Eating in Puglia
some of my favorites.......
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Cantine Menhir
Via Giuseppina Scarciglia, 18, 73027 Minervino di Lecce LE +39 0836 818199 hip, relaxed, with big outdoor garden and large indoor cantina....prix fix paired with their outstanding wines. Made me happy to be here and eat with friends! good service that seems to really be proud of what they do. Outstanding white wine, I did not get past that one it was so so very good! Fantastic graphics signal the excellence of the product. Dining room stacked high with their branded boxes and makes a lively backdrop. |
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Relais Il Mignano
Via Lata 31 73028 Nardó LE +39 0833 572506 My favorite place to eat in Nardó. Quiet, elegant understated dining room, decorated/restored in the perfect key. The soft palette of the decor relaxes you. There are several small dining rooms so you can have a nice conversation and enjoy the wonderful food. The chef here offers modern takes on traditional plates and takes full advantage of the superb flavors of local specialties. Vegetarian? no problem! Let them guide you through the menu and the wines. There is a lovely little shop off the courtyard where they sell unique products. Go for the teas! |
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Schola Sarmenti | Vitivinicola Via Generale Cantore, 37, 73048 Nardò LE, Italy +39 0833 567247 Lovely cantina in an off track location near the train station in Nardó: they do tastings, concerts and meals and can guide you through their fantastic wines! I was introduced to these by Pasquale, at Relais Il Mignano and love them. Parking in front. You will find they speak English. |
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Gustavo Braceria
Via Gallipoli 48, 73044 Galatone LE +39 345 615 5711 reservations recommended The dining room already signals something different. Industrial, minimal decor with pieces of stone imbedded in the wall as a kind of substitute artwork. Soft dark low intensity colors. Big iron grill windows at the entrance. Prix fix meal each evening, Carmela and staff are a reserved and ever-present team hovering over the dining room to introduce each round of dishes. Fresh, informal and fun, complex and serious tastes prevail! High level of yumminess here, lots of love from the kitchen. A bit like Brooklyn or Berlin in the Salento! |
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BioMasseria Santa Lucia
Contrada Macurano, 28, 73031 Alessano LE, Italy +39 335 634 3217 Stay here, eat here: Austere and authentic in feel, farm to table kitchen, overseen by Danilo, ex jewelry designer and his wife. We had a quick tour before dinner and saw the beautiful herb garden and the large old animal stall, now used to store and process their grain. They also sell their own taralli and frese here. This is a real and rustic locale, all the vegetables and grain products come from their own harvest. This is not however "hippy food"; the prix fix dinner has many courses and the portions are perfect. Some of the delicious dishes we ate included fresh cheese w. their own honey and oregano, fried cauliflower, baked onions, little eggplant polpette and a parmigiana of zucchini. In each category there were choices for both vegetarian and meat eaters alike. Limited seating and it was fully booked in June, so I would suggest reservations. |
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00 Doppiozero
Via Guglielmo Paladini, 2, 73100 Lecce LE +39 0832 521052 Everything about this place is laid back and fun...great line of products, charcuterie, and cheeses from all over Italy, the best of the best. I ate here everyday when I stayed in Lecce. They have a great "american breakfast" that is a total bargain. In the cool months they tie lap blankets to the chairs. Selections of newspapers to read while you wait at your communal table. |
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Pasticceria Andrea Ascalone
Via Vittorio Emanuele, 17, 73013 Galatina LE, Italy +39 0836 566009 The pictures say it all; well almost all...famous old patisseria with exquisite sweets. Home of the original pasticiotto or so they say, certainly the most elegant desserts on offer in the area. As Americans we are accustomed to wonderful desserts but in Italy one has to travel either far north or deep in the south for truly great sweets. A Nardó friend made me try my first pasticiotto and I was hooked! Give up the diet and live for the day! |
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Grecale Ristorante Hotel
Riviera di Ponenete via C. Albano Porto Cesareo LE 0833 560151 Lovely place for a civilized Sunday lunch. This dining room is a clean bright and modern space with a touch of retro, with a big slab of glass looking out to the port where little boats rock in the silvery sea. The day's fish cart was deployed to the table, replete with several local varieties and a huge king crab. The elegant elderly ladies next to us ordered up the crab, drank a bottle of white and finished it off gelato affogato al cafe. Go ladies! What we ate: a lovely homemade ravioli "da Grecale" stuffed with shrimp and salmon, a nice fresh mixed salad, simple mussels which were the large type, plumb, soft, juicy and flavorful. We washed it down with a nice crisp white wine followed by sorbetto al limone and cafe, both a cut above the norm. We lingered and watched all the wonderful food exiting the kitchen including a very dramatic affair of puff pastry, "stuffed" with a tagliolini of mussels, tiny shrimp and large shrimp, buried underneath the large lasagne sized presentation: the waiter cut off the corners of this dish and plated it, then took the entire center part of the pastry and rolled it back off to the side. The tagliolini were revealed with all the juicy seafood and was added to the puff pastry corners. Stunning! Next time. Also looking good what a fully salt crusted whole fish that when broken open, waifed our way. Service was pleasant, semi formal and laid back. Loved it here. |
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