Home-cooked goodness at Osteria I' Brincello, Florence

Having just spent 4 days in Florence, I feel duty-bound to tell all my readers about this excellent family restaurant at which we spent two delightful evenings sampling a variety of traditional Italian/Florentine dishes. It had been recommended to us by our B&B's owner (Ridolfi Guest House, another oustanding establishment), and enjoys very positive reviews on Tripadvisor as well. It is not my usual habit to re-visit a restaurant while on holiday, as I would like to try as many places as possible within a limited time, but I was so impressed with the food and service upon the first visit that we returned the very next evening. This review summarises all the dishes we tried.

Osteria I' Brincello is located close to the Santa Maria Novella train station, and though near to the historic centre doesn't feel like a typical tourist trap at all, unlike some of the more famous restaurants in Florence. There were a good mix of locals/Italians and foreigners on both of our visits, and the bright cosy set-up made us feel at home immediately. The restaurant was nearly full-house on both evenings so we were quite lucky to be sat without an excessively long wait.

Various accolades within the Tuscan region speak for
the overall quality of this restaurant.

Off-menu daily specials (different on both
evenings) hang from the ceiling.

The menu comes with an English translation, so no problems there. For the daily specials written in Italian, or for foreigners who are not familiar with Italian food terminology (e.g. different pasta types), the friendly servers are always happy to explain. Silvia, the bubbly young lady who served us on both evenings, spoke very good English and was most helpful in recommending typical dishes for us to try. She also made sure to check that we liked the food, and we felt very well looked after.

The service was very efficient too; we didn't have to wait too long for our food (great because we were starving), and the starters and mains arrived almost all at once - a mouth-watering feast for the eyes even before we had taken a bite. Quite amazing how fresh and flavourful everything was despite the use of very basic ingredients, prepared in an equally simple, no-frills manner. I suppose that's where the essence of traditional Italian cuisine lies!

Starters (antipasti/contorni):

Crostone con lardo di Colonnata: bacon fat on toast, with a drizzle of olive oil on the side. Seeing one of my favourite gourmet products for just a few euros on the menu, I just couldn't miss this. In fact it was so good that I ordered this twice (on both evenings). Produced in the Italian Alps, and normally found overseas at a much higher cost in fine restaurants, this unpretentious version of lardo draped over toast was simply stunning. Its creamy melt-in-the-mouth texture and deep smoky flavour were effectively highlighted by the plain, light and crispy toast. The olive oil added a further richness in texture even as it also helped to balance the indulgent lardo somewhat with its fresh and fruity flavour. This could be my regular sinful pleasure if lardo were more easily obtained overseas!

Verdure alla griglia: grilled vegetables (aubergine and zucchini), served with a thick tomato purée. Very nice accompaniment for the main dishes. The vegetables remained fresh and juicy, and grilling both gave them a nice crunch and intensified their subtle flavour, together with an effective spot of tomato.

Mains (primi piatti or 'first courses', usually referring to pastas and other carbohydrate-based dishes):

Sformatino di melanzane: aubergine soufflé. The natural texture and taste of this vegetable lent itself perfectly to a demi-soufflé preparation. Within the thin crusty layer lay to a thick, creamy, sweet, and slightly fibrous filling mixed with other herbs. A generous lashing of chunky tomato sauce and basil garnish (look at how large, fresh and crisp those leaves are!) completed this delicious little mound of wholesomeness.

Gnocchi fatti in casa al pomodoro: homemade gnocchi with tomato sauce. Authentic gnocchi was certainly on my to-do foodie list, and I'm so glad that I had it here. Much harder than it looks to execute well, the gnocchi's smooth and spongy pillow-like texture was simply delightful. The dish looks heavy due to the seemingly huge amount of carbs, but in fact felt surprisingly light and non-starchy. Paired again with a mixture of tomato sauce and olive oil, this deceptively simple dish was another winner.

Minestrone: needs no explanation I think. This is exactly how it should be done: a wholesome, flavourful broth chock-full of fresh vegetables, not the watery versions with an overpowering tomato base and pathetic token chunks of vegetables that one encounters so often outside Italy. Even so, it is quite difficult to imagine how one would be able to make a pure vegetable soup with no additives whatsoever taste this good!

Pappa al pomodoro: bread 'soup' with tomato and olive oil, a very typical Tuscan dish and off-menu special. The intentionally soggy texture of the bread (having been cooked and blended with tomato sauce) might not look or sound appealing to some, but appropriately seasoned with salt, basil, garlic and shallots, this dish exuded the most exceptional aromas. This porridge-like 'soup' was really tasty as well; apart from the seasonings, the tomato kept the dish fresh with its sharp and subtly sweet flavour, while the olive oil contributed a further richness and smoothness in texture even as it complemented the dish's remarkable lightness with a characteristically fruity taste. Truly amazing and admirable how one can breathe new life into chunks of day-old leftover bread, thereby avoiding food wastage.

Pici alla nana: duck pici, again tossed in tomato sauce and olive oil. This was a pretty substantial dish, pairing thick spaghetti strands with an appropriate al dente texture, with an equally firm and succulent meat. My only reservation was with the meat being crudely chopped up and served on the bone, which made it somewhat difficult to eat. Then again, leaving the meat on the bone usually gives it a better flavour, and these restaurants are not about fancy preparations anyway. Indeed, there was something about this dish that felt particularly rustic and comforting, you know, like coming home to Mum's cooking.

Mains (secondi piatti or 'second courses', usually referring to fish/meat/seafood):

Petto di pollo e salsiccia alla griglia: grilled chicken breast and sausages. The next two dishes couldn't be simpler, and how effective they were - the meats remained tender and juicy, with a nice smoky flavour from the seasoning and grilling, and a dash of lemon juice to cut through any greasiness if necessary. Surely this was proof that good ingredients will always speak for themselves.

Desserts (dolci):

Tiramisù di Brincello: This world-famous Italian coffee and mascarpone sponge dessert needs no introduction. The version here was not bad, though having been spoilt by the famous 'King of Tiramisù' Pompi in Rome, it was difficult to be fully convinced by what lay before us now. We found the coffee flavour a little weak and the bottom layer of sponge somewhat thick and dry. The top layer of mascarpone cream was great though - very rich and not too sweet. I suppose it's just really difficult to obtain the perfect balance of flavours and textures in this classic dessert.

Pannacotta al caramello: traditional vanilla custard with a liquid caramel topping. This had a really intense vanilla flavour and a thick and smooth texture, while the top viscous layer of caramel gave the dessert a stimulating edge with its slightly burnt taste. Excellent.

Pineapple - probably the only truly disappointing thing we ate in this restaurant. To be sure, we knew what the menu description said (literally just Ananas) but we had been expecting some form of preparation. Just opening up a pineapple and chopping the insides into big chunks doesn't really count, does it? To be fair it was quite sweet and juicy but I couldn't help but feel that this had been a rip-off. The exotic nature of the fruit in this context might have justified the high price, but we were certainly not impressed. For the few euros we paid for this single pineapple we could've easily helped ourselves to a few more back home.

Cheesecake di Brincello: this homemade cheesecake was a most refreshing departure from the dense and solid New York-style cheesecakes that we were used to. This wasn't really a 'cake' to being with - just a whole mass of mascarpone cream surrounded by assorted berries. Its whipped cream-like appearance gave an initial impression of being terribly sinful, but in fact this was astonishingly light, fluffy, and not too sweet; more mousse- than cream-like I would say. We finished it in no time, and could easily have eaten a few more without any sense of guilt - but as they say it is better to enjoy everything in moderation! We wanted to order this again on the second evening but it had sold out by the time we got there - shame!

It was not without a tinge of sadness that I left this restaurant on my last night in Florence, but all good things must come to an end. We left a reasonable tip for Silvia on both evenings as we had truly enjoyed ourselves.

As with most family establisments in Italy, the food here was generally excellent value for money - portions were good and prices were very reasonable. The restaurant itself had a charmingly relaxed and authentic atmosphere, with genuine and amiable service to boot that made one feel extremely welcome even as a first-time customer. It was a real pity that we hadn't started coming earlier; I'd gladly have had all my dinners in Florence here. I will miss this place and definitely return whenever I'm in Florence again.