Central Market by Mmega

While walking in the direction of the Santa Maria Novella train station I discovered this market. It only has access to the top floor for now (I believe the ground floor is where you actually buy groceries and the usual stuff you find at a market. This time I went upstairs and discovered a great food court with lots of food stalls, bars, a couple of gourmet food stores and lots of tables and chairs to sit and eat. From meat to pasta and fresh pizza all the stalls have something interesting to offer. Some of them only food and some also sell drinks. From the left entrance to the second floor I found a butcher shop with nice meat cuts, you pick the one you like and they prepare it for you. Another one had burgers with pulled pork, steak, vegetables and more. Another one was making fresh pasta served with different sauces. A stall of wines of all kinds and also some finger food. I decided to go for fresh dough pizza and it was a hit. The dough was perfect, the edges were crispy and had a lot of cheese. Right in front of the pizza stall was a big and well stocked bar so I ordered a couple of drinks from here. You pay in advance with cash or card and after your order is ready, your number is called to be picked up The prices are very similar than those from the restaurants but I chose this because it seems so chilled and nice ambience.

What a fantastic place and a must see on a visit to Florence. My daughter who lives in Florence took me for a birthday treat. Wow, beautiful building, lovely atmosphere and a wonderful array of freshly produced Florence and Italian delicacies and staples at reasonable prices. I recommend taking a walk round every stall before deciding. You can buy from a few and sit with a local beer to enjoy the food, atmosphere and architecture.