A new breeze is blowing over Divino Gusto.

The place remains discreet and avoids unnecessary embellishments; it has chosen not to be overly flashy. Some touches from the seventies are added to stay connected to the era, along with a strong chromatic unity and a formal grammar that confesses to simplicity. Here, the visual feast ends because the focus is elsewhere.

The entrance door opens to the kitchen, and it is not by chance; that is where the heart of Divino Gusto beats. Here, with complete transparency, Marc Grislain practices his talent. This chef, both a meticulous watchmaker when it comes to cooking and a passionate music master regarding ingredients, crafts a tasteful and delicate cuisine. A cuisine that resonates authentically through revitalizing plates, speaking the language of today.

New wind, as I was saying, and more than just wind; one could speak of a storm without hesitation, as the arrival of Marc Grislain to the helm of the beautiful house in Nivelles has injected a new momentum. Having worked in prominent Brussels establishments like Bozar Restaurant and Villa Lorraine, among others, the young Brabant chef now brings his energy and beautiful turmoil to the entire Divino team. Assisted by the excellent Sébastien Van der Beeten, recently known for his work at Anrachy in Zaventem and later at Isabelle Arpin, Marc Grislain offers a cuisine of conviction, with his main arguments being excellent products, impeccable cooking, and precise seasoning.

Proof is provided with dishes such as the 'Hendrick's' style confit salmon, tangy vegetable garnish, Beersel cheese speckled with dill, woodsy mushrooms in hot and cold, lost bread, emulsion of fresh herbs, trompe-l'oeil forest garnish, pan-seared foie gras, cuttlefish whites, chips, and red cabbage gastrique, and the roasted Dieppe scallops, coffee and acacia parmentier cream, Alsace bacon crumble.

The dishes harmonize and only confirm the clarity of the concept, whether it's the roasted deer hazelnut with juniper berries, breaded salsify, nori potato roll, last-minute jus, salsify with woody flavors, or the wild duck fillet, leek flame, citrus, sweet-spiced jus, the confit cod loin, watercress with hazelnut butter, marbled potatoes and carrots, walnut paste, or the roasted Corrèze veal sweetbread with baker's yeast, yellow wine jus, Cévennes onions, espuma of hay-infused small potatoes.

In harmony with this tasteful and coherent cuisine is a wine list curated by Gaëtan Poels. A brilliant self-taught sommelier, he feels equally at home with wines unearthed from the lands of France as on the trails of the world.

In a world often jaded, coming back from everything, the determination of these men warms the heart by offering us, with every service, a delightful moment out of time.

LD