Restaurant in Brussels, Belgium
Serious Italian in a private club setting.
Ciao is open to everyone despite sitting inside TheMerode, a private club in a 17th-century building on Poelaert Square. The kitchen holds a Michelin Plate (2024) and focuses on Tuscan-sourced Italian cooking — homemade pasta, Chianti-braised meats — with modern technique. At €€€ with easy booking, it's one of the more credible special-occasion Italian options in Brussels.
The common assumption about Ciao is that it's a members-only affair, off-limits to the general public because it sits inside TheMerode, a private club on Poelaert Square. That assumption is wrong. Ciao is open to all, and that access matters: you're getting dinner inside a 17th-century stately house with the kind of architectural gravitas that most Brussels restaurants can't buy. Add a Michelin Plate (2024) and a kitchen with a clear point of view on Italian cooking, and this is one of the more compelling special-occasion options in the city at the €€€ price point.
Poelaert Square sits adjacent to the Palace of Justice, and the building Ciao occupies carries the weight of that address. The dining room itself is the draw spatially: a composed, elegant space with a pretty bar that anchors the room without overwhelming it. The proportions feel formal without being stiff, which makes it work for both date nights and business dinners. If you're booking for a celebration and want a room that does some of the work for you, the physical space here delivers more than most Italian restaurants in Brussels at this price tier. For comparison, [senzanome](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/senzanome-brussels-restaurant) offers a more contemporary dining room at €€€€, but the heritage character of Ciao's room is harder to replicate.
The menu at Ciao is shaped by a deliberate sourcing preference: the kitchen leans on Tuscan recipes and ingredients as its reference point. This isn't a generic pan-Italian approach. The Michelin entry flags a specific dish — homemade tortellini with beef marinated in Chianti, parmesan sauce, and a Campari underscoring — that illustrates exactly how the kitchen operates. The sourcing of Chianti-braised beef and the use of parmesan as a structural element rather than a garnish are choices that signal a kitchen thinking about ingredient provenance, not just flavour combinations. At €€€, that level of sourcing specificity represents real value; the same technical attention in a comparable Italian room in Paris or Milan would cost you more.
The Tuscan orientation also sets expectations usefully for the diner. This is not the place to come for Neapolitan pizza, Venetian cicchetti, or a broad regional survey. The menu is focused, and according to the Michelin assessment, that focus creates a decision problem in the leading sense: there are enough well-constructed options that choosing becomes difficult. That's a good sign at this price point. It suggests depth rather than padding.
Phrase "sensitive modern makeover" in the Michelin notation is worth taking seriously. The kitchen is applying contemporary technique to Tuscan comfort food rather than simply reproducing classics. If you're coming from Italian restaurants like [Gioia](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/gioia-brussels-restaurant) or want a reference point further afield, the kitchen's approach here is closer in spirit to what [cenci](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/cenci-kyoto-restaurant) does with Japanese-Italian ingredient logic in Kyoto, or what [8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/8-12-otto-e-mezzo-bombana-hong-kong-restaurant) does in Hong Kong: Italian sourcing principles applied with precision rather than nostalgia. Ciao operates at a lower price tier than either of those, which makes the comparison a compliment.
Ciao is leading suited to: a date night where the room needs to carry weight; a business dinner where you want a credible, comfortable Italian option that isn't a chain; or a special occasion where you want Michelin-recognised cooking without the €€€€ commitment that venues like [Comme chez Soi](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/comme-chez-soi-brussels-restaurant) or [La Villa Lorraine by Yves Mattagne](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/la-villa-lorraine-by-yves-mattagne-brussels-restaurant) require. The Google rating of 4.6 across 63 reviews is a reasonable signal of consistent execution rather than a single exceptional visit driving the average.
Solo diners should note that the bar within the dining room gives this venue more single-diner-friendly infrastructure than a typical formal Italian room. The setting doesn't penalise you for dining alone. Groups should verify capacity and room configuration directly, as seat count data isn't available in our records.
If you're building a Brussels itinerary and want to understand the full picture, see our [Brussels restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/brussels), [Brussels bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/brussels), and [Brussels hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/brussels). For fine dining further afield in Belgium, [Hof van Cleve](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hof-van-cleve-floris-van-der-veken-kruishoutem-restaurant), [Boury in Roeselare](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/boury-roeselare-restaurant), and [Zilte in Antwerp](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/zilte-antwerp-restaurant) represent the country's highest-rated rooms if you're benchmarking Ciao against Belgium's broader dining tier. Closer to Brussels, [Bozar Restaurant](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/bozar-restaurant-brussels-restaurant) and [Barge](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/barge-brussels-restaurant) offer different but comparable special-occasion alternatives.
Address: Pl. Poelaert 6, 1000 Brussels. Price range: €€€. Awards: Michelin Plate 2024. Google rating: 4.6 (63 reviews). Booking difficulty: Easy. Phone and website are not listed in our current records; book via the venue directly or through a reservation platform. Hours are not confirmed in our records , verify before visiting, particularly for lunch service.
Quick reference: Michelin Plate 2024 | €€€ | Easy to book | Poelaert Square, Brussels.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ciao | The 17C stately house on Poelaert Square belongs to TheMerode, a private club. Have no fear, though, everyone is welcome at Ciao. Our favourite in this edifice, oozing in character and elegance, was the dining room with a pretty bar. Authentic Italian flavours are treated to a sensitive modern makeover, illustrated by homemade tortellini with beef marinated in Chianti and a parmesan sauce subtly underscored by Campari. The chef avows a weakness for Tuscan recipes and delicately crafts succulent comfort food. Making your choice from the menu can be something of a challenge!; Michelin Plate (2024) | €€€ | — |
| Comme chez Soi | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| La Villa Lorraine by Yves Mattagne | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| senzanome | Michelin 1 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Au Vieux Saint Martin | €€€ | — | |
| Aux Armes de Bruxelles | €€ | — |
How Ciao stacks up against the competition.
A few days to a week is typically enough. Ciao sits inside TheMerode, a private club on Poelaert Square, but the restaurant is open to the public, and it is not the kind of booking that disappears overnight. For weekend evenings or a specific occasion, book 5–7 days out to be safe. It holds a Michelin Plate (2024), which adds some demand, but it does not operate at the same booking pressure as Comme chez Soi.
The bar inside the dining room makes Ciao a more comfortable solo option than most Brussels Italian restaurants at this price point. The €€€ price range is a consideration if you are dining alone without a set menu to anchor the spend, but the room's character makes it feel purposeful rather than awkward for one. If solo dining value is the priority, Au Vieux Saint Martin offers a more casual format at a lower spend.
The kitchen's reference point is Tuscan, and the homemade tortellini with beef marinated in Chianti and a Campari-underscored parmesan sauce is documented as a signature dish. Beyond that, the menu leans on comfort food handled with precision rather than elaborate technique. The menu choices are described as genuinely difficult to narrow down, so arrive with some appetite for decision-making.
There is no confirmed tasting menu format in the available venue data, so it would be worth checking directly when you book. Ciao's strength is its à la carte Tuscan-led cooking inside an architecturally distinctive room, and at €€€, that is where the value case sits. If a structured multi-course format is your priority, senzanome offers a more dedicated tasting menu experience in Brussels.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
