Where to eat in Florence and surroundings. The best farmhouses chosen by Gambero Rosso

Florence is besieged by tourists from all over the world 12 months a year. After all, it's all to be admired: for its immense artistic heritage, for its characteristic views, for Tuscan cuisine declined in every form and for every desire. From the rustic cuisine of lampredotto stalls and taverns to fine dining and grand hotels, there is indeed a layered, eclectic offer, keeping pace with the times where the tourist standard weighs but meaningful realities are not lacking.

Nevertheless, leaving aside the beauties of the city itself, if in this uncertain early spring you feel like paying it a visit but at the same time spending a few days in contact with nature and in the countryside, the surrounding landscape has a lot to offer. Among the hills of olive groves and vineyards that partly embrace the Chianti area, there are quite a few structures just a few kilometers from the capital that guarantee hospitality in absolute peace and a genuine cuisine based mainly on self-production, often in organic regime. Not to mention the "accessories": panoramic pools, botanical gardens, organized excursions or tastings... Here are those to keep in mind according to us.

Where to eat in farmhouse in Florence and surroundings

At 588 di Borgo I Vicelli

The farm is known for the production of organic oil (there are over three thousand olive trees) which becomes the protagonist in the restaurant's cuisine, with a dedicated tasting and where however there is also a menu with about a hundred labels from all over Italy. The structure ensures stays of comfort and tranquility: a manor villa with pool and loggia equipped with underfloor heating and therefore usable in all seasons. In the kitchen, plenty of self-produced raw materials are used - especially products from the internal garden, always under organic management - and a menu that starts with cured meats and homemade cured meats and continues with dishes like celeriac, cardoncelli mushrooms, black garlic, and ginger.

Al 588 di Borgo I Vicelli - Bagno a Ripoli - via Roma, 588 - 055 699059 - ristoranteal588

Principe Corsini - Villa Le Corti

In the heart of Chianti Classico (but also in Maremma with Tenuta Marsiliana) the enterprise of the Corsini family is a well-known wine reality and a prestigious hospitality structure. The oil, artisanally processed in the ancient owned mill, comes from the 15,000 plants cultivated organically on 63 of the total 230 hectares. Villa Le Corti is the fascinating hospitality structure with rooms in two farmhouses and the Osteria with typical dishes (chicken liver mousse with caramelized red onion and toasted bread wafer, potato tortellacci in green dough with pigeon sauce, Florentine steak with oil beans).

Principe Corsini - Villa Le Corti - San Casciano in Val di Pesa - via San Piero di Sotto, 1 - 055 829301 - principecorsini.com

La Fontaccia

Bio farm immersed in 14 hectares of woods and olive groves in Chianti Rufina, just 30 minutes from Florence, on top of a hill and in a panoramic position overlooking the Val di Sieve. The structure, after renovation, was conceived according to the principles of sustainability and zero impact and includes two apartments and three comfortable rooms. The kitchen menu is homemade, based mainly on what is produced in-house, fixed and with daily variations.

La Fontaccia - loc. Castiglioni, 18 - 055 8399171 - agriturismolafontaccia.com

Osteria di Torre a Cona

Dishes based on high-quality raw materials, traditional recipes, or, even when revisited, easily understandable, respect for the history of local flavors. This is the cuisine of the Osteria inside this eighteenth-century villa with its internal museum telling the story of the place, the families who lived here over the centuries, and the wine production. The menu is constantly evolving and follows the seasons, the wine selection includes house labels but also other Tuscan and Italian names. All around 200 hectares of land, in the green of the vineyards and olive groves owned at the border between Chianti and Valdarno.

Osteria di Torre a Cona - Rignano sull'Arno - via Torre a Cona, 49 - 055 699000 - torreacona.com

Il Poderaccio

An old farmhouse renovated on the slopes of Chianti, with orchard, vegetable garden, and oil production. The structure was conceived almost like a "passive" house, with a highly insulated and very low environmental impact shell. The 4 apartments, in rustic style, are equipped with everything needed to cook the company's products, otherwise, there is the Bioagriosteria which, by reservation (not necessarily for groups), offers peasant cuisine with eggs from the house hens, bread and naturally leavened pizza, (few) meats from local breeders, organic wines. In summer there is the option of a picnic with a basket set up as needed. Whirlpool with a view and group vibrational bath, all half an hour from Florence.

Il Poderaccio - Figline e Incisa Valdarno - loc. San Michele - via del Massone, 15 - agripoderaccio.it

Podere Belvedere Tuscany

A carefully renovated farmhouse immersed in the greenery of Valdisieve managed by Edoardo Tilli with his partner Klodiana Karafilaj. Around, farms and crops provide the raw materials studied and researched by the chef, also passionate about fermentations, marinations, and smoking. In an atmosphere of great welcome, served with care and attention, from a menu that enhances and recombines without borders the flavors of the territory, you can range from the grill to dishes of technique and creativity. Good drinks.

Podere Belvedere Tuscany - Pontassieve - via San Piero a Strada, 23 - 333 8693448 - poderebelvederetuscany.it

Lo Spaccio della Fattoria di Maiano

On the outskirts of Florence, a estate in the green hills of Fiesole surrounded by 300 hectares of land. The first tip is not to miss a walk in the Botanic Garden, a charming garden with a pond, a didactic farm, and green spaces for excursions or picnics, but even before taking a dip in the panoramic pool. Also not to be missed is the farm's cuisine, where dishes are made with self-produced raw materials or from very close suppliers and the view from the terrace is breathtaking. Rooms and apartments for hospitality. Many meetings and tastings depending on the period, keep an eye on social media.

Lo Spaccio della Fattoria di Maiano - Fiesole - via Benedetto da Maiano, 11 - 055 599600 - fattoriadimaiano.com

Le Tre Rane Ruffino

It is the refreshment point of Ruffino, a well-known wine company, in the Poggio Casciano Estate - completely renovated this year - which also offers hospitality in 8 splendid rooms overlooking the Italian garden or the infinity pool, inside a Renaissance villa. The location, in the greenery, is particularly pleasant, and the name is inspired by the inn that a very young Leonardo Da Vinci opened on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, which, however, at the time, was not very successful. Here instead guests have respectable gastronomic experiences, based on a Tuscan tradition revisited with taste. On the side, in the shop space, tastings and simpler atmospheres with classic platters. Wines from the house plus some regional and Italian “guests”.

Le Tre Rane Ruffino - Bagno a Ripoli - via di Poggio al Mandorlo, 1 - 378 3050220 - ruffino.it

Cover photo La Fontaccia