Lecce’s cultural home of Pasticiotti:

Pasticceria & Gelateria ‘Nobile’

(25 mins drive from Lecce)

When you ask locals or international people that live in Lecce ‘Who does the best Pasticciotto?’ there is one name that comes up time and time again: Nobile Bar, Pasticceria & Gelateria in San Cataldo. Nobile, whilst technically being in the comune of Lecce, is in the marine area called San Cataldo, and therefore about a 15-20 minute drive north-east out of the city; hence I haven’t included it in the list as it’s not really in the city of Lecce. You can however get there by bus (take the S16 bus route which runs at 7am, 8.30am, 13.20pm, 14.40pm, 17.40pm & 20.30pm from the centre of Lecce. Don’t miss the last bus back to Lecce at 9pm). Why do people rave about Nobile? Generally, the same points always come up, that 1. The pasticciotti are always warm & fresh, and 2. They still only cost €1, which is the correct price, historically.

What is a Pasticciotto?

If you’ve made it this far you probably already know what a pasticciotto is, but for those who don’t, here’s a quick recap. A pasticciotto is roughly the size of a cupcake and is a short-crust pastry case filled with custard cream (and then closed with pastry on top). It can be baked as it is (finishing with a classic light pastry colour) or it can be egg glazed (for a deeper golden brown finish). Pasticciotti are particular to Puglia, and specifically Salento/the province of Lecce, hence you find them everywhere here.

Various variations of fillings have sprung up over the years with the two most common being crema/nutella (cream and nutella) and crema/amarena (cream and cherry jam). It’s also not unusual to swap the cream out for ricotta (which happens to be my personal favourite). I’ve included in my list below my favourite pasticciotti with different flavour combos and alternative fillings, which for many locals are not proper pasticciotti but are, in my view, rather nice.

Lecce or Galatina?

A lot of salentini will tell you that the pasticciotto is not in fact from Lecce, but from Galatina (another town about 15-20 mins drive south of Lecce). I’m not a pastry historian so I can’t tell you definitively if this is true or false. What I can tell you is that the modern-day pasticciotti from Galatina differ in that they tend to have a more domed/bell-shaped top rather than the classic Leccese flat lid (which I think is believed to be the original way to make them in Galatina). If you’re visiting Galatina and want to stop off for a pasticiotto try Pasticceria Eros, Pasticceria Ascalone or Caffè Crystall.

Warm or Cold?

I personally don’t like them warm but I think it is felt amongst the Leccese that warm is best, especially if they’re fresh from the oven. If you’d like to taste one warm head to Caffè Alvino where they keep them warm, and is usually very busy so you’re more likely it will be ‘oven fresh’ rather than hot-hold/microwave fresh, even if it will have been in the hot holder for a bit.

My Personal Recommendation

After all the blind tasting & research sessions are finished where do I actually visit the most? Easy. Pinti.