The story
Furbetto, in Heverlee near Leuven, is an Italian kitchen at Naamsesteenweg 213 that holds a 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand for good quality, good value cooking. The restaurant is run by chef-owners Gust Vanderwaeren and Jasper Voet.
The menu changes daily with the season and with what local farmers and producers supply. The small kitchen makes much of its own food, from pasta and butter to bread and kombucha. Both chefs grew up in Leuven, and their time in Italy shaped the cooking, with its focus on simplicity, pasta and natural wine.
The sample dinner menu lists focaccia with fresh butter, tagliatelle al ragù, and spaghetti with turnip tops and breadcrumbs. Heartier plates include roasted mackerel with fennel slaw and fried potatoes, and braised chicken leg with savoy cabbage, pancetta and polenta. Dishes are built to share, and a two-course lunch is served at midday.
Recognition
Details
History
good quality, good value cooking
Furbetto? It’s Italian for “cunning”… But rest assured, this joint from Jasper Voet and Gust Vanderwaeren is not trying to pull the wool over your eyes! Quite the opposite: across from Heverlee station, this tawny-toned oasis generously Italianizes the Leuven crowd from a wide-open kitchen decked out in stainless steel, made for non-stop ogling as the chefs work their sleight of hand. Seated either along the wooden banquette, at the counter offering views of the kitchen or even on the terrace, dig in to any of the following: top-notch hand-cut steak tartare, deliciously seasoned with an anchovy sauce; panisses fries all pillowy soft served with a thick and creamy aioli; or even leeks vinaigrette buried under a mountain of pecorino with a comforting soft-boiled egg on the side. After all that, it’s over to the pasta: al dente spaghetti with spring vegetables, loaded with peas, wild garlic and pecorino; audacious mackerel ragù rigatoni topped with pangrattato; and for the kill, fluffy French toast flanked with creamy vanilla ice cream, unless you’d rather opt for the kumquat panna cotta. // Joséphine Espe
Furbetto means wiseacre, smart aleck, or rascal in Italian. A reference to the playful way in which chef-owners Gust Vanderwaeren and Jasper Voet cleverly and playfully give flavor and shape to a folksy Italian cuisine...
Instagram