Going all out at La Fontanella

For my parents' birthday my sister and I took them to La Fontanella in Hasselt. We invited 2 of their best friends too as a surprise because we couldn't throw a party due to Corona. We were offered the suggestion menu but also had the option to choose à la carte dishes. When your party is bigger than 6 you are obliged to take the suggestion menu, otherwise you can just pick whatever you want from the menu.

The suggestion menu consisted of 3 different options for every course but didn't have any vegetarian options, so I went for an à la carte dish. The suggestion menu (€55) consisted of the following things:

Starter:
- Tartare of Scottish salmon (3 people ate this)
- Porcini and lacquered pork belly (2 people ate this)
- Tagliatelle al nero di seppia 
Main:
- Iberico lamb (2 people ate this) 
- Veal entrecôte (1 person ate this)
- Rockfish (3 people ate this)
Dessert:
- Dame blanche "a la minute" (2 people ate this)
- Chocolate cake (1 person ate this)
- Italian and Belgian cheeses (2 people ate this) 

As there were no vegetarian starters I only ordered a main dish, but was glad afterwards that I only had one meal as it was quite heavy. I ordered the Tagliatelle with Porcini and black truffle (€35). And also had the Dame blanche for dessert.

Before getting any of our dishes we got a small amuse bouche made of tomato tapenade with fennel, zucchini and ... . They took the meat out for me. This starter was really good and the tapenade was deliciously made though I did think that the fennel pieces were a bit too big what made it very clumsy to eat it as we only got a fork. It would have been better if they chopped the fennel into tiny pieces and included it in the tapenade.

The fish starter was very fresh and the taste of the salmon really came forward. Everybody liked it very much. The meat starter was also really good. The sauce that came with it was delicious and the different flavour combinations made the entire dish come together. The bacon was also lacquered very well and it didn't taste sweet at all, what you often have with this type of dish.

Next, the main course. The fish dish was really good, especially the risotto that came with it, I tried it myself and it was exquisite. My dad wanted the rockfish to be a little bit more seasoned, my mom was on the other hand thought it was seasoned perfectly.

Then we have the lamb, which was very tender and also really appetizing.

The Entrecôte was soft and tender as well and the cuisson was perfect. The dish was also gluten and lactose free.

Lastly, my pasta dish. The waiter came to the table with a bowl full of truffles and asked me if I wanted to grate the truffle myself, which I ofcourse didn't say no to. I let myself go and went all out with the truffle which I didn't regret AT ALL. The dish was really tasty, though I did think that the mushrooms were a bit overpowering in the dish. The mushrooms were prepared really well, though, they had a bit of a crunch to them and were beautifully golden brown.

To end off, we had our desserts. The Dame blanche was handmade and you could really taste that in the dish. From the sauce to the ice cream and even to the whipped cream, everything was fresh and delightful. The chocolate cake was also loved at our table, everyone had a taste of it, it was really rich and melted straight in your mouth. The cheeses also didn't disappoint. Overall the desserts were very much liked by everyone.

The whole night was perfect and my parents both had a blast. The staff was really friendly and the atmosphere was also great. The perfect Birthday surprise.

A bientôt!

Bisous