Talk about hidden in plain sight. Florence restaurant is located next to one of the busiest roads in Bristol but it still feels tucked away enough for Totterdown folk to think of it as their own hidden gem of a local restaurant.
A few paces from the Wells Road, Florence is located in a row of shops and takeaways. OK, it’s not quite the same stunning view from restaurants in the Italian city after which this Totterdown venue is named, but there are colourful murals on the wood-clad walls and an open kitchen with a pizza oven behind the bar.
Florence is a proper neighbourhood restaurant and Totterdown locals are lucky to have it. It’s a no-frills kind of place serving pizza and pasta dishes at reasonable prices.
And to keep the final bill down more, you can also take your own wine – there’s a modest £2.50 per person corkage charge. Prior to booking the table, I hadn’t spotted this BYO option on the restaurant’s website so phoned ahead to check – it would have been slightly embarrassing to turn up carrying a clanking carrier bag of wine bottles to be told otherwise.
Most of the pasta main courses are around the £12-£13 mark. There’s homemade lasagne for £12.50 and carbonara spaghetti for £12.99. In fact, I don’t think the prices have changed for over a year, which is unusual these days.
The most expensive pasta dish is the vedere cibo (linguine with tomato sauce, prawns, squid rings, mussels, spinach, chilli, garlic, white wine and Parmesan cheese) for £13.50 and the priciest pizza is the 14-inch BBQ chicken (chicken breast, mozzarella, caramelised red onion, sweetcorn and BBQ sauce) at £19.90.
There are 18 types of pizza to choose from, all available in three sizes – 10-inch, 12-inch or 14-inch. The cheapest is the smallest Margherita at £11.
I went for the 12-inch Piccante pizza (£13.99) topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, chorizo, smoked Italian sausage and red chilli. The base was thin, light and nicely blistered, the toppings generous and richly flavoured.
We also tried the meatball pasta (£12.50) and carbonara (£12.99) – huge portions of these staples and both well executed – and the Parmigiana pizza (£13.80 for the 12-inch) topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, halloumi, cherry tomatoes, green olives and lots of Parmesan.
There were also a few side dishes including chunky chips (£2.99) and onion rings (£2.99) for the always-hungry teenagers, and four desserts (the £4.50 tiramisu was a highlight).
In all, the total bill was £120 for six well-fed people including the £7.50 corkage charge for the three wine drinkers. That’s a serious bargain these days and clearly why the restaurant was packed and is busy most of the time – we need more neighbourhood restaurants like it.
Florence, 31 Oxford Street, Totterdown, Bristol, BS3 4RJ.