Caffè Gilli

Caffè Gilli
Piazza della Repubblica 36–39r/Via Roma 1r
tel. +39-055-213-896
www.gilli.com
€€

Bus: C2; 6, 11
Hop-on/hop-off: Stazione FS SMN (A, B), Piazza Stazione (C)

• Piazza della Repubblicas
• The Orsanmichele ★
• The Mercato Nuovo
• The Baptistery ★★★
• Santa Trìnita ★
• Enoteca Alessi

• Hotel Pensione Pendini [€]
• Hotel Savoy [€€€]
• Hotel Calzaiuoli [€€]
• Hotel Helvetia and Bristol [€€€]
• Hotel Medici [€]

• Caffè Giubbe Rosse [€€]
• Da Ganino [€€]
• Perché No? [€€] [gelato]
• Cantinetta dei Verrazzano [€]
• Festival del Gelato [€] [gelato]

• "Pane e coperto" is not a scam: Nearly all Italian restaurants have an unavoidable pane e coperto ("bread and cover" charge) of anything from €1 to €15—though most often €2 to €5—per person that is automatically added onto your bill. This is perfectly normal and perfectly legal (though a few trendy restaurants make a big deal about not charging it).
• Find out if service (tip) is included: Don't double-tip by accident. If the menu has a line—usually near the bottom of the front or back—that says "servizio" with either a percentage, an amount, or the word "incluso" after it, that means the tip is automatically included in the price. (If it says "servizio non incluso," tip is, obviously, not included.)
  
  Even if the menu doesn't say it, ask É incluso il servizio? (ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo)—"Is service included?" If not, tip accordingly (10%–15% is standard).
  
  Don't be stingy about tipping, though. If il servizio is, indeed, already included but the service was particularly good, it's customary to round up the bill or leave €1 per person extra—just to show you noticed and that you appreciated the effort.
• Tourist menus: The concept of a bargain prix-fixe menu is not popular in Italy. Some restaurants do offer a menu turistico ("tourist menu"), which can cost from €8 to €20 and usually entails a choice from among two or three basic first courses (read: different pasta shapes, all in plain tomato sauce), a second course of roast chicken or a veal cutlet, and some water or wine and bread. With very few exceptions, tourist menus tend to live up to their name, appearing only at the sort of tourist-pandering restaurants that the locals wisely steer clear of.
  
  However, a menu à prezzo fisso ("fixed-price menu") is often a pretty good deal, usually offering a bit more choice than a tourist menu.
  
  Then—especially at nicer (and pricier) restaurants—there is the menu degustazione ("tasting menu"), usually far more expensive (anywhere from €25 to €110) that is a showcase of the chef's best, or of regional specialties, and can make for an excellent way to sample the kitchen's top dishes.
• Book ahead: For restaurants that I am truly eager to try, I go ahead and book a table—at least at dinner. I find that a corollary of Murphy's Law seems to apply. If you prudently book ahead, you are likely to show up to a half-empty restaurant and feel a bit like a fool for having worried about finding a table. If, on the other hand, you just show up at the door expecting to find a free table, the place will inevitably be packed and its bookings full for the evening.

• Basic phrases (below)
• Italian dishes, cooking terms, & menu vocab