This fantastic restaurant appears to be a private house and seems to be run by a bunch of friendly, bustling, chatting women - it's like being invited into an Italian family. The restaurant serves cucina povera specialities which are all superb. Dish after dish appears: blanched chicory in white bean purée (we were shown by a kindly waitress how to blend it with olive oil and crumbly fried bread); home-made oreccheitte with greens; potatoes baked with mussels and cheese.

Le Zie Trattoria serves nostalgic meals full of flavor in a dining room that feels like an old family home. This cozy venue is always packed at dinnertime, so reservations should be made well in advance to secure seating. Diners will appreciate the comfortable atmosphere, and the quality of the food prepared by Chef Anna and her staff.

A third-generation family restaurant in a gorgeous Leccese building with sandy stone walls and medieval decor, this wonderful trattoria serves utterly…

For more traditional restaurants, Trattoria Le Zie has been a veritable institution for over sixty award-winning years and serves classics like sagne (flat, ribbon-like pasta similar to pappardelle or fettuccine), horse meat, seasonal vegetables and sweet desserts. Pastry-making is taken very seriously here, and there is friendly but serious competition concerning who produces the best “pasticciotto”, the most typical local creation, which is made with shortcrust pastry filled with cream. Among the best places to find it are at Natale on Via Trinchese, Chantilly in Piazza Ariosto, Aldemorisco on Via Foscarini and Citiso on Via Oberdan, as well as a branch of the omnipresent Martinucci pastry chain.

Tucked away in the historic center of Lecce, Trattoria Le Zie (meaning “the aunts” in Italian) is a culinary haven that embodies the warmth and hospitality of traditional Apulian cuisine. This family-run trattoria is renowned for its simple yet flavorful dishes, such as filled squid, Sagne Ncannulate with rich tomato sauce, and freshly made orecchiette. The small menu ensures that every dish is crafted with love and care, offering a homey feel that makes you feel like you’re dining with family.

Address: Via Colonnello Archimede Costadura, 19, 73100 Lecce LE, Italy. At Le Zie Trattoria Casereccia, you’ll experience a distinctive restaurant entrance experience where you’re required to ring a bell, which is reminiscent of visiting a neighbor for a memorable culinary adventure. This cozy establishment is a traditional Salento restaurant managed by a warm and welcoming family, which explains the inviting ambiance that feels just like home, complete with a kitchen that exudes homemade charm.

An absolute must-stop for old-school home cooking (known as cucina casareccia), this intimate trattoria doesn’t need the slightest online presence to remain a firm favourite in historic Lecce. With down-to-earth hosts and an interior that feels like someone’s actual home, this spot offers a full experience before you even lift a fork to your mouth. Once you do, you’ll be treated to authentic regional takes on everything from pasta and focaccia to beans, meat and vegetables.

Bij Le Zie (‘de tantes’, foto boven) is het alsof je bij iemand thuis bent, en niet alleen doordat je moet aanbellen om binnen te komen. In dit huiskamerrestaurant eet je gerechten zoals la mamma ze bereidt, wat in Italië nog altijd de beste aanbeveling is!. En inderdaad, alles wat we geproefd hebben van de cucina casereccia was heerlijk, van de ciambotto (een stoofpotje van groente) tot de calamaro ripieno (gevulde inktvis).

I thought I’d save the best for last, but honestly, I don’t want to gatekeep. Trattoria Le Zie is the best restaurant in Lecce for local, traditional Salentine cuisine—hands down. It’s the kind of place you’d walk right past if you didn’t know what you were looking for: tucked behind an unmarked door on a quiet residential street, no frills, no fuss, just grandma-level cooking that knocks it out of the park every single time.

Trattoria Le Zie feels a bit like eating in someone’s house—you have to ring the doorbell to get in and it has an informal vibe with the ladies rushing back and forth from the kitchen. It’s not a secret any more, though, and it was full of foreigners. We enjoyed the vegetarian house antipasti of cannellini beans, vegetable tart, potato, olive and tomato salad, and pittule fried dough balls.

A top choice trattoria in the city, Trattoria le Zie is the restaurant you want to try delicious “cucina casareccia” or home cooking. It feels like you are dining in a private home, with a welcoming hostess and servers rushing back and forth from the kitchen. It is often full of locals and visitors alike, so booking is a must if you want to try some tasty Lecce dishes.

This fantastic restaurant in Lecce is actually a private house which is run by some friendly women, always giving you the feeling that you are at home. The restaurant serves cucina povera specialities which are all superb. Dish after dish appears: blanched chicory in white bean purée; home-made oreccheitte with greens; potatoes baked with mussels and cheese.

Dubbed ‘The Florence of the South’, Lecce leans into tradition like no other region of Puglia. Locals take pride in their home-style cooking using locally foraged ingredients and wear their allegiance to centuries-old recipes like a badge of honour. There’s one way of cooking a recipe, and if you’re doing it differently, you’re doing it wrong.

Another Lecce classic is Le Zie, just outside of the ancient walls. Reservations are required everywhere, even for lunch, and especially at Le Zie where the room is a perfect, small square. Service doesn’t have the same warmth as Due Corti, let’s just leave it at that, but the cooking by the aunts (le zie) is superb; simple and flavorful.

If you do some flirting with Google over restaurants in Lecce, you will find Trattoria Le Zie recommended quite frequently. It is featured in a Conde Nast Travel article, Lonely Planet and Fodor’s. Reviews are quite consistently positive and I like the feminist theme as ‘zie’ means ‘aunts’ and it seems to be a ‘ladies only’ operation.

One of the most renowned spots in the city is Trattoria Le Zie. In Lecce, every restaurant, like every family, has its own special tajeddha and here, try the one with rice, mussels and potatoes au gratin. Another specialty is the sweet pittule: fried balls of leavened dough, typical of the Apulian culinary tradition.

Hier ben ik een keer toevallig terecht gekomen want het ziet er van buiten niet echt als een restaurant uit. Je krijgt een beetje het gevoel dat je bij vrienden thuis bent uitgenodigd, in een echte Italiaanse familie omgeving. Het is typisch voor de ´cucina povere´ maar alles overheerlijk.

Trattoria Le Zie (meaning the aunts) is a restaurant with pure traditional foods like filled squid, Sagne Ncannulate with tomato sauce and also fresh orecchiette. They have a small menu which means all the dishes are freshly made. A restaurant with a home feeling and good food.

Its name translates to ‘The Aunts’ Trattoria,’ and let me tell you, this place really does feel like you’re dining in your Italian aunt’s home. The food is rustic, wholesome, and made with love. , a traditional dish made with pureed fava beans and chicory.

Our first meal in Lecce was lunch at Trattoria Nonna Tetti, shortly after we arrived. The restaurant was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We ordered the antipasti to share and it was quite generous with five different plates hitting the table.

Ristorante Le Zie Trattoria offers authentic Pugliese dishes with a modern twist. For a memorable dining experience, consider Trattoria Nonna Tetti, where traditional recipes are served in a cozy setting.

Le Zie – Via Colonnello Archimede Costadura 19 – phone: +39 0832 245178: The “aunts” serve up traditonal fare with a home-cooking feel.