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Tilia Food Identity independently reviewed
Food Identity How restaurants source, cook and care. Independently reviewed

Tilia

An eetcafé in the centre of Linden where an open wood fire cooks whole vegetables, Angus beef and wild sea bass for plates built to share.

Allergies Not published, ask the kitchen ahead

Food Identity How restaurants source, cook and care. Independently reviewed

Tilia

An eetcafé in the centre of Linden where an open wood fire cooks whole vegetables, Angus beef and wild sea bass for plates built to share.

The essentials, at a glance

Allergies Not published, ask the kitchen ahead

Documented practices
Independently
reviewed
Seasonal cooking
Plant-forward menu

Documented practices

Seasonal cooking Menu constantly evolving with seasonal availability
Plant-forward menu Own vegetables section, priced equal to meat plates

Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Trendy
Cuisine
International
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Wheelchair accessible
Dog-friendly
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide

The delicious details

Tilia stands on the Martelarenplaats in Linden, a village in the Lubbeek municipality east of Leuven. Jens Verreckt and Pieter Behets call it an eetcafé, and you can drop in for a drink alone, but behind the counter sits a full restaurant built around one open wood fire.

The format is composed rather than coursed. You assemble a meal from separately priced plates of vegetables, fish, meat and pasta, with vegetables given a section of their own and treated as dishes rather than sides. Much of that section comes off the fire, and the list shifts with what is in season.

Sourdough bread, pasta and ice cream are made in house, and the interior was built by craftsmen from the area. The stated aim is good food at fair prices in a room where everyone feels at home.

Menu
What's on the table, and what's left off

Cooking runs through a single open wood fire in the centre of the room. Customers assemble meals from separately priced plates of vegetables, fish and meat, all cooked on the fire. Vegetables are given a section of their own and treated as dishes in their own right, priced the same as the fish and meat plates. Sourdough bread, pasta, tomato sauce and vanilla ice cream are made in house.

Cooking runs through a single open wood fire, and the menu reads as a list of products rather than finished dishes: padron peppers, celeriac, fennel, pumpkin and beans each take a plate of their own, alongside Angus onglet, Belgian pork, farm chicken, skate wing, brill and wild sea bass. Vegetables hold their own section at the same price as the fish and meat plates, and some plates are made from plants alone, so a vegetarian table has real choice. Pasta, risotto and salads widen it further. The kitchen works from whole products: sourdough bread, spaghetti, tomato sauce and vanilla ice cream are all made on site rather than bought in.

Cuisine

International

Dietary options

Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
2 - Engaged

The kitchen follows the seasons closely and the menu moves through the year with what is available, which the vegetable list makes plain: pumpkin, celeriac, fennel and beans in autumn. Vegetables are given a section of their own and cooked over the fire as dishes in their own right, priced alongside the fish and meat plates, with some plates made from plants alone. Tilia is listed in the We're Smart Green Guide, the international guide to vegetable-led cooking, which has recognised it as a new entry.

The impact dimensions

Local & direct sourcing

Seasonal cooking✓

Sustainable animal products

Social impact

Plant-forward menu✓

Local sourcing is positioned as a kitchen value but no named local supplier is identified; menu items carry breed and regional origin labels but lack producer traceability.

The restaurant states a careful selection of the best local ingredients. Menu items carry origin and breed labels: Angus Aberdeen beef, Belgian country pork, farm chicken, Orval cheese, Bouchot mussels, wild sea bass and brill.

Several items are identified as imports: Jamón de Trevélez from Spain, Gambero Rosso prawns and buffalo burrata.

Strongest sourcetilia-eetcafe.be ↗

The menu shifts with seasonal availability; autumn vegetables include pumpkin, celeriac, fennel, carrot, beans and courgette, with desserts of plum and pear.

The We're Smart Green Guide states chefs Jens Verreckt and Pieter Behets follow the seasons closely, which means the menu is constantly evolving. The restaurant's own site describes a menu that adapts to the season, and opening coverage notes a menu that is regularly renewed.

The published October menu is consistent with this: the vegetable section carries pumpkin, celeriac, fennel, carrot, beans and courgette, with desserts of plum and pear.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

Meat and fish are central, named by species and method, but no producer, welfare certification or fishery is identified.

Meat and fish are central to the offer and the menu carries partial sourcing signals. Named signals: Angus and Angus Aberdeen beef by breed; Belgian country pork; farm chicken; wild sea bass named as wild caught; Bouchot mussels, which names a pole-culture method; and species brill, skate wing and Gambero Rosso prawns.

Strongest sourcetilia-eetcafe.be ↗

Community and accessibility themes run through the restaurant's positioning. The interior was executed by local craftsmen (Lino, Edelhert, V&D, Bossuyt), and the venue is described as well-liked where everyone feels at home.

The restaurant states the aim of being where everyone can enjoy themselves at fair prices, in a venue where conviviality and quality are central.

The interior was executed entirely by local craftsmen: Lino, Edelhert, V&D and Bossuyt. Opening coverage notes strong local attendance.

Strongest sourcetilia-eetcafe.be ↗

Vegetables hold a dedicated section priced equal to meat and fish, with plant-only options, on a menu that is meat-focused overall.

The We're Smart Green Guide describes vegetables shining over the fire with pure plant options available, on a grill-led menu that is meat focused overall.

The published menu shows a dedicated vegetables section of ten plates (padron peppers, celeriac, courgette, fennel, carrot, pumpkin, beans, ratatouille and two salads) priced at €12-22, equal to fish and meat plates. Meatless carbohydrate plates include spaghetti aglio olio, pomodoro with burrata, potato salad and sunflower seed risotto. Vegetable and meatless plates comprise roughly 40-50 per cent of the plate list.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

Sourcing signals

✓
In-house preparation

Sourdough bread, pasta, tomato sauce and vanilla ice cream are made in house.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Martelarenplaats 7, Linden, Belgium
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€
Format
Composed plates à la carte, booking via RestManager
Hours
Monday12:00–23:00
TuesdayClosed
WednesdayClosed
Thursday17:30–23:00
Friday12:00–00:00
Saturday12:00–00:00
Sunday12:00–23:00
Not captured during screening. Opening hours are sourced from Google Places by the server-side backfill. The restaurant's own site and the Lubbeek municipality listing both show a Thursday to Monday week with Tuesday and Wednesday closed.
Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Trendy
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Wheelchair accessible
Dog-friendly
Web
tilia-eetcafe.be
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 15 Oct 2026
Reserve To website
Link copied
How we score
The My Treats impact scale

Every restaurant is assessed against SEERO, our six-dimension sustainability framework — covering sourcing, seasonality, waste, animal products, social impact, and plant-forward cooking. Each finding is weighted by how strongly it is corroborated. The combined result is translated into an impact score from 1 to 5.

The five levels

SEERO is an acronym for Starting, Engaged, Endorsed, Recognised, Outstanding:

Starting First verified signals of sustainable practice.
Engaged Credible practice across two dimensions.
This place
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
Outstanding Top-tier practice, confirmed by recognised third-party audit.

How a level is reached. Each level needs two things together: a minimum number of dimensions covered, and a minimum overall strength of evidence across them. A dimension only counts once its evidence is specific and substantiated — a passing mention doesn't qualify. Meeting only one of the two keeps a restaurant a level lower.

Scores of four or five require human validation and, at the top tier, an external audit. Scores are based on publicly available evidence and restaurant submissions at the time of assessment.

Full methodology→
Impact dimension
—
How this dimension works
—
How evidence is weighted
Self-declared Stated by the restaurant on its website, menu or in a submission. Plausible, but not yet independently corroborated.
Researched Found through independent research; one credible third-party source backs the claim.
Vouched Corroborated across more than one independent source. Some gaps may remain.
Audited Fully corroborated across independent sources or by a recognised third-party certification.
What the sourcing checkmarks mean
✓ Full check — independently verified: corroborated across more than one source, or audited / third-party certified (vouched or audited).
✓ Light check — self-declared or from a single source. Not yet independently verified.
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