Our opening hours
Open 7 days a week:
12 noon–3 pm: Lunch menu / il pranzo
6 pm–10 pm (until 11 pm on Friday and Saturday evenings): Evening menu / la cena
Who is Filomena?
Let us tell you a moving story: that of the Petta family
Coming from Italy with courage and determination to offer a better future to their five children.
In 1970, Filomena and Michele Petta left their native country, the Molise region of Castelmauro, to find decent work and raise their family in Belgium. Mr Petta's hard work as a road worker and Nonna Filomena's talent as a seamstress bore fruit, instilling in their children a love of work.
Discover how their legacy led to an incredible entrepreneurial adventure…
The different spaces
A trip through Italy
The Chef: Salvatore Maniscalco
«For us, a great dish is born above all from a great product. Technique and experience are not there to complicate or transform an ingredient, but to reveal all that it has to offer.»
The demand for authenticity
Renowned for his leadership, his meticulousness and his ability to bring people together, Salvatore champions Italian cuisine that is at once authentic, modern and sophisticated. For him, the essentials must always take centre stage on the plate, underpinned by genuine flavours and impeccable technical skill.
An international excellence pathway
With over ten years’ experience in high-end gourmet catering, Salvatore Maniscalco has shaped his culinary identity across Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. His early career in Sicily enabled him to master the fundamentals of Mediterranean cuisine, a skill he went on to perfect through a series of formative experiences:
- Sea Club Restaurant, Terrasini (Sicily): it is here that he hones his skills in Mediterranean cuisine.
- Hôtel Roi Soleil, St Moritz (Switzerland): he gained invaluable experience working to the highest international standards.
- Victor Bozar Restaurant, Brussels: he first made his mark there as sous-chef, then as head chef.
- Restaurant Da Mimmo, Brussels (Michelin-starred): he perfects his haute cuisine expertise there.
- La Villa Lorraine by Yves Mattagne, Brussels (two Michelin stars): he continues his ascent to excellence there.
The Head Pastry Chef: Elisabetta Lignano
«Dessert is the final flourish of a meal and often the memory that lingers the longest. It should entice you to savour every last bite and leave a pleasant, simple, and sincere impression.»
Lightness and emotion at the end of the meal
For Elisabetta, haute pâtisserie is a matter of balance. Her philosophy rejects an excess of sugar to focus on precision and lightness. Her art consists in revealing the natural flavours of the finest ingredients to bring the gastronomic experience to a memorable and refined close.
An exceptional multidisciplinary expertise
With over ten years of experience in high-end patisserie, catering, and events, Elisabetta boasts a remarkably versatile profile:
- Having graduated with a degree in hospitality and catering in Italy, she chose to broaden her horizons by qualifying as a sommelier, followed by a CAP in Pastry in France. She honed her contemporary techniques at world-renowned institutions such as Bellouet Conseil and the EISF in Paris.
- A career without borders: His talent has been expressed in demanding environments across Italy (from Sicily to Tuscany), Switzerland (St Moritz), France and Belgium.
- She has applied her creativity and operational rigour within iconic establishments, such as Wittamer, Callier and the prestigious Villa Lorraine Group.
Nonna Filomena's Family Legacy
The Petta group was founded in the 1990s, bringing together several companies across various sectors of business.
In 2009, the hotel adventure began when the family discovered a bankrupt establishment up for sale. This hotel, soulless and with no apparent future, was merely a shadow of its former self. The location was love at first sight for the family, who took on the challenge of transforming this hotel into one of Belgium's finest 4-star establishments.
Since 2009, around ten renovation waves have been carried out to reach the current level we are offering you today.
At the helm of this company is Pauline Petta, CEO, who wished to pay tribute to the one without whom none of this would have been possible: Nonna Filomena. The captain of the family ship, a hand of iron in a velvet glove… She who raised her five children while working tirelessly, she who instilled in them the most precious Italian values, she who cooked divinely well and to whom we pay tribute through this Trattoria.
A family love story, above all...