fresh pasta

175 chaussée de Vleurgat, 1050 Ixelles
+32 471 56 55 15 – facebook
Monday to Friday from noon till 2 pm & 6.30 till 10 pm
Saturday & Sunday from 6.30 till 10 pm
Lunch 17€
Pasta 12€ to 19€

Before grabbing a seat at the bright yellow terrace for the very first time, all we knew about this place was that it served Italian fresh pasta. On the menu, we discovered a dozen of pasta dishes, made from rigatoni, mafalde casarecce, pappardelle, spaghetti alla chitarra – slightly thicker than regular spaghetti, absorbing the sauce all the better -, and even ravioli. We weren’t mistaken, every type of fresh pasta seemed to be on the menu.

Then we had a proper look at the recipes. The spaghettis alla chitarra caccio e peppe style with fried artichokes (12,50€ – 14,50€) caught our attention, and so did the Carbomare (15€ – 17€), which only had egg yolk in common with a classic carbonara, paired with bottarga and fried cod. We hadn’t even had a proper look at the starters yet, and already our excitement was overwhelming. We finally decided to go for the Carbomare, lighter than a regular cabonara, with a perfect consistency in the sauce and an amazing taste brought by the bottarga. A must-try if you ask us. We also really loved the pistachio pesto casarecce, with roasted cherry tomatoes and super creamy burrata (14€-16€). The chef has both Sicilian and Roman origins, whereas the owner, Mario, is from the region of Puglia. The recipes prepared at Primo clearly have no Italian borders, and all have that extra little something making every dish more interesting. Inside the restaurant, a wall painting by the artist Nina Minembo represents the first ever graffiti found in Roma, and at the back, a lovely hidden garden is ready to welcome customer during the Summer months. We were so thrilled about this opening that we were back only two days later, trying their full-Italian brunch with antipasti, fresh pasta and cannoli!