It’s an October Thursday — a rainy, heavily congested day, on a street that is anything but convenient, outside Florence. And yet Paolo and Andrea Gori’s restaurant is full. Full of Florentines leaning against a table by the cheese counter, full in the main dining room and in the smaller rooms branching off the space, full even of Americans asking to “store” a couple of cubic meters of luggage just to secure a table at Da Burde.
Open for dinner only on Fridays and for lunch during the rest of the week: a tradition that has continued over the years. To come here for lunch, you really have to want to — and I finally managed to cross the threshold of Via Pistoiese 154.
I’m at the table with Federico, my son, and Gianni Ugolini, a true Florentine friend — a photographer and a restaurateur (Fulìn on Via Orsini), someone who knows Tuscan culture inside out. Someone you can’t fool when it comes to Florentine traditions. But there’s no need. The person serving our table is even more Florentine than he is, and they’re on the exact same wavelength… “If you ask me for a well‑done steak, I’m not bringing it to you…” he begins. And rightfully so.
A wonderful atmosphere. Meat with porcini cap that’s out of this world. Crispy fried porcini in the middle of the table. Peposo equally noteworthy.
Not to mention the grape schiacciata you see in the cover photo…
Between bites, we see massive cuts of meat parading behind us — enough to make even a novice vegan faint on the spot. A straightforward cuisine, based on top‑quality ingredients treated the way they should be. With a charcoal grill inside the kitchen — I saw it with my own eyes.
And then the wine cellar. The kind that makes you want to put on a ski mask and come back with intentions far from friendly.
We leave more than satisfied. We “breathed” Florence — outside the city center. Soaked, but ready to face the drive back to Rome in a state of absolute bliss…
