Salento and Matera, our foodie guide

A brief collection of addresses and links for you to save for a possible future visit to Salento and Matera - UPDATED September 2024

When you visit Salento in the summer, there are two words you must learn, caffè leccese. Caffè leccese, or caffè in ghiaccio, is the signature espresso you would get in every café in Salento: a shot of almond syrup, a few ice cubes, and a double espresso. Stir, take a sip, and you’ll be instantly refreshed. Even when I attempt to reproduce it at home, I feel immediately transported to Salento, permeated by a sense of holidays.

Caffè leccese, pasticciotti – delicate shortcrust pastries that encase a heart of thick pastry cream -, and rustici have been the leitmotiv of our holidays in Salento. So today, instead of a recipe, I’m sharing with you a brief collection of addresses and links for you to save for a possible future visit to Salento.

We’re still discovering this area of Puglia, as when you visit the family, you tend to spend your time with them, shopping where they shop - as you know it is a trustworthy fishmonger or grocery store -, retracing the memory path of past holidays together.

So, the following addresses have been tested and approved, not only by us but especially by the locals.