The story
La Cantinetta is an Italian trattoria at Rue Haute-Wez 191 in Grivegnée, Liège, run by the same family since 1998. The restaurant holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2026) for good-quality, good-value cooking.
Mathias runs the kitchen and plans the menu around what the market brings each week, along with the seasons and his trips to Italy. The menu changes every month, the cooking is homemade, and the team works with local producers wherever possible. The family's roots are in Sicily and Puglia, and that southern Italian thinking shows in the simplicity of the plates.
Raw mackerel arrives with purslane salsa verde, burnt grapefruit and pickled onion. Cacio e pepe croquettas come with ricotta, pecorino breadcrumbs and black pepper. Homemade paccheri are served with asparagus and guanciale carbonara, and the meal can finish with orange polenta cake and goat's milk ricotta ice cream. Gault&Millau awarded the kitchen 13.5 in 2026, noting how Mathias lifts Italian ingredients to a higher level.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
good quality, good value cooking
In 2010, after running their tiny trattoria since 1998, Michel and Francesca Giannuzzi passed the baton to their sons Thomas (in the dining room) and Mathias (in the kitchen). Against a backdrop of family photos hung on the walls, Italian classics with a twist parade out: to start, raw mackerel with a tangy touch (purslane salsa verde, burnt grapefruit and pickled onions) or cacio e pepe croquettas a la ricotta, pecorino breadcrumbs, black pepper and activated charcoal; followed by homemade paccheri with asparagus and guanciale carbonara, plus a white asparagus salad – to die for!; and orange polenta cake with some refreshing Madagascan pepper and goat’s milk ricotta ice cream. // Marie Martin
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