Birreria Artigianale Il Bovaro

I'm a little confused about the name of this place, so I apologize, but it's definitely the place that I visited. The website for Il Bovaro no longer exists, but one for Rione does - https://www.rionefirenze.it - and that's what's listed on my receipt, "Birreria Artigianale Rione".

My wife and I approached early on a cool night in November of 2019 so the tent outside wasn't in use. I think they'd just opened at 6 pm. It's a nice looking place with exposed brick and plaster painted a bluish grey. The floor is terra cotta tile in a herringbone pattern, and there are barrel vaulted ceilings. The small brewery is up front just as you enter, and the bar is directly ahead. As you walk down the hallway there are alcoves with seating inside but they're blocked off by steel fencing (you have to be seated from the bar area). All of the tables and chairs are wood. It's a comfortable place with a nice design asthetic.

We ordered a margherita pizza (€7) and two beers, both of which happened to be from the Birrificio del Ducato. Had I known that they offered their own beer, the Birra Rione, an American pale ale at 5%, I'd have tried that but my Italian is not good and I misunderstood, I thought all of the beers they listed were theirs. They have 10 taps and offer 14 different beers in bottles/cans. Some of the beers they had on tap were Jupiler, Leffe Blonde, Leffe Ambrèe, Stella Artois, Goose island IPA, Westmalle Double, Tennent's Scottish ale, and Hoegaarden. Part of my confusion was due to how they list the beers on their menu. Hoegaarden, for example, is simply listed as "Blanche - 4,8%" without any mention of the actual name or brewery.

The pizza was really good, and I enjoyed both of the beers from Ducato, but overall their beer selection is limited (particularly after I figured out what was going on), and we needed to get over to Diorama (Via Pisana, 78r) before they got too busy. That's only a 3 minute walk though, so I would still suggest that if you're going to cross the river you might as well stop at all 4 beer locations. Cross at the ponte Sante Trinita and then hit up Pint of View. A 7 minute walk will bring you to The Hidden Pub, and then another 6 minutes to Il Bovaro / Rione, and finally, the last 3 minutes to Diorama.

The Il Bovaro is an Italian Brewpub near the Porta San Frediano, one of the ancient gates in Florence, Italy. The front door opens to an entry way then a small bar area. There are several small rooms and nooks as well as a sheltered patio in the front. The brewing operation is visible in a separate room near the front. They serve three of their own beers, a Pils, a Red, and a Doublebock. Since this is Italy, the beers are not american. They are good, but a little different. The typical Italian menu is not extensive but the food is very well prepared and quite reasonable priced.

This little brewpub/restaurant is across the river, not far from the main tourist sites in Florence. However, it is not worth the effort to find in my opinion.

They only have 3 beers, only 2 of which were available on my visit. I opted for the "Blonde" which was a mediocre pils. Didn't bother with the "Red". Food was OK, mostly variations on pizzas and some pasta.

Service was quite friendly and thier English was good. OK for a stop if you're walking by, but don't go out of your way.