Locanda Mamma Rita

££££│ Pizza & Pasta, Eat in or Takeaway

Tues- Sun Evenings │Directions & Opening Times on Google

I absolutely love the vibe of this place, I don't really know why, I think it's because it feels like one of those kitsch Italian restaurants that's been there for 30 or 40 years with the check tablecloths and the cheesy pictures on the walls, and the grumpy staff and the massive menu that's probably never changed forever. But it's also basically in a garage unit with a little forecourt out front so I think it equally appeals to my Hackney Wick/Tottenham warehouse vibe (London basically), even if it couldn't be further away from that in terms of culture.

As for the food, whilst it’s a pizzeria, it’s got a big pasta/main course list too. This is granny cooking, proper nonna plates like you get at a family dinner in Salento just served up in a restaurant format. They do the classic homemade pasta plates from the region, look on the menu for where it's written 'pasta fatta in casa' which basically means the pasta itself is hand made. It's narly, chunky, tough wholemeal semolina based pasta without egg, so if you're used to silky reems of tagliatelle from the north, this isn't it; it's the hard, durable pasta that is traditional to the South, and is fantastic in its own right (but it is worth understanding the difference). Beyond that there's an expansive menu of other classic Italian dishes which I expect are just normal dry pasta plates and a decent pizza list.

Pizzas here are the very thin and crispy style (not Napoletana) and are absolutely enormous.

Gastronomically I don't know if I could really give this place an out-and-out recommendation, if you were in Lecce for a long weekend and you had to select a couple of restaurants to eat fantastic, stand-out food in, I probably wouldn't choose this place. Not that it's bad (I really enjoyed my food here) but it's perhaps a little on the ordinary side. But equally if you're staying nearby and you want a no frills reliable dining option you'd be hard pushed to find much better in the area.

Portions are massive and I would say Locanda Mamma Rita delivers more than fair value for money. It’s also packed with locals so you can feel like you’re dining out with people from town here too.