The story
Gust and Jasper grew up in Leuven. Their love for cooking took them to kitchens and bakeries across Belgium and beyond. In Italy, they fell for simplicity, pasta, and natural wine. At Furbetto in Heverlee, they channel that passion into a menu that changes daily, driven by the seasons and local producers. “Italian-inspired,” they say, “but with a healthy dose of playful disobedience.”
The kitchen is small, but ambitious. They make their own pasta, butter, bread, and kombucha. They work with local farmers and producers, letting the day’s catch and harvest dictate the menu. The result is Mediterranean cooking at its most seasonal, rooted in Italian tradition but open to local inspiration. A typical evening might start with focaccia and fresh butter, followed by frittelle di parmigiano or puntarelle with tonnato and anchovy. Pastas like spaghetti with turnip tops and breadcrumbs, or tagliatelle al ragù, lead into mains such as roasted mackerel with fennel salad or braised chicken thigh with savoy cabbage and polenta. Desserts are equally thoughtful: roasted hazelnut ice cream, crostata with orange and ricotta, or pain perdu with buttermilk ice cream. At lunch, a two-course menu at €36 offers a concise way to experience the kitchen’s style.
All dishes are designed for sharing, encouraging a relaxed, convivial meal. The dining room features counter seating and air conditioning for comfort, and when the weather cooperates, tables spill outside onto the terrace. The atmosphere is unpretentious, the focus squarely on the food.
In 2026, Michelin awarded Furbetto a Bib Gourmand for good quality, good value cooking. It’s a fitting recognition for a restaurant that puts honest, Mediterranean-inspired food at the centre, without fuss. Furbetto is a welcome addition to Heverlee’s dining scene, proving that seasonal, local cooking can be both accessible and exciting.
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
