Al Piccolo Mondo
The Piccolo Mondo belongs to the family of stopped clocks, of those places where time does not mark its patina. An institution like Brussels does not count any more, a mythical place.
And you have to go there to feel the uniqueness of this place. For 40 years, the Piccolo Mondo has kept its imprescriptible decoration with this succession of rooms, here in the spirit of a neat Italian trattoria or there with this cozy Venetian splendor. Nothing has really changed with time, it even seems to have installed the myth.
The pizza oven is still there, right on the street, the pictures of the celebrities who passed by the place too. The place lives. And it lives thanks to the Spagnuolo family: Mr. Leo is still very present and his two sons Olivier and Valerio now reign with mastery over a service like we would like to see more of. An "old-fashioned" service, of high level, made of elegance, alert, precise and adorned with a benevolence from which some could be inspired.
The menu? It is unclassifiable, full of what makes us love and will always love this address. A menu that has seen the times, and in classic cuisine, whether transalpine or mixed as here, it is a sign. It is of course a classic menu, it has always travelled between here and there and this is what makes its charm: Toast with anchovies, Veal Cervelle Milanaise, Burgundy snails, Poached eggs Florentine, Spaghetti in seafood papillotte, Turbotin Venetian style, Monkfish with leeks, Entrecote à la Moelle, Tournedos Escoffier, Poussin à l´estragon or the famous Osso Buco Al Piccolo Mondo.
Will nothing ever be the same again? Yes, it will. And that´s why we have an infinite tenderness for this place. Where whole families, generations meet, live and love each other."