Moro

££££ │ Bar & Trattoria

Open All Day │ Directions & Opening Times on Google

Spritz in Bar Moro is still 3.50€*. And it’s a banging spritz too. Boozy, wedge of orange, and not in some fancy pants glass that will break if you squeeze it too hard. That is the real culture of spritz that you get in the veneto, and in places that care about doing things the traditional way.

Moro sits at the graffitied end of Via Degli Ammirati, the six or seven tables that line the outside spill out from a classic cave-esque star-vaulted shop (very typical of Lecce). Getting onto one of these tables outside can either be very easy/very difficult, depending on your luck, so get there nice an early and get your name on the list. The road narrows at this point and hundreds of people throng through this little bottle neck, not to mention dickheads in their BMV’s/Mercedes who have to drive in the old city at night. So be prepared to be in the middle of it all.

But being in the middle of it all is completely worth it. Moro is such good value for money and their fantastic selection of hearty local plates mean you can easily order more than you need and you’ll be unlikely to break 20€ a head (last time I went I had two spritz, shared a bottle of wine and 6 plates between 4, and I paid about 16€ euros). The food in Moro is not pretentious, there’s good quality parmigiana, steak (both the local custom of horsemeat or beef), sliced thinly and grilled, served with good local rocket, and seasonal dishes that will arrive simply prepared, with tonnes of flavour.

In my mind, Moro is the Lecce equivalent of those rare pubs you get in the UK, where all the food and drink is wonderful and you can be completely relaxed. For a Lecce experience, I can’t think of many better places to go.

*at the time of writing. Prices have now increased, inflation :(