Pizza & Co.
…I also want to assert that this is a fantastic pizzeria, that I visit often and I am not slagging it off at all. Other than my semantics about dough (which I realise for many are boring and tiresome) they are obviously as Italian as it gets. The ingredients are excellent and are always fresh (the pizzeria is always busy and they never make pizzas too far in advance). In fact I’m not sure you’ll find a fresher cooked slice anywhere else in Lecce. I’ve often dropped in for a ‘quick’ slice and then walked off, slice in hand, only to find myself turning back around to go and get another one. And then another one. In fact a good tip (especially if all the tables are full) is to eat on the steps of the church next door. My advice: get a slice and a beer and settle in, bum-on-steps, for a couple of rounds of pizza… until you’re definitely full. I can tell you from experience that this is much more relaxing and efficient than constantly walking up and down Via Giuseppe Libertini, as lovely as it is, telling yourself you’re not going to eat anymore pizza, when clearly, you are.
You can also order a whole pizza which they’ll cook for you to order (which is massive and requires about 4 people to get through).
Pizza & Co. is already a well known pizzeria in Lecce especially amongst the tourist community, and with good reason. They know their way around flavour extremely well and deliver slice after slice after slice.
Squaiu
When we went we were asked if we’d been before (no) and then given a bit of a brief about the provenance and nice talk through all the toppings. Everything is apparently organic or local, particularly organic flour for the dough made with ‘lievito madre’ aka sourdough.
Pizza is super crocante (crispy) and nice and aerated, definitely the best dough or crust I’ve had in Lecce (in terms of pizza al taglio). As pizza aficionados will well know, when the dough is well proved (risen) over plenty of time and as naturally as possible the pizza is much much easier to digest, and after eating here we felt absolutely fantastic. No heaviness whatsoever.
Toppings whilst being excellent quality were perhaps a little on the safe/traditional side in terms of flavour combinations. Guanciale (pork cheek) and Pecorino (sheeps cheese) was about as wild as it got on our visit (which is a centuries old roman combo and about as safe as it gets). Pizzas are pre-cut into fairly modestly sized squares rather than the more traditional sold-by-weight option. Squares are priced firmly, although fairly for the area, which is expensive. They also have a great selection of local craft beers in the fridge.
Il Carrettino
Once you get past this difference in meat though Il Carrettino a pretty decent burger spot. There’s a good selection from American classics to Italian inspired options. You can get bbq sauce and bacon and american cheese, or you can have creamy italian cheese with more classic panino fillings. We had a lovely evening here with friends and all four of our burgers were really great. They’ll ask you how you want your burger cooked.
Il Carrettino is in Mazzini, the newer part of the centre that feels more like Milan than it does the rural traditional south, and its priced accordingly. Burger and chips is over a tenner, which for Salento is a lot. In fact its too expensive for what it is. But they do care, I expect the beef is of a higher provenance than average, and with a super friendly team and a very buzz interior it probably could be argued that it’s worth the value for money (if only just).
Just Desi
I’ve never visited India so I can’t speak to its real authenticity, but every plate I’ve had in Just Desi packs that classic spiced and fragrant flavour punch signature to indian food, whilst also being in someway lighter than I’m accustomed too. I’m used to eating really heavy curry, but after eating a takeway from Just Desi you don’t feel like you need to enter a deep, 6 month, digestion-hibernation period. It just doesn’t destroy you like that.
Samosas are big, super crispy and well spiced. Chicken Curry is similar to what gets labelled ‘Korma’ in the UK, but with a touch more spice and less creaminess. When you go in they have the currys on a dispense counter, so I tend to just point at things and have a little chat and decide that way. We usually get another chicken curry with a rich and spicy vegetable sauce, but I’ve no idea what its called I’m afraid. Dahl is wonderful, although a tad thin for me, but its still so good I order it every time.
Takeaway portions are massive, eat-in portions are pretty small, I believe the prices are the same. I leave you to work out where the value for money is there.
Juras
At the time of writing Juras is probably the best burger I’ve eaten in Lecce. It’s because their meat is the closest thing I’ve had here to that kind of juicy soft chuck style patty you get in the UK/US. And the medium was almost medium. The buns are a bit bappy, with the maccy d’s style sesame finish, but basically everything else is either good or great.
Re Artù
Puccia (a particular type of sandwich from Salento) is the main draw here, as they do it extremely well. Unlike the Puccia joints in the old city, which tend to have a paired back menu of 4 or 5 options, at Re Artù you can have whatever you want. Puccia is €7 (which is pretty pricey for salento), all the toppings are laid out and you point and ask (which is kinda more how the locals do it). Process wise (for ordering) it’s exactly the same as subway basically. I don’t think all the ingredients here are homemade, but a significant proportion probably are, which sit side by side with ketchup and mayo etc which people here love a bit of in their Puccia. You can make it as highbrow or lowbrow as you like, it’s your Puccia, its up to you.
Pizza is by the slice (or rather by the square) or you can order a whole pizza. I’ve only had squares of pizza here and they’ve been pretty good. It’s that old school pizza that kinda reminds me of our school canteen, aka white fluffy style of pizza base (but with much better toppings).
Mister Gastro'
I’ve only been once to Mister Gastro but it’s properly old school. I was served by the Nonna, who was still on the till, and not taking any shit from anyone. Grandson was on the fried section (or he was at least calling the old lady Nonna) and I’d guess at a couple of parents/uncles and aunts running the pizza section. It’s ancient inside, with an old style wood oven (not one of the fancy new Neapolitan space ship things), old school tiles, just well trad basically.
The arancini come absolutely packed with ham, good and moist inside and crispy on the outside. You don’t need to eat much else if you’ve had one of those (like you could get a pizza to share between three/four and an arancino each and I’d say it’d be perfect). There’s also lots of other friend bits and pieces around that I didn’t have time to try but would definitely be worth getting a selection of. In general, the Salantini excel particularly in fritti more than pizza, and that’s definitely the case in Mister Gastro’.
Il Pizzicotto (#2 Via Taranto)
On it’s day Il Pizzicotto is easily as good as any of Rome’s world renowned Pizza al Taglio joints (their potato and truffle cream & mortadella and stracciatella are notably good) and on other days simply has a good selection of tasty bites. It sometimes suffers from thinking it’s a little bit better than it really is. However, all of the staff are super helpful and speak several languages and will talk you through all the toppings. Sometimes they’re not forthright about which was the pizza that most recently came out of the oven, or if it was cooked that day, so you have to use your eyes to judge.
Il Pizzicotto (Original Location)
On it’s day Il Pizzicotto is easily as good as any of Rome’s world renowned Pizza al Taglio joints (their potato and truffle cream & mortadella and stracciatella are notably good) and on other days simply has a good selection of tasty bites. It sometimes suffers from thinking it’s a little bit better than it really is. However, all of the staff are super helpful and speak several languages and will talk you through all the toppings. Sometimes they’re not forthright about which was the pizza that most recently came out of the oven, or if it was cooked that day, so you have to use your eyes to judge.
Mezzo Quinto
Mezzo Quinto sits in the middle of Via Degli Ammirati, which is a great little road to know about as you'll also find Il Pizzicotto, Bar Moro, and ‘00’ here.
If you want a fast bite of hearty local food, you literally couldn't find a better local spot. The core menu: polpette (meatballs), pezzi di cavallo (horsemeat stew), and parmigiana (aubergine) are the classics that generations of salentini have survived on. You can get a panino for 5€ or a plate for around 7.50€, there won't be any frilly bits, just rustic flavour and plenty of it.
If you can't be bothered messing around with restaurants, getting a table, waiting to be served, waiting in general, in Mezzo Quinto you have a quality, local, authentic, and cheap option- what more could you want.
Il Salumaio La Massaia
A stone's throw from Porta San Biagio is Il Salumaio La Massaia. From the outside it's pretty easy to miss so do have a look at the picture above if you can't find it.
We had no idea what to make of the place the first time we went, and I've been back several times since and still don't know either. What I do know, is that their food is freakin tasty, and though it's not quite on my walk to work, I often take a detour, just to grab a Panino - they're soo good!
Piadina Salentina
Undoubtedly the best Piadina in Lecce. But really? This place?
Let me walk you through it. On the corner of Piazza Sant'oronzo, opposite the Roman amphitheater; there's an unassuming takeaway joint, with a large, attention seeking, vegan kebab sign written on the front. It has the air of a place that dishes out lowest common denominator tourist kebabs, probably for an extortionate price.
But if you know, you know. And most of the locals do know. Even in the hey day of the 2021 coronavirus lockdown, the steps of Chiesa di Santa Maria della Grazia were still littered with eager lunch time punters, chomping their way through some of Lecce's finest Piadinas washed down with a beer.