Gilda Bistrot: family elegance with a unique flavor

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We return to the Gilda Bistrot and it's like the first time: refinement, conviviality, familiarity and excellent food in a time out of time

It's always a great pleasure to return to Gilda Bistrot

It's been years since TuscanyPeople frequents the Gilda Bistrot in front of the colorful and fragrant Sant'Ambrogio Market, heart of the Florentine neighborhood of the same name. Why we like itWe like it a lot. And We love coming back regularlyWe love wandering among the fruit and vegetable stalls of the market and sit a bit in the Gilda's outdoor gazebo before entering the actual bistro to savor that experience every timeunique atmosphere that never changes. Because its strength lies precisely in its immutability, its timeless charm.

The Portuguese say: Lisbon is a capital. O Porto is a feeling. Lisbon is the capital. Porto, a feeling.. Here, of Guild the same thing could be said: it's a feelingWe are not talking about gourmet or Michelin stars, we are talking about something that for us is even more important: the feel at home.

That timeless one taste Art nouveau, The warmth of the furnishings, the serene embrace of the light wood, the ball chandeliers; the coffee machine set inside the decorated cabinet, the hexagonal clock which marks X hour, so what does it matter? In here time does not exist, or rather: it transforms into Gilda's enchanted time, that of the conviviality, from the familiarity, of thefriendship.

For further information: Gilda Bistrot, a charming Art Nouveau restaurant in the heart of Florence

Gilda Bistrot and the ineffable pleasure of friendship

And it is in fact thefriendship that triumphs in this other place that gravitates in the world like a parallel reality, or a cotton wool bubble where we can forget for a while the many worries of our “fast & furious” lives.

The friendship of theunfading William, which we find every year in perfect shape, with his classic elegance, like a comic book character who doesn't suffer the passage of time. Gilda's time, precisely. Her mother's friendship, the red Gilda, with the captivating elusive smile and the high-sounding name which refers to the passion for opera (Rigoletto's daughter), but we cannot help but associate her with another femme fatale, she's very red too, Rita Hayworth, who immortalized a fantastic Gilda thanks to one of the most successful films in the entire history of Hollywood. And finally the friendship of the customers, who inevitably get caught up in thisunrepeatable atmosphere, soon turning into aficionados.

And so it is, enchanted from all this and with a smile on his lips, where we sit down to enjoy our lunch.

Gilda Bistrot: first courses

After a tomato-based appetizer, the first ones arrive: tagliolini with Asiago fondue and Jamaican pepper (with a slightly larger and more fragrant berry); and trofie with Corbara pear tomatoes and caciottella cheese.

Both very pleasant and tasty. The trofie then have a perfectly cooked al dente.

As for the wine, let's try an interesting pure Sangiovese – Organic Poggiotondo 2022 – produced in the area of Gaiole in Chianti.

At the Gilda Bistrot in pleasant conversation with William

William Yes he sits with us for a few minutes. We're curious. He explains to us that the fresh pasta he does it Antonio in the kitchen, while for the dry one they serve themselves from a artisanal pasta factory strictly Tuscan.

For further information: Gilda Bistrot, art nouveau delicacies opposite the Sant'Ambrogio market

New waves of are coming aficionados. The 60% is a regular customer, a kind of extended family, William tells us laughing, the very essence of a bistro. The size, after all, is just right: 50/60 seatsLet's talk about professionals, scholars, artists, they also come twice a day, with time that expands more and more. They laugh, joke, toast, in an instant they find a dimension that is disappearing, that of the pleasure of being together at the table without worries, without looking at the clockOr maybe looking at Gilda's hexagonal one that always shows the same time.

Gilda Bistrot: second courses

AND time in seconds. Dishes obviously. Because here seconds as fractions of minutes are not even calculated. After a bit of a runoff, in which the Carmagnola grey rabbit with Dijon mustard and sage, we opted for eggs on Piedmontese Raschera cheese; and for the unmissable meatballs of beef and veal. As a side dish: snow peas, that is, freshly cooked schiaccioni beans sautéed with oil and lemon juice.

On the meatballs, little to say: I am a great classic which is always a pleasure to taste. As for the egg on cheese Raschera (be careful of the hot plate), it's something that We absolutely recommend trying it. A a perfectly successful combination which enhance each other: the sweetness of the egg with the scented delicacy and slightly spicy than this excellent Piedmontese DOP cheese.

William also points out that he buys his eggs from a producer of San Casciano in Pesa Valley (Biagini), who only sells eggs. Something truly unusual.

Gilda Bistrot: the great classics that know no decline

But what are the great classics here, the 12-month-a-year ones, to be clear, which can more or less always be found? Well, one for all? The knife-cut tartare, for example, a beef fillet beaten with a knife with a yolk ofegg (yes, the Biagini di San Casciano egg), three drops of oil, a little lemon, a little mustard, and a tiny piece of onion. absolute must not to be missed when it's on the menu.

For further information: Gilda Bistrot, the refinement of simplicity

Gilda Bistrot and desserts

For desserts here at Gilda Bistrot you are spoiled for choice: from classic zuccotto, to those Neapolitans – like pastiera and babà – passing throughdrowned in coffee, to the cantucci with vinsanto, up to the cheesecake made with the Robiola of a dairy on the island of Capraia, above a honey crumbleIt is the latter that we opt for, together with a cooked cream made with shortcrust pastry, which has baked custard inside, and a few broken pine nuts on top. Both excellent, but one honorable mention for the cheesecake where Robiola takes center stage, making this pastry classic something out of the ordinary.

Gilda and the Sant'Ambrogio neighborhood

We finish full and satisfied leaving you as a dowry also a small but important consideration. Gilda Bistrot, thanks to its success, It also helps the Sant'Ambrogio neighborhood, perhaps still a little behind the rest of the enlarged centre of Florence, despite the market gives it that true touch of authenticity that is always sorely needed.

We thank Gilda and William for having kindly hosted us once again and for having allowed us to savor an extraordinary atmosphere again that we will never tire of loving and which represents the essence of the values that TuscanyPeople spreads throughout the world.

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About The Author

Vieri Tommasi Candidi

Writer, Ambassador of Tuscany