Da Nerbone, Florence: An Italian Favorite Food Location - Firenze, Italy
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Destinations > Europe > Italy > Florence > Da Nerbone, Florence: An Italian Favorite Food Location
Authentic Tuscan Food & Service
When you do a search for what food to eat in Florence whether on a budget or not, Da Nerbone is on many lists. They serve traditional Tuscan sandwiches with the lampredotto being the most traditional. If you like tripe, then Da Nerbone is the place to get it. Fear not if tripe isn't your thing though! The beef or pork sandwiches are also delicious!
It was a little challenging figuring out where to go and what to do at Da Nerbone so we wrote this guide to help you out. It is worth figuring out! The sandwiches are affordable and the experience is very quintessential Italian - it certainly reminded us of the scene in Eat, Pray, Love where she has just arrived in Italy and is trying to order her coffee.
A Little Bit of Culture Shock
Additionally, as with any country, we encourage everyone to try and learn the country’s customs and culture before you go as it is not only respectful, but it can add a profound amount of understanding to the things that you see and experience while you’re in Italy.
By knowing and respecting proper etiquette in Italy, you will also find your experience to be safer than the experience of other travelers. We are confident that you’ll look back at this short customs and culture guide as one of the main contributors to your amazing trip to Italy!
Just being prepared with this book may save your sanity on your trip - we knew some people who hated their experience in Italy simply because of the unexpected culture shock that they experienced!
Where to find Da Nerbone
Da Nerbone is located on the ground floor of Mercato Centrale near the southernmost corner. Keep in mind that the Mercato Centrale doesn’t have a very obvious looking front. It appears as a large Florentine city hall or warehouse at first glance (see the large building to the left in the picture above). There are a couple of different entrances in the front - but you will find Da Nerbone in a corner near one of the doors on the front side of the building (on the main / ground floor). Look for the green signage and the long line of people!
If you know your cardinal directions and aren’t disoriented when you arrive, then you’ll be looking for the Southwest corner of the Mercato Centrale. It’s not easy to miss if you know where to look, but you may have trouble finding it if you don’t because the building is so large, there are so many food booths, and even stairs up to another floor with even more restaurants and brew stations!
The address is: Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
How to Order your food at Da Nerbone
Ordering at Da Nerbone was a whole experience in and of itself.
You can't be shy or timid. Again, you cannot just wait for your food or you will never get it.
First, stand in the line that goes off to the left. When you get to the register, order right away and speak loudly and clearly. After ordering, you'll get a ticket/receipt. The ticket doesn't say what kind of sandwich you ordered though! So you'll have to tell the guy who is making the sandwiches at the next counter what you ordered when you show your ticket. Get eye contact with the person make your move (others may cut in front of you if you don’t appear to know what you are doing).
Again, speak loudly and hold your ticket up to show him. Otherwise he may skip over you (!) and start serving the person behind you who is waving their ticket and loudly proclaiming their order. (This may have happened to us a few times while we tried to remember what we ordered and how to get our sandwiches. Learn from our mistakes! Don’t get skipped!)
What to Order at Da Nerbone
After surviving the ordering process, you'll be rewarded with your sandwich! I got the panini con bollito, which is a boiled beef sandwich. The beef was tender and juicy and the spicy sauces were the perfect complement. The bread is a little crusty but they dip it in the beef drippings and while probably not the healthiest sandwich ever, it was so yummy! Bradley got the porchetta, which is the seasoned/marinated pork sandwich. It didn't have the spicy sauces but it was flavorful and also very delicious.
Some of the favorites at Da Nerbone:
The famous panino al lampredotto (a boiled-tripe sandwich covered in salsa verde)
The panini con bollito (a hefty boiled-beef sandwich, the bun dipped in the meat's juices)
The panini con porchetta (a flavorful marinated pork sandwich)
The trippa alla fiorentina (tripe & tomato stew)
The seppie e piselli (cuttlefish & peas)
The lesso (a smaller boiled-beef sandwich, served either as is or dipped in meat broth)
Unfortunately we don't have photos of the sandwiches. By the time we figured out the ordering process and got our food–we were starving and hangry, so we scarfed them down! Guess we'll just have to go back someday!
BONUS TIP: There are tables across from the Da Nerbone food stand, but they fill up quickly. If you can’t find a seat, try going upstairs for more tables and seating. You can also get a beverage from one of the food stalls upstairs.
Saving Even More in Florence
We also wrote up this amazing article: Visiting Florence attractions for FREE - A budget guide to Florence, Italy that is definitely worth checking out!
Did you try out Da Nerbone? Let us know what you thought of it in the comments section below.
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