"Florence's sharpest new fine-dining room — Paulo Airaudo reworks Tuscan tradition with technique and warmth, from goat tagliolini with caviar to squab cappelletti."
Luca's is the restaurant of chef Paulo Airaudo inside the boutique Hotel La Gemma, a short walk from the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. It opened in June 2023 and quickly drew an international following for cooking that reads Florentine and Tuscan tradition through a precise, modern lens.
For the city's established benchmarks, compare the three-star Enoteca Pinchiorri and the Michelin-starred Gucci Osteria on the Piazza della Signoria.
Airaudo pairs technical control with genuine warmth. The plates that define the menu include goat tagliolini with anchovies, Sorrento lemon and caviar; squab cappelletti; and prized wagyu beef, alongside amberjack with turnip and ume kosho and a lobster risotto with pumpkin and 'nduja. The tasting menus run EUR 130 for four courses and EUR 185 for eight, excluding wine; à-la-carte first courses sit around EUR 55 and the wagyu around EUR 75.
The setting matches the cooking — an intimate, polished room inside a restored Renaissance palazzo, with the quiet confidence of a small luxury hotel. Tables are spaced for conversation, the service is attentive and the wine list deep. It is a special-occasion room rather than a casual drop-in.
A restored-palazzo room, a tasting menu and a deep cellar make Luca's a memorable anniversary or celebration dinner. The polish and the address also make it a strong room to impress clients or mark a milestone birthday.
Not for a quick trattoria lunch, families with young children, or travellers on a budget — this is a small, expensive, tasting-led fine-dining room inside a luxury hotel.
Luca's by Paulo Airaudo, inside Hotel La Gemma near the Duomo in Florence, is known for modern Tuscan tasting menus — goat tagliolini with anchovies and caviar, squab cappelletti and wagyu beef — from chef Paulo Airaudo.
Paulo Airaudo, an Argentine-born chef with a string of acclaimed restaurants, who opened Luca's inside Hotel La Gemma in June 2023.
The tasting menus are EUR 130 for four courses and EUR 185 for eight, excluding wine. À-la-carte first courses sit around EUR 55, second courses around EUR 65 and the wagyu around EUR 75.
Inside Hotel La Gemma, near the Duomo and a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio in central Florence.
Yes. The room is small and popular with an international clientele, so booking ahead — particularly for dinner — is strongly recommended.
Book ahead for dinner; the room is small.
Affiliate disclosure: Restaurants for Kings may earn a commission when you book through our reservation links, at no cost to you. Our scores are editorial and never paid for.
A tasting menu inside a restored Renaissance palazzo is a milestone dinner in the making. See where Luca's ranks among Florence's celebration tables.
Read the anniversary guide →