La Bottega Della Pizza

Neapolitan chef Roberto Casula has been reigning over Brussels’ pizzasphere since 2010. Here inside this mini bottega with gingham tablecloths, happily provided with extra seating along the sidewalk when the weather warms up, everyone knows everyone else. The multi-award-winning dough is rested for three days, and comes out of the oven plump, nicely burnt around the edges and generously topped with seasonal ingredients (apart from the rather bland cherry tomatoes in February). The best options? Fundamentalists will stick to the perfect “classiche” pizzas (Margherita, Regina, Siciliana…), while the more adventurous among you (like us) with indulge in the Spicy & Love (San Marzano tomato sauce, fior di latte, scamorza, spianata piccante, friggitelli chilies, cream of pecorino, basil and toasted almonds), the Tonno & Cipolla white pizza (red onions, capers and tuna mousse) or the Salsiccia & Friarielli (cime di rapa, fennel sausage). There are no antipasti, but there are some really good Sicilian cannoli filled with ricotta cream and candied fruit! There’s also a second location in the Sablon neighborhood, at 31 Rue de Rollebeek. // Ringo de Balmalon

FEELING THIRSTY? Aperol or Campari spritz to start (€8-9), a handful of beers – Jambe de Bois from the Brasserie de la Senne at €6 for 330 ml, Rosé de Gambrunus from Cantillon at €24 for 750 ml, an Italian Anima Sarda d’Ichnusa at €5 for 330 ml – and, a rare thing in a pizzeria, a large selection of Italian wines at reasonable prices, many of which are natural: a Riesling-Garganega frizzante from Veneto Barbabolle (€41 a bottle), a skin-contact pinot grigio from Puglia, Mare e Foresta (€48), Il Quarto Moro, a Sardinian red (€46), most of which are served by the glass.

PRICE: Pizzas €11-19, desserts €4-10.