Sushimi Izakaya

Sushimi Izakaya operates from Via San Lazzaro in Lecce, Apulia, presenting a Japanese-Apulian fusion menu that has no precedent in the region's culinary tradition and arrives without apology. The concept draws from the Japanese izakaya format — a casual drinking-and-eating bar where small shared plates accompany sake and wine — but the ingredients are almost entirely sourced from Lecce's immediate agricultural and Adriatic supply chain. The result is conceptually unusual for southern Italy while remaining locally grounded in its raw materials.

Apulian bluefin tuna tataki is the kitchen's flagship preparation: tuna from the Adriatic (a fish historically significant to Apulia's medieval tonnare, the tuna-trap fishing operations that shaped the coastline's economy) is briefly seared and sliced, served with a dressing that incorporates local olive oil and citrus rather than sesame oil and soy. The Lecce oyster shooter pairs a locally farmed or sourced oyster with a Primitivo ponzu — the grape's tannic structure and dried-fruit intensity working against the oyster's salinity in a way that the wine's Salentino origin makes more coherent than it might otherwise sound. Maki rolls with burrata replace the cream cheese common in western-market maki with Apulia's most iconic fresh cheese, producing a roll that is distinctly richer than its Japanese reference.

The dining room is small and contemporary: dark wood, low lighting, sake on the shelves, and a drinks list that moves between Japanese imports and Salentine natural wines. The kitchen operates evenings only, closing Monday. Reservations (+39 0832 352498) are advisable for Thursday through Saturday evenings when the room fills. The concept positions itself as an evening wine-and-food experience rather than a full-service restaurant; arriving with the expectation of multiple small plates over two to three hours is the correct framing.