Fico — Restaurant in Ixelles - Elsene

LOCATION We had dinner on Saturday night. Located in the beautiful Chatelain neighborhood, the place is very nice, characteristic with references to Sicily. There aren't many tables but the atmosphere is nice. The atmosphere is pleasant and the context beautiful.

SERVICE Booking is necessary: ​​two services available. The second service is from 9.30pm. We booked for 9.30pm. We arrived on time but waited about 25 minutes to be seated. And so did the others who had booked. Organization, therefore, needs to be reviewed. you can't make restaurant customers wait standing for 25 minutes. In the room the strong points are the owners (I think they were this): the lady who managed the room and the gentleman who presented the menu (the only one who knew it): this gentleman was extraordinarily kind and capable of making suggestions and also available to variations of the dishes. The waiters in the room (a boy and a girl), however: no comment..

FOOD the menu is available in the room, on the blackboard: few recipes but carefully chosen. There is "Italy" but also a lot of "other": the fish of the day was the BAR... (sob!) At the reception: anchovies in vinegar, olives and cherry tomatoes. I would say more than anything: Italian-inspired restaurant.

PRICE In my opinion excessive compared to...

Italian place for non-Italians. Or better said, they offer Italian dishes that do not meet Italian standards. The place actually has a nice atmosphere and looks cozy. They must have changed concept recently; contrary to many reviews they no longer serve pizza. We tried a mortadella starter, a combo of cheese & charcuterie and a parmigiana. The latter was decent though not particularly tasty. As per the quality of charcuterie, I had better at the hospital cantine. Three small pieces of cheese that tastes like plastic. For the price they charge, one would expect a different quality. Plus, the 7€ a glass house red wine was undrinkable and charcuterie came with no bread, I had to ask four times before receiving it in a not particularly busy evening. Châtelain is full of places, my suggestion is to...

This was an extraordinary surprise, we wanted to eat at the Thai restaurant next door but it was full. Then we opted for an Italian restaurant at the same corner... There were 3 options: this one had the lowest Google rate of all three, but it looked like the best... So we went in and had the greatest Sicilian experience! The entry was a steamed and fried artichoke with an extra of 2 peppers soaked in tomato sause and the best possible black dried olives (origin Marokko). As the main dish we chose for the spaghetti vongole (which was not on the menu but made on demand!), it was delicious! Praise this restaurant, the staff was very honestly friendly and the atmosphere was great. I will come back to...