Squaiu
When we went we were asked if we’d been before (no) and then given a bit of a brief about the provenance and nice talk through all the toppings. Everything is apparently organic or local, particularly organic flour for the dough made with ‘lievito madre’ aka sourdough.
Pizza is super crocante (crispy) and nice and aerated, definitely the best dough or crust I’ve had in Lecce (in terms of pizza al taglio). As pizza aficionados will well know, when the dough is well proved (risen) over plenty of time and as naturally as possible the pizza is much much easier to digest, and after eating here we felt absolutely fantastic. No heaviness whatsoever.
Toppings whilst being excellent quality were perhaps a little on the safe/traditional side in terms of flavour combinations. Guanciale (pork cheek) and Pecorino (sheeps cheese) was about as wild as it got on our visit (which is a centuries old roman combo and about as safe as it gets). Pizzas are pre-cut into fairly modestly sized squares rather than the more traditional sold-by-weight option. Squares are priced firmly, although fairly for the area, which is expensive. They also have a great selection of local craft beers in the fridge.
Il Carrettino
Once you get past this difference in meat though Il Carrettino a pretty decent burger spot. There’s a good selection from American classics to Italian inspired options. You can get bbq sauce and bacon and american cheese, or you can have creamy italian cheese with more classic panino fillings. We had a lovely evening here with friends and all four of our burgers were really great. They’ll ask you how you want your burger cooked.
Il Carrettino is in Mazzini, the newer part of the centre that feels more like Milan than it does the rural traditional south, and its priced accordingly. Burger and chips is over a tenner, which for Salento is a lot. In fact its too expensive for what it is. But they do care, I expect the beef is of a higher provenance than average, and with a super friendly team and a very buzz interior it probably could be argued that it’s worth the value for money (if only just).