Arcu te Pratu

The staff were friendly, and we enjoyed some cold beers alongside a lovely, creamy serving of fave e cicorie. We stopped in for a quick lunch because I wanted to try the dish, which is meant to be traditional in this area. The restaurant is on a quiet, attractive street, just outside the main tourist centre. I don't know what the inside is like since we ate outdoors. It seems the owners are new, and I hope they do well.

There was plenty of outdoor seating on a spacious, quiet street, and we had a good meal with the family, pasta and salad. The owner was friendly and clearly passionate about the food. Lots of Italians seemed to eat here. We came around 8pm and getting a table was easy. A good meal overall.

A short walk from Porta Napoli, this restaurant is a lovely find in Lecce’s old town. Regional food is the focus: we enjoyed the all-vegetarian starter, typical of traditional Salentino summer cooking, and seafood like pasta with Gallipoli prawns. There’s a very good wine list, including house wines at sensible prices. The room was full of local families having their Friday dinner, which says a lot. Staff spoke good English and service was efficient and correct. It isn’t cheap, but the quality for the price felt quite reasonable.

We found Arcu te Pratu by chance while wandering the back streets, and it was a quiet spot for lunch with our 2-year-old. The owners were lovely, even teaching us Italian and including my daughter. She gave them a hug goodbye! We’d been looking for good pasta and got exactly that: spaghetti carbonara and orecchietta with delicious, tender meat that had clearly been cooked for ages. The portions were just right. Buenisimo!