Querencia

Cristian Pellegrino has given tourists another reason to visit Lecce and locals to visit its historic center. While the surrounding buildings are baroque in style, this tiki bar has an exotic atmosphere. The spacious rooms, divided between a colonial/Jamaican room and a 1920s-style room, have housed a secret space since October, named after The Hustler, a 1961 Marlon Brando film. The decor evokes the image of a clandestine gambling den, with green gaming tables, paintings depicting historic card games, a telephone booth, and a 1940s-style cabinet. In effect, it's a bar within a bar: a speakeasy, where you ring or knock to enter, stating the password. The mixology offered here is exclusive: the drinks—both classic and contemporary—are made with vintage spirits, bearing the state seal or even sourced from defunct companies. The gin and tonic, for example, is made with a gin from the 1960s, but there are also references from the 1950s and 1970s, such as vermouth, bourbon whiskey, and bitters. The rest of the venue confirms its tiki bar identity, with a menu created by head bartenders Gabriele Piceci and Niccolò Sartara, focusing on signature drinks and themed twists on classics, prepared with Central and South American spirits, tropical ingredients, homemade drinks, and homemade ice. Guests can also sit in the two outdoor gardens.