The Divine Dish

Dinner at Trattoria 4 (Quattro) Leoni, Florence

4 Leoni entrance

My first dinner on my “visit Lidia Bastianich at her winery” trip to Italy was at Trattoria 4 Leoni, also know to tourists as Trattoria Quattro Leoni.  Tucked away in the quiet quaint and small Piazza dell Passera, this delightful eatery is close to the Ponte Vecchio and the Pitti Palace.  That is, if you can find it.

The restaurant’s official address (and the one in guidebooks and given to foodies)  is on Via de Vellutini, but it really isn’t on this narrow long dark street.  I walked up and down for about 10 minutes, met four people that were also looking for the restaurant, when I heard kitchen pans clanking.  I followed my ears off of Via de Vellutini on a small side street and there it was.  Housed on the Piazza della Passera, a little patio and the restaurant!

Patio area

The other obstacle in obtaining a prized seat at the Trattoria is their reservation process.  My hotel called and made a reservation, but when I arrived it was nowhere on the books.  I luckily took the reservation card the hotel provided and showed it to the staff, and pulled the “I am a food writer here is my card and I would love to include you in my articles” story in broken Italian, and it worked, but I highly recommend bringing in your email or printed reservation with you to secure your table.  And, reservations are a must, especially for the patio area.  That said, here is what I thoroughly enjoyed while dining here:

mixed antipasto plate

I wasn’t missing any chance of another Florentine crostini, and some lovely fresh ham and salami, so I got the antipasto platter.  Lovely, with a nice liver crostini.

4 Leoni loves displaying pics of the many celebrities who come here.  Above my table were pictures of Hollywood A listers Dustin Hoffman, Sting, Spike Lee, Kevin Costner and Anthony Hopkins.  I sat in one of two inside areas, both old school Italian trattoria style with dim lighting, wood beam high ceilings, stone walls and brick arches.  There is also a lovely romantic patio and if the weather permits make a reservation to sit al fresco overlooking the piazza.

Inside

I had no choice but to order their famed Fiocchetti di pera.  I had heard rave reviews from my Florence for Foodies friends as well as many Chowhound reviews, so I had the pear and three cheese filled ravioli for my main course.  I would travel all the way to Florence just to eat this dish again.  Fresh made ravioli filled with three cheeses and shaved pear, in a rich cream sauce with asparagus.  I took one bite and fell in love with this dish.

Fiocchetti di pera, heaven!

Close up

In addition to the outstanding food, another reason to visit is the really inexpensive wine.  13 Euros can get a really nice bottle of local wine.  I only had a glass as I had to walk all the way back to the Duomo to my hotel.  I stopped by the kitchen to thank the chef, who was busy butchering diners’ orders for  the famous bistecca alla fiorentina (huge raw Florence steak).

4 Leoni chef

As I was heading to Grom to try some gelato, I didn’t have dessert.  I highly recommend visiting 4 Leoni for either lunch or dinner, but be sure to bring a map and look for the Piazza della Passera and make a reservation.   Official address, Via de Vellutini 1r, (remember, the restaurant is really OFF of this narrow street), 55 218562 for reservations.