Messapia Ristorante Tipico — Restaurant in Lecce

Aweful food and service.

From the start the experience was not good. Ill say that i am an american traveling in italy, although i have learned my italian pleasantries and am sure to say please and thank you. I always make sure to ask if someone can speak english with me before i expect them to be able to.

Service: I thanked the woman who sat us, when she dropped the menus, when she took our order, when she delivered our drinks and when she delivered our food. Each time she ignored that i had acknowledged her at all. She turned away as though she was delivering to an empty table. (When we walked in i asked if she spoke English and she said she did and at that moment kindly asked us to choose our seats)

Food: I ordered orecchiette with rabe and my guest ordered the risotto with mushroooms.

My pasta was overcooked and the seasoning was unbalanced. As well the anchovies in the dish were clearly cheap rolled anchovies. For such a simple dish the poor treatment of the ingredients were a real shame.

My guests risotto rice was cooked properly and the mushrooms were proper but again for such a simple dish it was a shame that the stock used was clearly a cheap bullion cube. It tasted like a 10 cent ramen noodle packet.

The music was terrible to eat too.

Its clear that i walked into a low class bar that happened to serve food for some reason. Ill admit my fault for not being more discerning in the moment.

If you want a good meal go to any of the other restaurants on the piazza (i ate at three of them with great results) and if you want to feel welcome go anywhere else.

PROS: The1/2 L of house wine (rose) was affordable and tasty. The prices...

Had a lovely meal after walking around Lecce trying to find a place with some good pasta choices. Staff was very friendly and service was quick. However, some of the staff sat at the table next to us smoking the most disgusting cigarettes ever. We were still eating when they started smoking and it totally ruined our appetite.... Really stupid, disgusting and rude to do this to your guests... If you can, book a table on the edge of the terras to...

We had a wonderful experience at Ristorante Messapia! But the real highlight was Vito: friendly, welcoming, and incredibly knowledgeable. He served us with great professionalism and recommended some truly outstanding dishes, making us feel cared for from start to finish. Thank you, Vito – we’ll definitely come back, if only to...