Il Latini has been one of Florence's most visited trattorias for decades, operating on a formula that is either beloved or alarming depending on your temperament: strangers share long communal tables, the menu is fixed (changing daily but with no choice), wine arrives in carafes, portions are enormous, and the noise level is extraordinary. Hanging prosciuttos and dried herbs cover the ceiling.
The food is traditional Florentine — ribollita, pappardelle with hare, bistecca alla Fiorentina, roast meats — prepared competently if not brilliantly. The experience is the point rather than the cooking. Queues form outside before opening, and the wait can be long. The restaurant operates two sittings per night (typically 7:30pm and 9:30pm), and tables are filled by staff directing arriving guests to empty seats regardless of group size. It is worth knowing that the formula is essentially unchanged since the 1970s, and that Il Latini has become a tourist institution — but the crowds include many Florentines who grew up eating here.