Location: Leuven
Top Restaurants in Leuven
Top Things to do in Leuven
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Best Italian food near Leuven, Flemish Brabant Province, Belgium
Best Italian restaurants nearby. Discover the best Italian food in Leuven. View Menus, Photos and Reviews for Italian restaurants near you.. The old Burgundian university town of Leuven offers a range of adventures for overnight visitors or day-trippers from Bruges and Brussels. Tourists will find everything from gastronomic tours to architectural gems like the Gothic Town Hall. Nature lovers won’t be disappointed. The Kruidtuin Botanical Garden’s herbal gardens are the oldest in Belgium, and Heverleebos, a “city wood,” offers a respite for urban dwellers. The exploring is easy in Leuven, on foot or on one of the ubiquitous bikes.
Things to do in Leuven
10. Zoff
Overall Ratings
4 based on 229 reviews
Reviewed By Trainbleu
Misled by the many raving reviews claiming Zoff was âthe real thingâ as far as Italian cuisine is concerned, we had lunch here recently and were bitterly disappointed. We ordered one of our favourite light meals, spinach and ricotta cannelloni (âcanelloniâ on the menu) and were served a dish we didnât recognise. The cannelloni were hidden under a thick layer of brownish sauce topped with whole walnuts and surrounded by rocket (arugula) leaves. Rocket has become the signature ingredient of Italian cuisine outside of Italy but finding it in béchamel sauce was a first. The walnuts were mentioned on the menu, but why add an unnecessary allergen to a simple pasta dish? At 16.90 euros, our cannelloni were ridiculously overpriced. We were also amazed the 'small water' we ordered wasn't a bottle but a small glass brought to our table. We like to know what we are drinking.
9. Castello Lucano
Overall Ratings
4 based on 204 reviews
We have little change in webside.
Reviewed By KevinD2751
My wife and I have been here twice so far, and so far it has always been an amazing experience.The menu and combinations are not what you expect from your boring, tried and tested Italian restaurants, which makes me believe this is the authentic Italian cuisine.We were pleasantly surprised by the myriad selection of gorgeous and delicious foods in the 'degustazione lucana' for two.Afterwards, I have the most lovely plate of horse steak with balsamic, ruccola, parmesan and seasoned potatoes.The dessert was a delight as well: a combination of ice cream, cacao and zabione which was heated shortly in the oven, creating a wonderful combination of warm and cold.In the end, we were treated to their wonderful homemade limoncello.All this with a very friendly and warm staff who instantly make you feel at home.Nothing less than a must try!
8. La filosofia
Overall Ratings
4 based on 255 reviews
Waar Italiaans tafelen , Italiaans tafelen is. Waar food centraal staat met zeer kwalitatieve italiaanse topproducten. Waar elke klant dezelfde eerlijke aandacht krijgt.
Reviewed By YK-Urbino
Nice Italian restaurant, good fresh homemade pasta (I had pappardelle), cozy atmosphere and kind personnel. The price-quality relationship, however, is a bit unbalanced. 17,00⬠for a pasta dish might be normal (apparently) in Leuven, but 5,00⬠for half a liter still water is a bit too much.Salve,Grazie per il buon comment.Comunque la pasta (papardelle) 17 euro erono con i gamberi Rossi. Questo piatto pure in Italia si paga neu ristoranti di qualita. Non solo a leuven.A Urbino 1/2 litrl di acqua ad un ristorante di qualita quanto lo pagi?Eccho perche 1200 km piu in alto si paga 5 euro.Se dovessi sapere quanto la paggiamo noi l acqua capiresti.Grazie
7. La Stanza
Overall Ratings
4 based on 230 reviews
Reviewed By 553tomv
This is one of Leuven's gems. The food is absolutely fantastic and the owner, who's chef and the staff also are very friendly. Check out my picture of the carpaccio entrée. Yes, that is ice cream,... it was divine. I'm hungry again. :-) Will definitely return.
6. Osteria Michele Leuven
Overall Ratings
4 based on 1010 reviews
We offer a typical italian cusine made up of ancient recipes revisted in a modern and original key.... Basically, a new culinary art which will thrill you! Smells and tastes from our beloved Italy. A true fusion of the best techniques from north to south
Reviewed By adriana H
I have chosen this resto as it had quite good reviews, but what a disappointment :(, the stuff is very friendly but the food...I have eaten in far better food in other restos for much less. I also found it outrageous that they ask 10 Euro for a Virgin mojito.Will not return for sure and will not recommend it eitherDear Adriana,so sorry to hear that you left our restaurant dissapointed. We do hope we got something right during your meal.About pricing, we ask 10 euro for a virgin mojito. Some drinks are more expensive and others are so much less.We do find our price listings very well indicated. The only not indicated pricings are suggestions,Suggestions change every shift, sometimes twice per shift with regards to our offering and stock inventory.We do hope to have you back at our restaurant; because we really try to make our guests happy.So unfortunate that the message did not get through this time.
5. Osteria Michele Leuven
Overall Ratings
4 based on 1010 reviews
We offer a typical italian cusine made up of ancient recipes revisted in a modern and original key.... Basically, a new culinary art which will thrill you! Smells and tastes from our beloved Italy. A true fusion of the best techniques from north to south
Reviewed By adriana H
I have chosen this resto as it had quite good reviews, but what a disappointment :(, the stuff is very friendly but the food...I have eaten in far better food in other restos for much less. I also found it outrageous that they ask 10 Euro for a Virgin mojito.Will not return for sure and will not recommend it eitherDear Adriana,so sorry to hear that you left our restaurant dissapointed. We do hope we got something right during your meal.About pricing, we ask 10 euro for a virgin mojito. Some drinks are more expensive and others are so much less.We do find our price listings very well indicated. The only not indicated pricings are suggestions,Suggestions change every shift, sometimes twice per shift with regards to our offering and stock inventory.We do hope to have you back at our restaurant; because we really try to make our guests happy.So unfortunate that the message did not get through this time.
4. Rossi
Overall Ratings
4 based on 421 reviews
Reviewed By javidevanos
I visited the place with my girlfriend after booking 3 weeks in advanceOur expectations were high and it is a totally disappointment Every dish on the menu had similar ingredients and no taste: all cauliflowerWe waited long time between the dishes and the place was really noisy We were seated on a small table in between 2 other tables that were together so we could almost not talk to each other with the conversations of the neighboursFor sure it is overrated
3. Baracca
Overall Ratings
4 based on 408 reviews
Reviewed By travelingwithtw0kids
Time slots are business- friendly but not client-friendly. Was too short. Luckily the weather was nice so we could move to finish our desert and coffee on an extra terras they made. Waiter was a bad actor. Tried to act friendly but always seemed to be in a hurry. Also when we asked questions, he didnât seem to like it. Was a little arrogant.Drinks expensive.Food didnât meet the expectations at all. As itâs a very busy restaurant and you have to book in advance, you expect it to be good. It wasnât at all. We did not enjoy the food. All the dishes (tapas as well as pizzas) had this strange orange-sour-chilli-mayo kind of sauce which wasnât even good. Pizza-dough was very chewy. Only the desserts were ok.We wonât go there anymore.Dear travelingwithtw0kids,Thank you for your feedback.We are so sorry to hear that you will no longer be visiting our restaurant any time soon - or ever again.You state that the time slots we are using in our restaurant time and reservation policy is not client friendly but business friendly. That is not entirely true. We have a huge demand of reservations on a daily basis, and trust us on this one, we have had to decline a significant amount of clients everyday. Due to this, we are obliged to make use of two different time slots: one from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and one from 7:45 p.m. until the closing of the restaurant. We estimate 2 hours for the first shift, taking into account that people who eat at 6 p.m. go to sleep earlier and therefore will finish around 8 p.m. (this was based on a sample of a mini research we did couple of years ago). This actually works and we think we can say that the majority of the renowned restaurants in Belgium use the same time slots. People who arrive at 20.30 and eat around 20.45 are, in our opinion, people who go home later and therefore we grant them until the end of the evening to enjoy their stay at Baracca. Isnât this a bit logic? If 2 h is not enough time to enjoy a nice dinner, keeping in mind that you arrive at 18 p.m., then maybe you should try a fastfood restaurant or staying in? Given the refined and original dishes we serve, itâs actually quite impressive that our chefs can prepare such dishes in such short timeframe. Our main goal is to keep everyone happy, both our staff as our clients, and given the high demand of reservation we felt forced to organize our reservation policy between two time slots. Sorry that we do not agree on this.So sad to hear that you called our waiter a bad actor. He has graduated from the best acting school of Belgium! No really, we have never heard such comments about our waiters since they work with passion and enthusiasm every day.With regard to the foods and the drinks, we will not take too much time to discuss your taste, as there is no accounting for taste. We have one of the best chefs in our kitchen who has this extreme passion for cooking and when passion is involved, the food is good. This is not debatable. We will accept the fact that you didnât enjoy our tapaâs, pizzaâs and this strange orange sour chili mayo kind of sauce (which is by the way not present in every dish - except for our veggies and vegan pizza - which is by the way indicated on the menu so if you have had a past traumatic experience with a strange orange sour chili mayo kind of sauce which doesnât let you sleep at night, well you better read the menu thoroughly beforehand.)Lastly, our pizza-dough is everything except chewy.Sad to hear you wonât pass by Baracca again, but we still wish you a very nice day and hope you wonât get confronted with that weird orange sauce again any time soon!Pasquale âKikoâ AmorusoCo-owner Baracca Leuven
2. Etna Trattoria
Overall Ratings
4 based on 255 reviews
Reviewed By BeachStone2C
I walked into this smallish Sicilian restaurant. It is outside the touristic Leuven and you would find mostly locals here. Lovely small authentic Sicilian restaurant at a quiet street corner. Friendly and attentive service. And the food itself is tasty and delicious. Vegetarian options are available.
Top 10 European food in Leuven, Flemish Brabant Province, Belgium
1. Otomat
Overall Ratings
4 based on 50 reviews
At Otomat, youâll find heavenly pizzas, with inspiration from around the globe. Our pizza bases are crunchy and unique. And that is due to ... Duvel beer yeast, and also because our pizza dough gets three days to rest and rise! Choose between red (Otomat
Reviewed By taylor t
The menu appeared to be creative, but the pizzas were just ok. They actually charge $5 for a bottle of tap water. When I questioned the server he indicated this is normal in Belgium, which I know is not accurate.Dear Taylor, thank you for your review and I will take in consideration your suggestion on tap water. Free tap water is not a habit in Belgium is what mean the server. Kind regards Bernard
