We recently unearthed one of Florence’s best kept secrets and we want to share it with you. The amazing aperitivo experience.
What is an aperitivo?
Quite simply an aperitivo is a buffet of appetisers shared with friends at a local cocktail bar. After work the locals flock to the small bars in each neighbourhood to enjoy a drink, catch up with friends and help themselves to a delicious array of pastas, vegetables, light finger snacks and freshly made local delicacies.
For us it was a chance to dive into the Italian lifestyle and enjoy one of our favourite past times while travelling. Food.
Aperitivo starts around 6.30pm until 9.30pm and Kitsch Bar, which we visited three times during our stay in Florence, quickly filled with a mix of students, business professionals and ourselves with no other tourists in sight. We felt like we had entered some sort secret society and were nervous to put a foot wrong.
Luckily the waitress was extremely friendly and with a few hand gestures and broken Italian we figured out that if we brought a drink, all of which were between $7 – 10 Euros, we could help ourselves to the buffet.
And what a buffet it was.
With fresh mozzarella and hand picked tomatoes on slices of warm bread, lashings of cured prosciutto ham, pesto pasta, rice and more. We couldn’t fill our plates quickly enough (hence the shit photos). As we took our seats we quickly fell into silence as we devoured our individual plates before remembering where we were.
Italy; the home of food lovers.
Here we didn’t have to wolf down our food. We could sit back and relax. Italian’s have the right lifestyle. Everything is enjoyed at a slow pace over mouth-watering food and a cool beverage. We loved the fact that we could just buy one drink and enjoy each others company instead of being rushed out the door for the next sitting.
Even with the slower pace of eating we quickly demolished two plates a piece and with full bellies we agonised over whether it was appropriate for us to go up again… Of course we did. Much to our regret later that night as we couldn’t sleep from being too full!
Next time you visit Florence we definitely recommend visiting Kitsch Bar which was the most generous and best looking aperitivo buffet we saw while in Florence.
Where to stay in Florence? Plus Florence Hostel
We stayed at Plus Florence hostel when we were enjoying the best aperitivo in Florence. Considering it is a hostel chain they really know how to do it right for budget and couple travellers.
Location
Plus Florence is only 5 – 10 minutes walk to the major sights in Florence such as the Duomo and main train station.
The Rooms
Plus Florence has designed itself as a luxury budget hostel. It’s rooms are sparkling clean with dorms, privates and separate floors just for Plus Girls with hairdryers, straighteners etc).
Other Amenities
There are two, yes TWO, swimming pools, restaurant, cardio workout equipment, bar, rooftop patio and free WiFi throughout the hostel.
Staff
All of the staff are extremely helpful providing travel tips and advice on where to go and what to see. They were also the ones who introduced us to aperitivo so they will be forever remembered as legends.
Social Atmosphere
Combine an outdoor pool, large bar and 800 beds then there will always be something fun happening. We just wish they opened the bar earlier so we could enjoy a beer next to the pool in the afternoon.
Cost
Per Person: $30 Euro for a private room, $25.50 Euro for a 4 bed dorm and $21.50 Euro for a 8 bed dorm.
Overall
Plus Florence definitely deserves all of its awards for being one of the best hostels in the world. It’s rooms are clean, spacious and the extra amenities provides lots of places to chill out after a hard day of exploring Florence. Definitely recommend it for backpacking couples and solo travellers who want to meet lots of other travellers.
Disclaimer: We were guests of HostelWorld but as always our thoughts are always our own.