait for a turnover of seats. Prices are very low for the quality and quantity, reflecting the trattoria's roots as a workers' canteen near the market, and the house wine is poured by the quarter or half litre. Cash is traditionally preferred, and the pace is brisk, with diners expected to eat and free up the table rather than linger over a long meal. Trattoria Mario is essential for visitors wanting an authentic, unvarnished taste of everyday Florentine cooking at honest prices, and its enduring popularity with locals as well as tourists is a measure of how little it has compromised over seven decades. Arriving early, sharing a table cheerfully and ordering the daily specials are all part of the experience that has made it a fixture of the San Lorenzo neighbourhood.