La Vinaina

Leo and Alba are cousins, I can barely understand his thick Florentine accent but they are the amazingly friendly owners. Food is fresh and authentic, menu changes by the season as most good places, except for the baked ‘caprino’ – you must order it! We have lived in Florence for 3 years and this is one of our ‘go to’ places. This is exactly the kind of place you were looking for-​local trattoria, great food and company, personal attention, reasonable prices. Just go!

I love this place! It is relaxed, offers delicious simple food, in a very welcoming place. I found the interior very cute with all these colors all around! I really have enjoyed all my dinners here.
They serve great truffle pasta, that are among my favorites in the city. I am never disappointed! They prepare the pasta with a mix of fresh truffle and a bit of cream flavored with truffle but not an awful amount to cover all the taste, it is really well done and well proportioned. Then, another dish I am in love with here is there delicious risotto con carciofi (artichokes). They put a TON of artichokes in it, which I appreciate obviously immensely. Then, the rice is perfectly cooked and super tasty.
The vino della casa is good and cheap.
So if you are looking for good food, nothing crazy original, but tasty, authentic food, in a relaxed place, far from the touristic center, walk a bit further on via dell’agnolo towards this little hidden restaurant.

We walked by this place in the morning on our way to the Duermo and thought that it seemed like a place where locals favor. After some difficulty (because we didn’t know the name of the place), we found it and boy, were we glad we did! We have been looking for an authentic meal where there is no English menus and we could feel like we are eating in someone’s home. That’s what we got at this place. Our server, who I think is the owner, was very accommodating despite the fact that she spoke almost no English. She got us a small «amuse bouche», which was a small piece of bread with melted cheese and eggplant. For antipasti, we got cheese with honey. For first course, we got the truffle pasta. The server grated fresh truffle right in front of us. Amazing. The second course, we got grilled chicken. Wow. It was so moist, perfectly caramelized on the outside with just the right amount of grilled smokiness. It was served on a bed of thinly sliced fennel, also with olive and tomato. One of the best chicken I’ve had. For dessert, we had crema catalena. This is like crème brûlée but when the chef served it, he brought it flaming. It was perfectly balanced between creamy and sweet. Overall, we are so happy we trusted our instincts and came here. This is what I was envisioning when picturing a meal in Florence. I would absolutely recommend this place. Or, maybe I shouldn’t — would hate to see this place filled with tourists who demand an English menu!

Thanks to Unilocal,I found La Vinaina while looking for a Tuscan meal near the apartment my husband and I were staying in. We had a little trouble finding it based on the address, but luckily were able to call and one of the guys working there actually met us at the corner!
While the menu was all in Italian, we figured out the words we didn’t know with the help of Google Translate and based on recommendations from our server. We shared some fried eggplant and the Drunken Pasta I had was incredible. This was, by far, the best proper meal we had in Florence.

This is a great place for authentic Tuscan meals. The staff is great and really helpful even though they speak very little English. The food… don’t even get me stared on the food… It is superb. I still have dreams about the truffle pasta. 10 out of 10 would go again.

I adore this place.
It’s right around the corner from where we are staying for 6 months, so it has become a local favorite. It’s funny, but it is always completely empty when we have dinner –as it turns out, 7:30pm is too early for Italians to eat!
It’s an absolute gem though – the server guy is always the same, and is always so charming and lovable, and the food is absolutely fantastic and very Italian.
You can tell it’s a pretty authentic Italian restaurant from the fact that most of the patrons only speak Italian, and even the staff speak almost no English.
A+++, and worth the small extra walk from Santa Croce to avoid tourist restaurants.

La Vinaina Firenze
Via dell’Agnolo, 48r, 50 122
Florence, Italy
Phone: +39.055.234.4120
Prices: € €
Around the corner from the wonderful Mercato Sant’Abrogio, my wife and I visited La Vinaina on several occasions with the students of the University of Kansas attending the study abroad program in Florence. Our apartment was just around the corner and we enjoyed the proximity, warm welcome, fresh ingredients, and very reasonable prices for lunch.
Being an amateur chef and restaurant critic, and having traveled to 49 countries around the world, I have eaten at few restaurants with the impeccable quality and value as we found at La Vinaina.
The pasta and bread… always fresh; the meat and fish… always prepared to perfection; the service… always attentive and friendly. I would recommend this restaurant to anybody… on a budget, like students, to more EXCLUSIVE and seasoned travelers alike. There is something for everyone at La Vinaina!
CombatCritic gives La Vinaina 7 BOMBS OUT OF 10… bombs in this case are good!

I absolutely love walking in a place and being the only non-​Italian in the place. That always says great things about the food, the people and the price! We have only ever been at lunch. Very small place, maybe 7 tables and it fills up around 13:30. They have a daily menu with 3 – 4 options each for primi & secondo… only written in Italian. I try to watch what the Italians are eating before I order. Love the house wine.