The La Spada trattoria is situated in the old city centre of Florence, just a short distance away from Santa Maria Novella. It is a historic restaurant that was originally founded over 130 years ago a sort of snack bar but its popularity has greatly increased in the last 20 years or so. The interior has been given a complete face-lift and been enlarged, though it still retains its typically Florentine rustic decor, and has been fitted with carefully studied lighting suitable for dinners with friends, as well as intimate dinners. The trattoria’s successful formula has always been based simply on a well-kept rustic and characteristic atmosphere, quality products combined with a genuine cuisine, beautifully cooked meat on the spit or the grill and above all, something that is increasingly difficult to find in Florence, an excellent quality price relationship. The dishes offered by Giuseppe and Claudio, the two Chefs, come in the best Tuscan tradition, but also offer an Italian cuisine, with different first and second courses that change every day. The menu includes, in particular, the Florentine ribollita (veg and bread soup), spelt and legume soup, sausages and beans “all’uccelletto” (in tomato sauce), La Spada’s special sliced steak, or rabbit “alla cacciatore” (hunter’s rabbit). However the top dishes of the house include the “Great Mixed Roast on the Spit”, served with roast potatoes and its Florentine T-bone steak, cooked on a grill that burns oak and hornbeam wood alone, thus giving a unique flavour to the meat. The great spit over the blazing fire is a wonderful sight to see and rarely found in Florence nowadays. Agostino and Claudio coordinate the affable and friendly service that can only be found in a real Florentine trattoria. Note the Fantasia dello Spada menu that includes two or three first courses, a mixed roast grill cooked on the spit and a dessert, at the incredible cost of 25 euro, which is a really amazing price for the centre of Florence; or the Tuscan menu with a Tuscan starter of croutons, a ribollita bread soup, a Florentine T-bone steak with vegetables and a dessert at 35 euro. The restaurant also offers all the trattoria’s finest dishes in its special take-away menu, accessible from the entrance in Via del Moro 66r.