“Ottavia Outlet”

Take-out in Florence , options for a lazy night in…

This weekend I had the pleasure to babysit for an amazing family that I am lucky to know.. they are genuinely nice people that understand I have a day job(s) and their kids are super awesome. So much so that even t-man comes along for the ride and is happy to do it.

This time for dinner after putting the kids to bed, we wanted to order take-out and for some reason I had it in my mind that the only options we had were the crappy pizza take-out that advertises like a taxi stand.. and taste like cardboard. Harsh, I know.. Its just with all the great pizza that exists in Florence, I seriously could buy frozen pizza and make my own toppings that are better than certain ahem pizza delivery companies..

so what is a lazy girl to do ? To suddenly go on a barrage of research into what delivery food service actually exists in Florence, Italy.. and that are tried and tested by moi and friends. Without further ado.. Here are my conclusions

1. Xing Wang chinese take out, actually t-man tried this one first and raved about it so of course after craving Chinese food but never actually finding anything I liked in Florence , we stopped by one day and wow..surprisingly, it was really good. So I picked up a menu to take home and have been ordering happily ever since. You should go by at least once to pick up a menu for your house and I guarantee ( like a car commercial )  you will be glad you did!

address: 26/R, VIA DEGLI ALFANI ( near the synagogue in the historical center )

phone number 055 2639182, open every day.

**super super cheap, as in spring rolls for 1.50 and soy rice noodles with veggies for 2 or 3 euros.. try the “fried nutella” , its a bomb but I love it , delivery costs next to nothing.

2. Gallo Bianco ( also chinese , menu in english ) , I have actually never tried it but if the italians give it good reviews, I am am apt to trust them! plus their website is really good and translated which is a plus.. will be ordering soon!

located at Via Antonio Scialoia, 4/r – 50136 FIRENZE, website here

3. Il panino tondo, a new delivery service that serves up brunch items like bagels and lox, bagels with bacon eggs and cheese, fresh burgers , frieds, tator tots, onion rings, greek salad , fresh muffins.. the list goes on. I personally had the pleasure of trying this recently and LOVED it, the burger was warm, the fries were good, and t-man liked his bagel. Next time I would like to try a salad and brunch bagel yum! depending on what “zone” of florence your in , the delivery costs are cheap and service took about 40 minutes. You can actually reserve ONLINE and they will call or email confirm you. must try when you have had too many negronis the night before . website here4. Roomservice.it  this is something that I have wanted to try for awhile, basically its a food delivery service that lets you pick the restaurant ( options include turkish food, chinese, italian, gelato, mini-market, japanese and pizzeria ) and they will deliver the food to your door. Not only do they offer food, but DVD’s as well, helloooo date night!

when is it available? Mon-Fri lunchtime 12-1:30pm , and Tues-Sunday 18:30-22:00, number is 055 680 0460. If you order from just one restaurant the delivery fee on top of food costs ranges from about 5 euros to 7.50 , and if you choose two or more restaurants, it will be 4 euros each restaurant, no matter what area you live in.

 *** make sure to check out the sconti aka deals section of the site as they do offer some good ones from time to time..

Finally, I will periodically update this list whenever I see some good places from time to time.. other mentionables are..

pizzaparty ( huge margarita pizza for 3-4 people for 15 euros , delivery included ) ..very yum! phone 055.66 66 81PizzaParty broshure

“The Food” , another service that lets you pick the restaurant ( includes favorites such as Tijuana  aka mexican food, brasilian food, greek, the selection of restaurants to choose from are VERY good and this is something I need to try in the very near future. A friend of mine just used them and was very pleased .. so try it! ( open every day from 10am- 23:00)  phone number 055.68.12.477

Update** since I wrote this blog, I wrote in article in the local paper and added some supermarket food delivery options as well as options for 0km produce delivery directly from local farmers to your door. So for those who really want fresh food, you have to try it! check out the article here http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=7646.