I had the good fortune of having Dogali recommended to me when I was in Florence last week…read more
A forward: the location isn't at Viale Malta 5; it is much further up the street, so if you're looking for it, just keep on walking up the street numbers until you find it. It's worth it.
The cafe is small, on a corner, with some outside seating, and at 10PM on a Thursday night, pretty busy (in a good way). For the uninitiated, here's how it works (at least in the time we were there): you go inside, grab a plate of the foods they've prepared at set out, grab a drink from the bartender, and grab a seat inside or out. The servers will bring around the foods that come out from the kitchen from time to time and will offer it to each table. The dough balls were outstanding. At the end, you pay your €8 and go. Yes, it is €8 for all the food you can eat and all the beer/wine/liquor you can drink during this happy hour. The majority of my confusion was due to the unbelievability of the deal, but after re-re-reconfirming it with the server, I finally believed. If I had known this before I went to pay up, I'd have had more than just my 1 glass of wine.
This is a must-do if you are in Florence, particularly by the stadium. In the 2 weeks I was in the region, this was by far the best deal on the food:cost scale.
p.s., it's not the most non-red-meat-eater friendly, but if there is anything in the glass cases that looks good (salads, seafood, etc.), just ask and they'll give you whatever you need.
