Buca Lapi

Went to Buca Lapi by recommendation by a friend and the San Firenze Hotel guest services. We were told the Steak Florentine is a must! The Hotel San Firenze said it was good but is not the most elegant place that serves this regional specialty. However, the experience I had was spectacular and the team work of the kitchen was incredible. The steak was cooked perfectly! A huge Porterhouse! We also paired with Tuscan Beans with drizzle of olive oil and a side of house special veg. Lasagna. To go with it a Super Tuscan red wine!
I was especially impressed when the table next to us, a party of twelve, ordered many bottles of wine, many side dishes, and All Steak Florentine!
I watched the chef portion and cook all the steaks perfectly! Not one was over cooked or under cooked!
However, the other table in front of us had a couple order the steak, some side dish, no wine and obviously no palate! The gentleman ate almost all of his steak, but the woman ate a small end portion and left the rest. The couple got up, said nothing to the waiter or owner, paid at the counter and left! Did not speak to the waiter at all? I found it very strange.
Anyway, I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for authentic Steak Florentine and does not care if the place is elegant or «fancy»! It is just old world fine dinning with table side carving of the steak and service! No rush to eat here or push you out, just relax and enjoy!

Loved the traditional feel of this Tuscan restaurant. Also probably best steak I have ever had in my entire life. Very impressed!

I have to be honest, I think we were spoiled from our amazing dinner the night before but this wasn’t up to par in terms of size of food dishes and quality.
The décor is fun and is covered with posters of different countries. We were seated quickly but were surprised to note that there was no balsamic vinegar for the bread which wasn’t all that great.
We ordered an appetiser of baked ham on bread Which was good, wild boar pasta, and spinach for it mains with a bottle of Chianti. The app was good as well as the pasta but it wasn’t very filling. We had dessert one of which was chocolate tort and the other being meringue with vanilla ice cream. They were good.
Our waiter Federico Scheidecker was a great host but I did feel rushed which was equally not a good feeling to have. I wouldn’t go back– too expensive and not all that tasty.

This is the only steak place that I can give 5 stars too. I am love my steak therefore very fussy with the way it is handled.
All I ask for is a good piece of meat done to my taste (medium rare) with nothing but some veggies on the sides. I always struggle to understand how restaurants can actually screw that up.
This is the only place in this whole world where I absolutely enjoyed my steak. Based on reviews online, I was prepared to share the steak with my not so steak loving hubby. The portion is massive.
No offence to other steak lovers who do not like to have medium rare or rate meat. I was told that this place used to turn off customers who could not eat their meat rate or medium rare. I think they have become a bit more accommodating with that now considering they actually have lots of American tourist who actually come there to eat pizza and pasta (I was shocked). Maybe that makes them accepting towards other steak consumers (in any form). But the steak itself is the best when it is rare or medium rare. The meat is so good that there is nothing much required.
Please go to this place to have heavenly steak and respect the steak and do not order pasta and pizza. I personally would not mind visiting Firenze just to eat here.

bottom line: they have the meats
we ordered the porterhouse for two and it was absolutely delicious. the service was impeccable and they were very friendly and hospitable. the restaurant itself was hard to find initially as it was on the side of the building, but it is a great space with a very open kitchen that can be seen from almost any seat in the house.

The food here were AMAZING! The best steak I’ve ever had in awhile. At first, my friend and I weren’t going to do the steak, but everyone said their favorite for it so we gave it a shot. They have two options; a steak for one or for two. We decided to get the steak for one because we ordered other things as well, but the steak didn’t disappoint at all. The steak was HUGE! My friend and I couldn’t even finish it, but it was definitely worth it. Make a reservation for this place though because it gets pack and if there’s no seating then you have to come back another time, but plan in advance because they get book days in advance. The waiters were nice, they helped us choose which wine would go great with our steak and super friendly. But the steak is WORTH every penny. Definitely recommend this place if you’re in Florence.

Had the Florentine steak for one and was underwhelmed. Steak had a lot of fat and was told that the steak for one is different from the steak for two and does not have the loin portion (NY) which I like. Cost was 45 euros. Would not have ordered this dish had I known so. Waiter was nice and tried to appease us with a complimentary desert. With so many options on Florence maybe try somewhere else?

Best Florentine steak in Florence!!!
Ate with local friends, their first visit, they raved about the steak in fact it was an orgasmic event for them!!! Hearing my friends moan and groan in Italian about the steak was pretty damn cool! BTW we had the same steak at another restaurant, is was terrible!

Yes, this place is packed with American tourists. And yes, this place is pricey.
But, even without the local audience, the food is very good. The service was great.
We showed up without a reservation right we they just opened for dinner around 7. They were able to accommodate us. Although, I would definitely recommend having a dinner reservation because it seemed like we were very lucky that night.
The waiter was really great at describing the dishes we had questions about. In the end, we had veal meatballs, a florentine steak, and tripe. For the steak, the waiter let us order «up to medium» but medium in their standards is medium rare in the US. Not recommended for people who don’t eat steak that rare. The steak was flavorful, with a nice crisp on the outside. Which kind of reminds me of being on par with Peter Lugar in NY without all the butter on plate.
The tripe was tender and the favors were amazing.
The restaurant has an open kitchen and it’s definitely a plus if you get seated in front of the kitchen area. You can watch the chefs hand cut the steaks and put it on the grill.
Go early before 8 pm even with a reservation. The restaurant is less crowded and the service will be a lot better.

The florentine steak is MASSIVE. We got the 2-​person portion and it was so big. The «rarest» I go on my steak is medium-​rare so it was a little intimidating eating this super rare, thick cut of bone-​in steak. But the flavor was amazing with bites of rock salt. We had a salad to split as well that was simple and perfect. I loved our waiter. Such a friendly guy… and hooked us up with some after-​dinner wine and almond biscuits. We ended up spending over $ 200 USD for the steak, salad, side of spinach, a bottle of chianti and dessert. Thinking the one-​person portion would have been enough!

Had the BEST steak of our LIVES at Buca Lapi!
Our AirBnB host booked a dinner for us on our first night in Florence, and she assured us that it would be great Florentine steak. I didn’t realize just HOW good the steak would be!
We were greeted warmly by the staff once we came down the stairs, and they sat us immediately once I let them know that we had a reservation. Our server was wonderful and recommended a fabulous Chianti Classico that went so well with our dinner.
We started with brushetta with fresh tomatoes which was abounding in tomatoes and flavor — seriously, how are the tomatoes in Italy so stinking good? We shared a pasta plate, and I appreciated that the pasta was served on two plates. The pasta was also seriously one of the BEST pastas we had in Italy. It was just a simple tomato sauce and big ribbons of fresh pasta… but MMmmm. I still think of that pasta. I was regretting ordering it to share, when our steak for two made it to the table. HOLY COW IT WAS HUGE.
My husband let me have the piece with the bone, and I was wordless for the next 20 minutes as I DEVOURED my steak. It was cooked perfectly — I prefer my steaks rare, so it was perfect! Giant pieces of sea salt, some AMAZING olive oil… oh my god. Seriously the best steak I’ve ever had.
By the time the steak came, my husband wasn’t all that hungry and left most of his steak. We took it home to go and had it for breakfast several days later (I insisted on saving it and bringing it on the train to Rome with us). Thinly sliced, cold… still the best steak we’ve ever had in our lives. One of the best meals we had in Italy, no doubt the best meal we had in Florence!

This restaurant has one of the best steaks I have ever had in my life. The low ceiling and underground dining sets the mood for a true Italian authentic meal. The steak was cooked to perfection (medium-​rare) just how I like it and the spinach was good too. The service was very helpful and nice, as we got to try there flourless, butterless, and sugarless, chocolate cake for free; because the dessert chef was wanting to try out his new recipe. Btw way it was great. Must go here if you ever visit florence

Expensive but the food was fantastic. No need to order a full meal for everyone. We shared among four a massive bistecca florentine and wild boar with polenta… both super delicious. Wine chianti of course was good. Décor and atmosphere comfortable but maybe touristy

A gorgeous space.
From the open kitchen to the low slung undulating ceiling, you get it all.
The most massive bistecca alla fiorentina I have ever encountered. Sumptuous.
A truly lovely and convivial atmosphere.

We celebrated our 5^th anniversary here. Supposedly this is the oldest continuously running restaurant in Florence. It did not disappoint. Service was friendly and caring. Especially after I asked our server to suggest some of her personal favorites. The wine and pasta were excellent.