“I adore opening restaurants because every one of them is not a copy but it's a new idea,” Dario Cecchini told Appetito earlier this year in a lengthy interview about his career and philosophy. Last week, the “King of Beef” opened his latest venture, Cecchini in Città, inside the 25Hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino in Florence.
The restaurant, located about 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) from his home base in Panzano, Tuscany, is the famed butcher/restaurateur’s first in Florence. The “new idea” behind it is a tasting menu designed to bring the flavors of his countryside Antica Macellaria Cecchini to the big city.
“Cecchini Griglia” tasting menus are offered at 1 pm and 8 pm with seatings at one long table. The feast begins with a glass of wine and his “burro del Chianti,” a whipped lard seasoned with herbs. Then, a procession of meats continues the experience, including beef tartare, beef carpaccio, and Bistecca alla Panzanese (beef round). Side dishes include cannellini beans and potatoes baked in foil.
Aside from the tasting menu, Cecchini in Città has an à la carte menu as well, with beef (of course) but also including vegetarian dishes, traditional Tuscan antipasti and hand-made pastas.
The restaurant also features noteworthy décor including a glass ceiling and a large grill inside a great fireplace in the main dining room. The hotel’s interior, from designer Paola Navone, is inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, with “heaven” and “hell” themes integrated throughout. The hotel also features a landscaped courtyard, a traditional Negroni bar, and an alimentari where guests can shop for select items and groceries. An in-house “Cinema Paradiso” film lounge offers programmed movie screenings, so it’s possible to dine on Cecchini’s mouth-watering beef dishes and then take in a classic film—which may be a new standard for “dinner and a movie.”
Reservations for Cecchini in Città are available via OpenTable.
