Le Zie Trattoria Casereccia

OK. This is it. Having "lived" in Lecce, albeit part-time for two years, I can unequivocally say that this is my favorite eatery. The food is amazing in authenticity, quality & taste. The service is friendly and unpretentious. The ambience is.....well, imagine you're sitting in your Aunt's dining room for an informal Sunday family meal. Quite the experience. Pricing is very reasonable. Overall. Simply, outstanding.

The best local experience you will have in Lecce! It’s mandatory to make a reservation over the phone before you go (they are always busy) but it’s easy to get a table with just one day in advance. We booked for dinner, 9:30pm and had a lovely surprise by arriving there and getting in what looked like the dining room of a local family hosting dinner for us (and other 15 tables 😂). The service was great and the food event better. All very carefully prepared and delicious! Highly recommend it to everyone in this area!

The concept of enjoying home-cooked food is an experience in itself, especially when it's served in a setting that feels like your grandmother's house. I had read many mixed reviews about Le Zie Trattoria, so I came with managed expectations, and I think that's important. Getting a table can indeed be difficult, but remember, this trattoria has only about 12 tables and operates with a small home-style kitchen. Now, about the menu and food: again, it’s all about managing expectations. The menu focuses on traditional home-cooked dishes and old recipes, so don't expect typical Italian restaurant fare like pizza or spaghetti carbonara. For my starter, I had the parmigiana di melanzane, which was beautifully layered with just the right amount of meat and béchamel sauce. The taste was incredible. For the main course, I ordered the Tajeddra, a southern dish made with rice, potatoes, mussels, tomatoes, and courgettes. The flavors were spot on, though I personally felt the rice was a bit too runny and could have been drier, that’s just my opinion, as this may be how it’s traditionally prepared. To end the meal, I had the pasticciotto tarte, which was the highlight of the meal honestly indescribably good. One note: the restaurant may not be the best choice for young children.

A super traditional trattoria, you feel like your eating in some Italian nonnas living room (this is probably because this is actually the case!) It’s almost intimidatingly authentic - all the waiters only speak Italian and you almost feel like you’re intruding into their home. The food is also very traditional - we ordered the mixed vegetarian appetisers. To be honest, I have no idea how you can make green beans, mushrooms and white beans taste so incredible. They were absolutely delicious and I was blown away by how flavourful they were, it was truly one of the most impressive things I’ve tried! I then ordered the chickpea pasta, which was again delicious and very interesting. It wasn’t as good as the appetiser (but the bar was set very very high) - the combination of the pasta and chickpeas may be a little on the starchy side for me but is still very delicious and a very memorable dish. This place is definitely worth trying - delicious food and an interesting experience.

In my opinion the best place to try local cuisine! Atmosphere is like you are guest in the house of an Italian grandma, staff is friendly,food is delicious! IMPORTANT to make reservations the day before, if you show up without reservation you want be able to wait for table!

I loved the place. Typical local dishes. I tried the soup with achicoria and the pasta with chickpeas. Rations are big and the waiter are very kind.not cheap but it os worth the quality.

Recommended by a friend who goes to Lecce often. Very friendly place only for locals and I must say the food is genuinely good specially the seasonable vegetables. Fave and cicoria as starter was a top notch. We also had orecchiette pasta with tomato sauce. Horse meat in tomato sauce. All amazing.

Authentic, small Italian restaurant (table reservation needed). Very kind service, moderate prices, good food. Menu also in English but we enjoyed practising our Italian skills with the friendly and patient waitresses. Dog friendly. We recommend 👌