Il Pizzicotto (#2 Via Taranto)

££££ │ Pizza by the slice, Beers & Soft Drinks

Lunch & Dinner │ Directions & Opening Times on Google

Il Pizzicotto on Via Taranto is the second (or maybe third?) branch of this local institution. It’s a shiny new version and comes with buzz tiling and a couple of very nice tables outside. It sits on the corner of Via Taranto just by Obelisco, a stones throw from Porta Napoli and in the heart of the main university hang out area.

Their excellent pizza from my visits is very consistent with the original, the review of which you can read below 👇

Il Pizzicotto

Always get a slice from the freshest pizza. That is the number one rule to Pizza al Taglio imho. Except of course when you want the one with salame piccante on it, then obviously you’ll just end up getting that one. But it’s always worth remembering the selection of pizzas with different toppings is a trick, because the best slice from those in front of you will always be: NOT the one with the toppings you want, but the one with the freshest base. Dough is the most important ingredient in pizza, and the fresher the dough the better the slice.

Apologies, rant over.

Pizza al Taglio (literally Pizza by cut), is pizza that is baked in large square iron trays, with plenty of water and oil, which are then left on the counter, from where great wedges are cut off and served throughout the day. The extra water and oil in the dough helps to keep the pizza moist when it is reheated and served to you (it should also be nice and crispy).

On it’s day Il Pizzicotto is easily as good as any of Rome’s world renowned Pizza al Taglio joints (their potato and truffle cream & mortadella and stracciatella are notably good) and on other days simply has a good selection of tasty bites. It sometimes suffers from thinking it’s a little bit better than it really is. However, all of the staff are super helpful and speak several languages and will talk you through all the toppings. Sometimes they’re not forthright about which was the pizza that most recently came out of the oven, or if it was cooked that day, so you have to use your eyes to judge.

Il Pizzicotto is a great place for a fast bite, if you’re not used to eating dinner at 10pm (as is normal in Lecce in the summer), it’s a good place to pick up a little slice around 7pm to keep you going. And you can easily upsize that to a full dinner, by ordering plenty + a few drinks and grabbing a table outside.