In Profondeville, between Namur and Dinant, Löctave is no longer just a promise. It is already a certainty.

Opened last autumn, the restaurant has found its rhythm with serene confidence. Overlooking the Meuse, the house continues to assert itself as a breath of fresh air. Time slows down naturally here, the light still glides across the water and gently touches the tables. Nothing has changed. And yet, everything has settled.

In this former manor house turned boutique hotel, discreet charm has taken root. Deep green tones, wall frescoes and high ceilings create a setting that does not aim to impress, but to envelop. One steps inside and immediately senses that the place has found its balance.

On the garden level, the sixteen seats now display reassuring consistency. Loïc Thirion has established his signature. Trained in houses of character, such as the legendary Pyramide in Vienne, he is now fully at home. His modern and sensitive cuisine has gained maturity. It still seeks neither noise nor spectacle. It moves forward calmly, with growing conviction throughout the menus.

The plates show the clarity that defines a strong and confirmed beginning. Each dish fits into a fluid composition where nothing is out of place: marbled foie gras with beetroot, miso, frisée and brioche; salmon gravlax with ricotta ravioli, spinach and wasabi; turbot with shellfish, samphire, fennel, buckwheat and dashi; pigeon with celeriac, pork belly, nori, confit leg and jus; signature sweetbreads with potato and truffle; and to close, cabbage with hazelnut, craquelin, lemon and vanilla.

Vegetables structure the narrative, the season sets the tempo, and the whole breathes coherence. One senses a chef cooking with confidence, without rigidity, but with a clear backbone.

In the dining room, Faiçal Rhayou continues this upward momentum. His experience at the two Michelin-starred Chalet de la Forêt in Brussels translates into precise, attentive and warm service, delivered with natural elegance. The mechanics are in place, yet they remain human.

What stands out, a few months after opening, is consistency. Löctave does not feel like a young restaurant still finding its way. It feels like a house already rooted, already inhabited.

And the beautiful beginning already looks like a trajectory.

LD