Caffè Alvino

££££ │ Breakfast, Coffee & Afternoon/Evening Drinks

Open All Day │ Directions & Opening Times on Google

Caffè Alvino sits in the middle of Piazza Sant'oronzo, right opposite the Roman Amphitheatre, in the heart of the old city of Lecce. You'd of thought it hard for any Cafe to feel historic amongst the Roman ruins and the baroque glory of Lecce. But Alvino has been there so long (I've no idea how old it is but I wouldn't surprised if it dates back to BC) and is such a fixture of Lecce that, nothing can touch this place in terms of Leccese old school vibes. In fact I'm pretty sure it's actually older than the Roman amphitheater itself. I mean maybe not older than the actual ruins, but the amphitheatre was not discovered until the early 1900s and apparently there are photos with Alvino in them pre-amphitheatre (apparently, I've never seen these photos). So basically, the Romans shouldn't have been so presumptuous, throwing their ruins around town without showing any respect for the historic local venues.

Anyway. Alvino is a proper Leccese pasticceria (although I heard rumour the original Alvino family were actually Neapolitan) and if you venture inside you will be blown away by the vast array of cakes/sweets and gelato available to you. This is a perfect spot for an authentic Pasticciotto, or to grab a vassoio (a little cardboard tray) of sweet treats to take back to your flat/hotel/Airbnb and eat guiltily in bed whilst telling yourself 'its ok, I'm on holiday'. If you’re not on holiday, I’ve got nothing for you, but that certainly wouldn’t stop me doing it anyway.

It was taken over recently (recently, recently in Alvino’s world…so about ten years ago) by a local couple well trained in the arts of cake making, and they’ve brought the cafe up-to-date (a little bit too much perhaps) whilst retaining it prestigious history and of course, traditional Leccese products.

Alvino's not a locals locals spot, but there's plenty of Leccese in there. It's more of a special treat for people from the city, and I'd encourage you to treat it in same way. Leave that shit hotel coffee for at least one morning and venture round to Alvino for an authentic Leccese breakfast, it'll be worth it.

Service is occasionally fantastic, but mostly shit.