Mediterranean cuisine restaurants Belgium

At Rino's, the setting is more contemporary than ever, with furniture and decoration in keeping with today's tastes, far from the usual transalpine clichés. But as for the menu, we are talking about a cuisine where the products of the Botte are magnified! For example, the spaghetti carbonara is prepared with pancetta and no cream is added! The establishment also offers delicious pizzas. Cesarino doesn't mess around with his restaurant! You'd almost forget that he set up the restaurant back in 2009, in the bustling Cimetière d'Ixelles district.

Philippe Absil wanted to recreate a little bit of Milan, the city he loves, not far from the Parc du Cinquantenaire. We find the pleasure of tasting a good "caffé" with a croissant, quickly done before going to work, to buy a panino to take away during the lunch break or to taste the pasta of the day or the dishes prepared by the chef Valerio for those who have more time... The menu is short but that allows the chef to concentrate on the essential. We take a seat under the gaze of Marlon Brando, perhaps around the large wooden table?

Pulpo is a brand-new restaurant in the center of Ghent (which already had a sign near the station), offering either gourmet tapas to share or Mediterranean-inspired dishes. The octopus a la gallega is revisited with a sweet potato purée (albeit a little greasy), while the Italian burrata is hearty. The pasta is particularly good. The decor is very cosy and well cared for, the place convivial with little cushions and studied acid colors. Summer terrace to make the most of fine weather.

This family-run restaurant is one of the best in the region. Some customers even come from the Netherlands to eat here! The Misitano family offers unpretentious, home-style Italian cuisine. We recommend wood-fired, thin-crust, traditional Italian pizzas at low prices, fresh homemade pastas, veal cutlets with all kinds of sauces and seasonal suggestions. The portions are generous and the prices union. Owner Aurelio contributes to the friendly atmosphere.

Towards the airport, we head for the village. Because yes, Zaventem is also a village, and a charming one at that. And for less than the cost of a round-trip ticket on Alitalia, you can enjoy the local atmosphere, with a menu of must-tries and a few gastronomic surprises, such as swordfish, carpaccio trio or pasta al forno, salmon and vegetables. The pizzas are prepared in the traditional way, the pasta is fresh, the suggestion board is constantly renewed and the wines are particularly well chosen. Terrace.

Watch out for the pun!Socio, because there are plenty of antipasti to share, and pasta, because the rest of the menu is made up of... pasta. Steven Mirelli's restaurant offers only homemade pasta, from classics (superb rigatoni amatriciana with crispy guanciale) to more daring suggestions of the day. For dessert? Tiramisu, rum baba and affogatto al caffè! Sitting at the counter, you can admire the chefs at work. As for the dining room, it's stylish, warm and welcoming. Also available to take away.

Small family establishment with a simple but efficient kitchen. The dishes, as the name of the restaurant indicates, are inspired by Mediterranean and Greek cuisine. Calamari, cod croquettes, Smyrna dumplings... the portions are generous and the service pleasant. The boss, always ready to listen, will be able to guide a clientele of novice gourmets. The reduced menu guarantees the freshness of only seasonal products and compositions according to the chef's mood. However, we regret the small size of the place during busy periods (remember to book).

The outside environment is more Mirafiori than Amalfi. Nevertheless, the stop is a must for lovers of hearty and well brought Italian food. Here the dough of the pizzas is perfect and therefore the pizza is wonderful! As for the rest, Italian specialities rub shoulders with our Franco-Belgian gastronomy with some home cooking dishes such as tortellini with brodo, penne al forno or the Lombard picatta. But what would Don Dino be without his joker of a boss who, with his baritone voice, sings with talent?

In 2022, Le Coq en Pâte celebrated a double anniversary: the 50th anniversary of the opening of the restaurant by the Bacchetta family and the 20th anniversary of the takeover by their son Olivier, who is also the chef. A nice longevity for an Italian restaurant that leans resolutely towards the gastro side of Italian cuisine. The setting is warm and relaxed but it is in the plate that the creativity of the chef is discovered: a play of colors, textures and flavors and dishes prepared with precision. We fall for the 30 month old parmesan ravioli or the veal sweetbreads with morels.