Terra Lecce | Ristorante — Restaurant in Lecce

I had planned a perfect evening at this restaurant to propose to my girlfriend, but it turned into a disaster from the very moment we arrived. As soon as we sat down, a cockroach landed on my girlfriend's head. Yes, you read that right – a cockroach. We were mortified and spent the next five minutes chasing it across the restaurant floor, causing quite a scene.

Our best friends were with us, and they were horrified that we had chosen such a place. As we tried to calm down, we noticed other tables dealing with the same issue. For about 10 minutes, the entire restaurant was on its feet, with patrons trying to avoid the roaches scurrying under their tables.

Despite this chaos, I decided to go through with my proposal. In hindsight, I regret not walking out immediately. We ordered a minimum amount of food, and our friends only ordered drinks (they were terrified to eat there). To make matters worse, the restaurant staff showed zero concern. They didn’t offer any apologies or, at first, even any discounts. Instead, they just smiled and dismissed the situation with a casual "things happen, it's Italy." As we were about to pay a bill, we asked if they would want to make things better with us, so they offered 3 Euro discount...(see the receipt), I was laughing at that point, but my fiance was not.

This place is an absolute disgrace. I deeply regret coming here and would never recommend it to anyone. Save yourself the horror and find somewhere...

We got seated instantly. The waiters were very polite and quick to notice if we wanted something. You can scan a QR code and check the menu and several languages which is a plus if you don't speak Italian. We had a hard to to choose what to eat, because there were several good options. We chose to have a pizza which was thin and very delicious. They offer local draft beer which went well with the food especially being a hot day that day. We did not try, but there is a huge selection of wine to choose from. The atmosphere is great, location wise it is in the main tourist walking area but you are seated in an inner terrace of the building so away from the public and the noise. All in all we had a good time here. If we would go back to Lecce for another day, we would eat...

We chose this restaurant based on the reviews. We did arrive with no reservation, but we waited a long time to be acknowledged by staff for a table. The food was nice - we ordered the Frito Misto, and two pasta dishes which were pleasant - nothing special, but no complaints. The let-down, however, was the service. We were served during our meal by 3 different waiters/waitresses and I’ve never seen such unpleasantness. It felt as if we were a huge inconvenience to the staff for being there - a real surprise compared to the outstanding friendliness we’ve experience on our Puglia / Salento trip so far. I don’t take pleasure in leaving a negative review, but unfortunately the staff would put us...