Oh how I'm impressed by Brussels! Who would have thought that of all places, Belgium would delight…read moreme with such Italian culinary wonderment? From Instagram: The 'Nduja and Lemon pasta is a signature year-round favorite dish at NONA Pasta restaurants in Brussels. It features fresh spaghetti alla chitarra tossed with spicy Calabrian 'nduja pork sausage, fresh lemon, and Parmigiano Reggiano, with an option to top it with creamy stracciatella. I love that this restaraunt has an onsite pasta atelier. They keep to traditional Italian recipes while sourcing local ingredients for a true farm to table experience. The end result, a masterpiece! Everything's fresh, authentic and flavorful. This particular dish, in my opinion is the star of the show. It IS somewhat spicy without being overbearingly hot...this is part of the allure. I'm sure that I'll visit again before leaving Brussels and will, yes - order the exact same dish! Must eat outside and do a bit of people watching as visitors transit the city center. While busy I was seated as soon as I arrived and service was great. The ultimate experience. Give it a try!

This delightful restaurant was the standout of all the places we ate in Brussels. The quaint…read moreatmosphere, dark lighting, clean atheistic and unwillingness to be chain-like all while still delivering quick and effortlessly delicious pasta is a marvel. They truly have trapped magic in a bottle. The menu isn't large but they do also have a rotating seasonal menu that accompanies it. All the dishes on the main menu are Italian classics done right. Most dishes have pork or beef. The pasta tasted very fresh and the portions were what you would want of a good Italian restaurant, plentiful. My "white" ragú was packed full of flavor and the beef was tender. The pecorino cheese used was perfect. All in all, this is the type of place that is always busy and with good reason. Since they don't take reservations lines do form at the front of both sister locations on the same block. Make the line, it moves fairly quickly. And if it doesn't it is still well worth it.

A small and unassuming place. BUT the pizza was delicious. The crust was light and the toppings…read morewere close to perfect. And don't forget the Tiramisu!

Wanted to try out their pizza but got lasagna instead. Great customer service, and waitress was…read morevery attentive. The place is small and looks crowded, and food was not all that great. Lasagna tasted like it was microwaved rather then freshly made, and red wine tasted like run down cheap wine. I guess the locals like it, but I DEFINITELY will not be going there next time for sure.

Delicious food. Fun lively scene. Amazing service! They even give a complimentary Amaretto digestif…read moreat the end of your meal. You have to be careful with some Italian restaurants in Leuven but at Mamma Mia you have nothing to fear because it's really tasty food. They even accept credit cards.

So we came to this place becuase we were really drunk. We thought they were closing but the waiter…read moreassured us we were fine. We were sat and greated by the most colorful waiter I've ever met. He was always whistling and making sure we were always taken care of. We did not speak Italian and he did not speak english but we made it work. The food was also good

Food is delicious but service was TERRIBLE. They took the order/served the table next to us (who…read morearrived more than 15 minutes after us) before us and it took almost 30 minutes to get our order taken. Food took almost 2 hours and the wait staff was not friendly at all. Although it was delicious, there are many other great pizza places that i can guarantee will provide a better experience. Not worth it.

For wood fired pizza in Flemish Belgium, this place was delish! It has been a eight days of…read moretraditional British (in London) and now French- Flemish food here in Belgium, we needed just something easy like pizza. We ordered bruschetta (yum) and my daughter and I shared a margarita pizza (yum) and hubs got a mushroom-sausage and light cheese pizza, he ate it all so it must have been good! The staff speaks a variety of languages, or server was Italian. Good, hot pizza in a freezing winter day!

Very good pizza, good drinks as well. Lively environment and right by a small playground, which is…read moregreat for families. Only specialty pizzas, so don't expect a pepperoni or Hawaiian here. The crust was fantastic and love the chili oil on the side!

Really good pizza in a fun, lively square with lots of other restaurants nearby. We sat outside,…read more at their table service in the park. Service was excellent and friendly. Pizzas were large...14", fast, and a good deal. Beer choices were good too. A great choice, especially for a low cost, casual night in a fun location of St. CATHERINES.

Absolutely fantastic family run restaurant in Brussels. The…read morefather explained each dish and how the pasta is made by his wife. Everything is made fresh that day and made with intention and love. The dishes are absolutely delicious and was the best meal we had while staying there! Service is great. Certainly make a reservation!

We weren't able to get a reservation but we came right as they opened for dinner and we were seated…read moreimmediately. The owner greeted us and told us about the dishes, his wife is the one who makes all of the delicious food! This is right at the center of Brussels so really a great place to eat and we ate outside. There's plenty of seating outside. The pasta was so delicious, fresh, and you could tell it was made with love.

Great! They are good and confident and don't need my review,,,but...here I go anyway! It's small…read morebut very cozy so when I got there...No tables available and they don't take reservations! I left to find something else but tried my luck & coming back. Glad I did! They have wine, but as I was told, beer is their thing. The food was excellent and the staff are colorful and efficient as the flow between tables! I had the meatballs (2 large ones), meals come with a small salad and a side & bread! The beer selection is wide. Mostly Belgium ones. Other tables had what looked like delicious tuna, lasagna and stew which they all seemed to enjoy.

I am so sorry to not rave about this place like everyone else did…read more To start with the positives: -cute, cozy spot inside with a few outdoor tables. No reservations, so you have to wait in line. Luckily, the line moved pretty quickly and we were able to be seated inside. -service was great. The fabulously dressed flamboyant gentleman was kind and helpful. The sassy woman was hilarious! -Portions are pretty decently sized and priced fairly Why three stars? I just didn't enjoy anything that we ordered. Sadly, it was my least favorite meal that we had in Belgium. Based on all the reviews, I think it's clear that it's not the place per se, but what I was looking for. That being said, I still must be honest. What we ordered: Cheddar Croquettes (2 for 14 Euros): Just ok and this was one of the things that I felt was overpriced Carpaccio of Smoked Beef with White Truffle Oil (18 Euros): Again, just ok Meatloaf with "Jack Pepper" sauce (26 Euros): "Jack Pepper" means something different in Brussels. It was basically a peppercorn gravy. I wasn't a fan, but Jim G. enjoyed it. With this, we had frites and a small side salad. I know many people recommend that Flemish Beef Stew, but we already had that at Fin de Siecle, and I couldn't imagine that any place would top it, so we didn't get it here. Ultimately, this place isn't for me, but I seem to be in the minority.

We decided to try their popular Moules Marinières with French fries. The mussels were served in a…read morelight, flavorful broth with celery and onions. The dish was decent and made for a nice light meal or snack. The French fries were actually the highlight for me. They were perfectly cooked, not over-fried, with a light crisp on the outside while staying soft and fluffy on the inside. You could really taste the potato, which made them surprisingly satisfying. The service was good, and the ambiance was warm and comfortable. We enjoyed sitting outside and taking advantage of the beautiful weather while having our meal. :)

A local from the area recommended me to come to this restaurant for some delicious seafood. When I…read morestood at the front entrance, there was literally no one eating here and I had my doubts. Anyways, I sat down and ordered their bucket of mussels with cream and paella with seafood and chicken. The food arrived within 10 minutes or so. My first impression of the bucket of mussels was just wow. There is a lot. I tried one and these are by far the best mussels I've ever had in my life. They were fresh and smooth, along with a amazing mussel taste. Texture and quality were on another level compared to ones I had near newport beach in California. I lost count of how many mussels I had after 40. It came with a side of fries as well. For its price this was an absolute steal. The paella was also my first time trying one. I ordered it based on the picture I saw on their front door and it was also delicious. The chicken was juicy, the mussels were just as fresh as the ones in the bucket. The addition of lemon juice to the rice gave it a nice tingy taste. The squid and shrimp were tiny compared to the picture but still delicious. Overall, I had underestimated this place. My bill also only added up to 33 euros too, which for its price was way better than anything else I've had in Europe. If I am ever back in this city, I will be coming back to this place for some more.

UPDATE JUNE 2016…read more Worst experience ever in this restaurant. It took already 20min before we could order. They said it is busy today so it would take 40min before our pizzas would come. We said "ok" but if we could get already a antipasti (some cheese etc) we would be very happy. That was no problem. Then the waiting started. First again 20 min for our drinks an other 40 min for some cheese. The waiter was rude. And when we asked for an explanation why other tables had already their food even if they ordered after we did. He went angry etc. He made his excuses after we had our pizzas but the nice atmosphere was already gone. We got the antipasti free but we will never go back again. A pity but respect your clients. ...................... OLD MESSAGE FROM LAST YEAR Lekker gegeten dat mag gezegd worden. We waren met vier op een doordeweekse dag en reserveren is geen overbodige. De voorgerechten en de tonijn als hoofdgerecht waren zalige gerechten. De bediening is mss wat onderbemand dus je moet geen haast hebben. Maar het eten maakt veel goed. Door het drukke (onderbemande) personeel is het soms lang wachten en heb je het gevoel dat je snel moet bestellen of ze zijn alweer weg. Dit zou kunnen verbeteren. Het geeft trouwens ook het gevoel dat ze zoveel mogelijk tafels op een avond willen hebben. Maar goed als dat het enige is dan valt het goed mee. Een klein wijnfoutje zien we door de vingers. (Nieuwe wijn uitschenken in glazen waar nog oude wijn in zit) Goh ik heb genoten hier al maakte het gezelschap ook deel hiervan uit.

Fornostar offers a great place for special occasions. The environment is elegant but not posh and…read morethe atmosphere is neat. The food was lovely, I recommend the "Saltimbocca alla Romana" and also the pizzas looked really good. It is expensive, let's make this clear, and when you make people pay a lot, you cannot afford to make mistakes. The wine we had was certainly kept in the fridge which is a terrible mistake for an expensive Chianti which was in fact spoilt. 6 euros for a tiny side salad is quite outrageous even for such place. This why I can't give more than three stars which is a pity because for occasions like birthdays, Saint Valentines, anniversaries is certainly a good spot.