Via Cairoli - Lecce

On a side street a couple of blocks from the Palazzo. Excellent 10 Euro per bottle Chardonnay (so we ordered two, even though it was lunch). Tasty bread (focaccia and bread circles), generous salads, Al dente pasta and delicious swordfish. Prawns were truly huge, baked gnocchi was fabulous, bistecca also excellent. Warm service (seemed like the owner). Would absolutely recommend.

Hands down, the best lunch ever eaten in Italy. Bresaola, seafood salad, grilled octopus, burrata and pomodoro and chilled Negeromara Rosé. Espresso and cigarette. Just go here!

This place is a little off the beaten path (if that is possible in little Lecce) and was recommended by the owner of my apartment as well as a few artists in a local art gallery. I sat outside so did not have the distraction of the inside TV (complained of by other Tripadvisor contributors), and I ate well. I tried three dishes, all pugliese I think and bearing little resemblance to the tuscan foods I am far more familiar with. La cucina povera--or at least what I ordered--is simpler, less fried, less green vegetables. 0n the recommendation of the NY Times travel section, I tried ceci e tria (short fat pasta pieces mixed with garbanzos) in a thin tomato and olive oil based sauce that I liked very much, especially when dipped with the local grain-based bread that was my favorite part of the meal! then a piping hot bubbling mozzarella topped with prosciutto or speck which, by itself would have been all I needed. It was, as expected, salty and filling. Thank god for the white wine that was recommended (I asked for and received a glass, not bottle, though admittedly I asked in Italian) and got a local wine that I loved. Perfect for the dinner. I ordered--but it turned out did not NEED--a total of three dishes and powered on through the final course of fresh, not frozen, prawns. Ending with a very strong disgestivo bearing a disconcerting resemblance to mercurochrome. Perfect! The waiter was helpful though a man of few words--I liked my experience there and lumbered home to sleep for 13 hours.

Buona cucina casereccia. Siamo arrivati e siamo stati subito accolti dal proprietario, una persona molto gentile e ospitale. Abbiamo preso un classico per i bambini, orecchiette al pomodoro, mentre per noi due linguine con le vongole. Consigliato

Cibo ottimo a prezzi più che onesti, consigliatissimo