~ Go to the Reservation form ~ Go to the Photogallery ~ Back to Homepage 10.00/10 - 1 review

Who They? David Gardner: The idea of a Scotsman building a small restaurant empire in Florence has something decidedly coals-to-Newcastle about it. But that is exactly what David Gardner has done.

Gardner, a former tour operator, arrived in Florence in 1994 with his lawyer wife Catherine ostensibly to take time out from work and study Italian. Soon enough, though, the two were scouting around for a little trattoria in the Chiant countryside to renovate and relaunch - they found the trat of their dreams – and were promptly gazumped.

But the Gardners soon shifted their aim to Florence itself, having discovered thekind ofgap in the market that business school graduates dream of. Until relatively recently, eating in Florence was binary. Either you went to a cheap-and-cheerful osteria, where you could recite most of the menu (ribollita, bistecca fiorentina, panna cotta ...) even before you'd seen it; or else you went to a posh restaurant serving more refined versions of the of the same traditional dishes, accompanied by comforting pan-Italian classics. There were few creative trattorias, only a handful of decent pizzerias, and barely even a salad bar.

So when the couple bought up an ailing osteria on a corner of piazza Santa Croce and opened it in the sping of 1996 as Baldovino, their anything-you-want menu, which offered creative pasta dishes alongside thick Neapolitan pizzas, big salads and one or two more exotic dishes, made the place an instant hit. Other local restauranteurs soon jumped on the bandwagon; but the Gardner's kep up the momentum by opening a wine bar on an adjacent corner in January 1998.
Their riskiest gamble to date came with Beccofino, a modern, vaguely Conran-esque restaurant and wine-bar in a chic neighbourhood on the south bank of the Arno.

Backed by a small cartel of local wine families and with prestige signing Franceso Berardinelli from top Chianti restaurant Osteria di Rendola near Montevarchi wearing the chef's hat, Beccofino opened with a big media splash in May 1999. Florentines and splurging tourists took to it enthusiastically, and Italian restaurant guides were forced to admit that a Scot could make it in Florence (though with the help – to the locals' relief – of an Italian cook).
Ever the diplomat, David Gardner is keen to point out that some of his best friends are Florentine restauranteurs – though he admits that his onward march has given rise to 'a little bit of jealousy' in the trade. IF a Florentine takes over a Scotch malt whisky distillery anytime soon, you'll know why.

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Lewis Heinz Gallway, Ireland
2010-10-12 22:52:33
Great location, great food. I loved this restaurant.. in the same area I would recommend also FinisTerrae (great) and Boccadama (amazing)! I'm in love with Florence restaurants, seriously
10/10

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