Restaurants for 50 person group

Ben

New member
In May I'm coming from the US to Florence to get married. We will have about 50 people attend the wedding and we wanted to have a group dinner the night before. We're having a tough time trying to find bigger restaurants that can accommodate our large group because we've been relying on google photos of restaurant interiors to see if they are big enough. We're looking for a place that has fresh pastas and pizza mainly with a meat/steak option too.

Are there any recommendations for restaurants we should reach out to that is known to have a large space?
 
Ciao Ben,

That certainly is not an easy question but I do believe there are places that would match your criteria.... have you a list already? have you contacted any to ask whether they have sufficient space for 50 guests?
Also are you more interested in the pizza aspect or the meat/steak? I ask because here, there are definitely many places that will specialize in pizza and the restaurant side is more limited.... and many restaurants that are great for the steak but do not necessarily do pizza at all.
So in order to understand what to recommend, I'd really like to know how rigid your expectations are as far as the food goes.
Pizzerias will be more casual, some restaurants are quite elegant. Many trattorias are a good in between, but not all of them offer pizza.
Then many in the center are small and might not have the capacity.... on the other hand, you could find that some are perfect if you basically book the place for that night. And in that case, thinking ahead is definitely good ;-) but does it have to be in the center? where is your wedding or where will your guests be staying at? I'm wondering whether to suggest places outside of the center or whether that would complicate matters..... on the other hand, if the guests are all staying outside of the center, maybe they have cars rented out, then a place outside of the center would actually make more sense.
What date in May? Just to check it isn't around a national holiday.....
Also, are you doing all the planning on your own or working with a local planner? It would seem not, if you're trying to do this with the help of Google images.
You don't have to give me too many details, but I definitely would like to know how far you got in your research to know what kind of searches I can do for you.
 
I forgot to add the more important part: some recommendations for places in the center of Florence

Off the top of my head, without any further details, I'd suggest:
  • Trattoria Omero in Pian dei Giullari (just over Pzle Michelangelo) - I've been here for a special event so believe the hall is large enough, you might have to take over... I just am not sure whether they do pizzas - steaks and pasts for sure.
  • "B-roof" on top of the Hotel Baglioni - https://www.hotelbaglioni.it/en/bars-restaurants/b-roof - they don't do pizzas, that's why I was asking about preferences, this is for a very special dinner with incredible views.
  • SeSto on the top of the Westin Excelsior - a very classy place as well with views, with lots of space but not a place for pizza.
  • Pizzeria I Ghibellini - this place is big, the pizza is good and they do have restaurant/steak option as well
  • If you want to emphasize the steak part, then Trattoria dall'Oste is a good option - they focus on steaks, but also have pasta dishes and a few pizzas: https://trattoriadalloste.com/en/ If I remember correctly, the original place by the train station on Via Alamanni is spacious and likely has the space for a large group.
 
Thank you for your reply! We are mostly interested in pizzas and pastas because we will be having a very nice meat dish for our wedding the next day and overall we were looking for something pretty casual. About half of our guests will be staying close to the city center and the other half will be staying near Grassina so we wanted to have dinner close to the city center. The wedding will be in the third week of May and I don't believe there are any holidays around that time. One restaurant we did reach out to was Obica because they have a lot of space, I really appreciate all of your suggestions and I'd love to see any others you might think of.
 
Restaurants

Buongiorno,

I have used Bargello - a bit touristic - but with criteria (and you really can't beat the position!)
https://www.google.it/maps/place/Il...m2!3d43.7693855!4d11.2551096?hl=en&authuser=0

Another which is frequently named for its good food and great position is trattoria Za Za

https://www.google.it/maps/place/Tr...m2!3d43.7763546!4d11.2544485?hl=en&authuser=0

One more that I like - and they have pizzas and great appetizer options:
La Beppa Fioraia
https://www.google.it/maps/place/La...!8m2!3d43.762836!4d11.260976?hl=en&authuser=0

I suggest that you also have a look at this article, the restaurants named in this article feature great pasta:

https://www.visitflorence.com/eating-and-drinking-in-florence/trattoria-restaurants.html

Buon Viaggio

Donna Denise
 
Buongiorno,

I have used Bargello - a bit touristic - but with criteria (and you really can't beat the position!)
https://www.google.it/maps/place/Il...m2!3d43.7693855!4d11.2551096?hl=en&authuser=0

Another which is frequently named for its good food and great position is trattoria Za Za

https://www.google.it/maps/place/Tr...m2!3d43.7763546!4d11.2544485?hl=en&authuser=0

One more that I like - and they have pizzas and great appetizer options:
La Beppa Fioraia
https://www.google.it/maps/place/La...!8m2!3d43.762836!4d11.260976?hl=en&authuser=0

I suggest that you also have a look at this article, the restaurants named in this article feature great pasta:

https://www.visitflorence.com/eating-and-drinking-in-florence/trattoria-restaurants.html

Buon Viaggio

Donna Denise

Nice list of places. Just what I was looking to have a great time in Florence
Thanks you
 
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