San Biagio Bistrot
…on the primi piatti list there’s basically the four traditional roman plates (Cacio e Pepe, Gricia, Carbonara & Amatriciana) and then a couple of local classics (pasta with pomodoro and cacioricotta for example). The roman plates in particular are both not hard to well, and extremely difficult to find done well in restaurants around Lecce. As someone who is not native to Salento and loves food from all over Italy (and frustrated when I can’t find good central/northern plates here) I was delighted to eat a really rich Amatriciana that is really every bit as good as you’d find in Rome. The roman pasta is not homemade for the purists out there, its not a problem for me. Our pasta was truly wonderful. The salentino pasta plates are homemade and this is really excellent place to try some restaurant grade Orecchiette. They don’t always bring cheese so if they don’t ask for it, and if you remember, ask for cacioricotta (this is a local cheese that is the correct cheese to put on Orecchiette Pomodoro, it’s hard and salty like Parmesan but because it’s actually a ricotta it has that slight creaminess).
Re Mida
...there were meat boards with lots of salumi, burrata, pezzetti di cavallo (traditional local horsemeat stew) and polpette (meatballs and tomato sauce). There’s also lots of Orecchiette on the menu and local wine. The cooking in Re Mida is good, it’s priced firmly (its actually too expensive for what it is, but hey it is the touristy part of the old town) but the food is flavoursome and well...
Pescheria Con Cottura
…it’s definitely on the posh side, but it’s really tasteful done with homely and well chosen ceramics and rustic yet fancy tableware. You order when you arrive (standing up), as there’s a fish counter. You’re ushered over there where there are blackboard menus and all the day’s fish laid out. Staff are helpful and will guide you through (in both English and Italian). It’s obviously seafood led, there’s an antipasti list and range of primi/secondi piatti….
Moro
Moro sits an the graffitied end of Via Degli Ammirati, the six or seven tables that line the outside spill out from a classic cave-esque star-vaulted shop (very typical of Lecce). Getting onto one of these tables outside can either be very easy/very difficult, depending on your luck, so get there nice an early and get your name on the list. The road narrows at this point and hundreds of people throng through this little bottle neck, not to mention dickheads in their BMV’s/Mercedes who have to drive in the old city at night. So be prepared to be in the middle of it all.
But being in the middle of it all is completely worth it. Moro is such good value for money and their fantastic selection of hearty local plates mean you can easily order more than you need and you’ll be unlikely to break 20€ a head (last time I went I had two spritz, shared a bottle of wine and 6 plates between 4, and I paid about 16€ euros). The food in Moro is not pretentious, there’s good quality parmigiana, steak (both the local custom of horsemeat or beef), sliced thinly and grilled, served with good local rocket, and seasonal dishes that will arrive simply prepared, with tonnes of flavour.