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Rue Marie de Bourgogne 3, 1050 Ixelles
What’s good? In Italian a pasticcio can either mean a tasty dessert or some kind of complicated mess. When it comes to the eponymous restaurant a stone’s throw away from the Parliament you can expect a generous helping of the former.
The quality of the ingredients is consistent, and excellent. The tagliolini ai funghi porcini pack an explosively truffle-infused punch, while the parmigiana di melanzane delights both for the portion size and the savoriness of its basil-topped sauce. For dessert, the cannolo arrived swimming in a bed of creamy, fresh ricotta, tips frosted with pistachio crumbs. The shell itself was hard and crunchy: a good sign, meaning that it was prepared fresh and that the cookie didn’t have time to get soggy.
Don’t expect anything out of the box. Il Pasticcio plays all the hits — but it doesn’t miss.
What’s not? I arrived with my lunch companion at 1 p.m. on a Friday, on what should have been a quiet day when people work from home. But the restaurant was jam-packed! I waited a good 15 minutes to sit despite booking. The delay was sweetened by a complementary prosecco, but it’s not a place to go when you’re in a rush, especially because the servers, while always very friendly, are stretched a bit thin.
Vibe: Exposed bricks, white plaster walls, paper place mats. You could almost be in a bistro in Rome, that is until you look through the glass doors at the back into the gray Belgian drizzle.
Who’s picking up the check? The restaurant bills itself as a tavola calda — literally a “warm table,” meaning a quick, cheap eat. With the check coming at €35-€40 per person, without wine, it’s not quite that. Still, the price is right when you consider the quality of the food and the portion size.
Insider tip: The restaurant is packed and noisy. It’s a good place to bring a contact when you want to have a long conversation without being overhead. Food-wise, the waitress said that besides the tagliolini ai funghi porcini, the carbonara is her favorite dish. One for next time.
How to get there: It’s in the European quarter just off Place du Luxembourg. Cross the street to United Tastes for a fancy coffee after eating.
— Review published on March 27, 2024. Illustration by Dato Parulava/POLITICO
