Review of ristorante La Cucina Del Ghianda

Entrance

This week’s post is a review of a local restaurant named La Cucina Del Ghianda.  Located not in a touristy area and only a few blocks away from my street, this restaurant makes for a perfect dinner spot.   La Cucina Del Ghianda serves local dishes that make you feel like a real Florentine.  The atmosphere is very warm and inviting with a family feel.  Something I liked (which you can see in one of the photos) are the candles they had lit at the entrance.  The inside is very well decorated to make your experience eating here more aesthetically pleasing. 

I went here with a group of friends on a quiet Thursday night.  As we walk in we are greeted by the waiter and told they will get our table ready.  We’re waiting for our table and I look around and take notice of the people.  I can tell most of them are locals by their relaxed expressions, lack of cameras around their necks, and of course the language they’re speaking.  Seeing these types of people gives me reassurance that the food will be good.  If the locals enjoy it then its safe to say its good food.  Now that we’re seated its time to look at the menu.  First thing I notice is that its written in Italian!  This is not like those restaurants you see near the Duomo that offer a menu in almost every language.  This lets me know that La Cucina Del Ghianda is a great local Florentine restaurant.  I see the choices of Antipasti, Primi, Seccondi, and Contorni.      A big plus is that everything is reasonably priced.  This is great for college students who sometimes want a good meal but don’t have time to cook!  They offer many delicious items such as lasagna, penne, pesto ravioli, (the famous) Bistecca alla Fiorentina, and many other things I cannot understand or pronounce.   Me and my three friends all order something different and decide to share it so we can get a taste of some different dishes. 

Bistecca alla Fiorentina

Filet of beef with green peppers and sauce

Spaghetti with Muscles

Lasagna

We decide on lasagna, Bistecca alla Fiorentina, spaghetti with muscles, and a filet of beef with green pepper and sauce.  You can see the deliciousness for yourself in the pictures I’ve provided.  Our food arrives and it has filled the air around us with warm scents of a well cooked meal that I haven’t had since I was at home.  I go for the lasagna first, simply because it’s right in front of me and It looks amazing.  One thing I really liked about this lasagna was that there was not a heaping amount of cheese on it.  This accentuated the flavor of the sauce which was tangy and very sweet.  Next I had tried the Bistecca alla Fiorentina.  It was arranged on the plate so beautifully with the meat filets spread out in a fan-shape.  The flavor was equally as beautiful.  The juiciness and umami sensations of the steak completely startled my tastebuds.  Whenever I taste something like this I get a little tingle where I think my glands are.  I associate this tingle with good food.  I am next to try the filet of beef with green pepper (and some type of sauce that I could not recognize).  It tasted good and the sauce was nice and creamy but it did not seem like anything special to me.  The one thing I could say about it was that the sauce and meat combination gave it that “comfort food” feel.  The last plate I had tried was the spaghetti with muscles.  I have an aversion to everything that comes out of the ocean related to fish.  The smell, taste, texture, and look of it all completely turns me away from it.  I was willing to try this pasta even though I know I will not like the muscles.  I take a bite of just the spaghetti part and it takes me a little bit but I can soon taste the muscles.  There was olive oil added to the spaghetti which I liked but I wish it did not have the muscles in it.  I believe though that someone who loves seafood will enjoy this dish.

Our experience in La Cucina Del Ghianda ended with a lovely chat with who seemed to be the manager or another waitress, when we were paying.  We talked about how we are students studying for the year and she was very sweet and loved to hear that we are enjoying Florence.  La Cucina Del Ghianda is a place I would definitely recommend to someone coming to Florence on vacation who want a nice traditional Florentine meal. 

Thanks for reading!

Gina Marie ☀︎❄︎⚜