Florence

Travelers' Takes

Rates and Deals

Oil Shoppe (The)

More Photos
Travelny2
Travelny2
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
1
Photo
Editor Pick

The Oil Shoppe

  • May 5, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Travelny2 from New York, New York
The Oil Shoppe

To quote my friend who told me about The Oil Shoppe "I have dreams about this place". The place is fairly well known among the study abroad crowd and offers a very cheap and extremely delicious lunch. I was almost reluctant to post this out of desire to help keep this place off the beaten path and stop it from becoming a tourist zoo. What saves this place from having a huge line is that almost no one knows about it. It is fairly difficult to find and despite our frined trying to give us directions we had to ask about a dozen local before we even found someone that had heard of the place.

To get there from the Duomo, head down Via dell' Orilio away from the Duomo for a couple of blocks. You will run into Piazza Salvemini. When you hit the Piazza look to your left and you will see Via S. Edigio (dell' Orilio and S. Edigio meet triangularly at the piazza). Head up S. Edigio and it will be on your right not far up from the piazza. The sign over the door is quite small so pay attention or you might miss it. Incidentally this is about 100 feet away from La Giostra (see my other review) which is right around the corner on Via Borgo Pinti.

This place has what are easily some of the best sandwiches I have eaten in my life if not claiming the title outright. We were in Florence 3 days. We went there for lunch our first day because my friends raved about it so much. Needless to say we went back again the second day. And the thrid day. I almost got one to go on the last day to have for dinner on the train ride to Rome. As in most delis you pick your meat, cheese, bread and toppings. Unlike most delis everything here is fresh made in Tuscany and the surrounding regions and unbelievably flavorful. Toppings include your usual veggies as well as marinated mushrooms, olives and other Meditteranean items. The vegetables all taste like they came fresh picked out of a garden. I got turkey and salami with veggies the first day and a meatball sub the second day. To get the meatball sub or other hot sandwiches you go to a little window off the kitchen in the back of the store. They came fresh out of the pot they had just cooked in with homemade sauce and parmesan. I also ordered a side of fries back here which were fresh cut wedge potatoes deeped in oil and mixed with Italian seasonings that were also great.

The store, as the name implies, also sells a wide variety of olive oils and balsamic vinegars collected from all over Italy. They will ship anything home to your address in the states for a very reasonable price. The guy that owns this place speaks great English and is very friendly. They also serve salads and can get fairly busy at lunch time. They are not open for dinner and I believe they close around three or four so get there early. We just caught them the first day we went and were actually the last sandwiches served. DO NOT MISS THIS PLACE. Sandwiches are about $5

From journal A Few Days in Florence

Compare Florence Rates

1. Enter travel information

City

2. Select websites to compare rates

Each selected website will open a new window.

Florence Travel Deals