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The 7 Best Bars in Florence: Speakeasy to Rooftop

The 7 best bars in Florence, from Mad Souls and Spirits in the Oltrarno to a Ponte Vecchio rooftop, with what to order and who each room is for.

Priya Nair
Updated 2026-06-30 7 ranked bars

The short answer

Our editors' №1 is Mad Souls and Spirits.

7 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.

Best overallMad Souls and Spirits
Runner-upLocale Firenze
Third pickManifattura

Florence invented the Negroni. In 1919 Count Camillo Negroni asked a bartender at Caffè Casoni on Via de' Tornabuoni to stiffen his Americano with gin, and the most copied cocktail in the world was born. The city's relationship with good drinking runs deep, but the best bars sit a few streets back from the Duomo crowds.

This is a short, honest seven rather than a padded list. Most of the picks cluster in the Oltrarno, the artisan quarter south of the river, with a rooftop and a historic piazza cafe rounding it out. Each is a real, currently-open room a local would send you to.

We drew on each venue's own listings, Falstaff and The Florentine's Florence coverage, and pattern-read Google Maps and Yelp reviews, cross-checking addresses and hours before publishing.

The 7 best bars in Florence

Editor's №1

Mad Souls and Spirits

Borgo San Frediano 36r, OltrarnoCocktail bar

Florence's most inventive cocktail bar, red brick and no pretension.

The roomMad Souls and Spirits sits on Borgo San Frediano in the Oltrarno, a small room of exposed brick and plain wooden tables run by two bartenders who built a following on experimental drinks. The list rotates often and pairs unexpected ingredients, carrot jam with bourbon among them, without tipping into gimmick. Falstaff and Yelp regulars rate it the best cocktail bar in the city.

Order thisWhatever the bartenders are pushing that week; the menu is deliberately short and changes. It is tiny and fills early, so arrive near opening or expect to wait on the street.

Full listing & hours →

Locale Firenze

Via delle Seggiole 12Cocktail bar in a 16th-century palazzo

Grand mixology in a restored Renaissance palace.

The roomLocale occupies the Palazzo Concini near the Bargello, a 16th-century building restored into a series of salons around a glass-roofed courtyard. It is the dressed-up end of Florence drinking, with a seasonal, produce-led cocktail list and a wine cellar in the old cistern below. Come for the setting as much as the drinks.

Order thisA seasonal signature from the courtyard bar, and a walk through the frescoed rooms. Smart-casual; book a table at weekends.

Full listing & hours →

Manifattura

Piazza di San Pancrazio 1All-Italian cocktail bar

A 1960s Italian revival where every bottle on the shelf is Italian.

The roomManifattura stocks only Italian spirits, vermouths and amari, a retro-styled bar that leans into mid-century Italian design and the aperitivo ritual. It is the best place in Florence to see what an Italian drinks cabinet looks like without a single imported gin in sight.

Order thisA Negroni built entirely from Italian components, or the house aperitivo. Good for an early evening before dinner nearby.

Full listing & hours →

Rasputin

Oltrarno, behind an unmarked doorSpeakeasy300+ labels

A prohibition-style speakeasy you have to phone to find.

The roomRasputin hides behind an unmarked door in the Oltrarno, a low-lit, red-velvet room styled on a 1920s speakeasy, and you call ahead for directions. The back bar runs to more than 300 labels, roughly a third of them whiskey, so it suits spirit drinkers over the spritz crowd.

Order thisA spirit-forward classic or a bartender's choice built from the whiskey wall. Reservations essential; the room is small.

Full listing & hours →

Il Santino

Via di Santo Spirito 60, OltrarnoWine bar

The Oltrarno's cave-like wine bar for Tuscan glasses and cured meats.

The roomIl Santino is the pocket-sized wine bar attached to the Santo Bevitore restaurant, a cave-like room on Via di Santo Spirito with a boutique-heavy Italian list and boards of Tuscan salumi, cheese and marinated vegetables. It draws a mixed local-and-visitor crowd and is standing room by nine.

Order thisA glass of a small-producer Tuscan red and a board of cured meats. Go early for a seat, or take your glass onto the street like everyone else.

Full listing & hours →

La Terrazza Continentale

Vicolo dell'Oro 6rRooftop barPonte Vecchio views

The rooftop for the Ponte Vecchio, drink in hand.

The roomLa Terrazza sits atop the Hotel Continentale right by the Ponte Vecchio, an open rooftop with one of the best bridge-and-river panoramas in the city. Drinks are secondary to the view and priced for it, but for a sunset aperitivo over the Arno there is no better vantage point.

Order thisA spritz or a glass of Franciacorta at golden hour. It is seasonal and weather-dependent, so time it for sunset.

Caffe Rivoire

Piazza della Signoria 5Historic cafeSince 1872

A grand piazza institution, steps from the Negroni's birthplace.

The roomCaffe Rivoire has faced the Palazzo Vecchio on Piazza della Signoria since 1872, a marble-and-brass cafe best known for its hot chocolate. It also pours a proper classic Negroni a few streets from Via de' Tornabuoni, where Count Negroni first had the drink built at the old Caffè Casoni in 1919. You pay piazza prices for the address and the people-watching.

Order thisA Negroni or the famous hot chocolate at a table on the square. Expect a tourist crowd and a premium for the location.

Full listing & hours →

How we picked

How we picked

We rank on the quality of the drinks, the character of the room, and how well each place rewards the small effort of finding it. We weight bars a local would actually send you to over the tourist-facing terraces around the Duomo.

We publish an honest seven rather than padding to a round ten. Where a room is more restaurant than bar, or trades only on its view, we say so in the entry so you can choose accordingly.

Last reviewed 2026-06-30 · The editors recheck hours and closures against current local coverage.

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