Belgian restaurants in Brussels
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Belga Queen
The Belga Queen is Brussels' queen of indulgence. Generous opening hours, a fabulous restaurant with an equally fab crowd, a lustrous ecailler (oyster bar) and a cigar bar leave you no excuses for not visiting. The main menu (split between meat and fish) even has a vegetarian section and low-calorie options for visiting supermodels.
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Au Stekerlapatte
The grungy façade hides a cavernous bistro where the approach is casual, the menu extensive and the portions large. Meat, fish and fowl - cooked in traditional Belgian ways - are the staples. Well hidden but definitely known.
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René
Deep in the heart of Anderlecht, overlooking a tree-lined square and the local gemeentehuis (town hall), is Brussels' most authentic family friterie-restaurant. It's the Dirk and Dorine Piolon show. Dad, Mum, offspring and in-laws, frying and refrying the frites, preparing a succulent filet américain and dishing up steaming cauldrons of mussels and other Belgian specialities to an appreciative local audience.
Turn up here at lunchtime on Saturday, as the market vendors on the facing square pack up their wares, and you'll find it's full house - only the rickety green metal tables decorating the footpath are unoccupied. For that quintessential Belgian experience, and not a…
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Taverne du Passage
Consistently keen service and faithful Belgian meals are the pivotal points of this Brussels institution. Located in the sublime Galeries St Hubert, it has been around since 1928 and stepping through the draped doorway is like zapping away a century. An all-male middle-aged crew strut their stuff in slightly crumpled penguin uniforms, serving ample portions of Belgian classics such as moules-frites (mussels and chips) and waterzooi (cream-based chicken or fish stew).
With some daring, this could be the place to try filet américain (raw minced beef). No matter how busy it gets, the blokes are unfailingly friendly. In summer, tables line up in the gallery outside, and kid…
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Den Dyver
Not only are the seasonal dishes at this elegant restaurant individually paired with beers, they’re also cooked in Belgium’s favourite nectar. One delicious example is the hare, turnip and cranberry ravioli cooked in Oude Gueuze, which is served with a Petrus Winterbier. Three-, four- and five-course menus can be ordered with a beer accompanying each course. There’s also the option of pairing with wines, but that would be missing the point.
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Viva M’Boma
A white-tiled former triperie (offal butchers shop) now houses this fab restaurant. Viva M’Boma’s name means ‘long live the grandmother’ in the old Bruxellois dialect, and the updated dishes here would make both Grandma and the departed butchers proud. Mains like veal kidneys, liver-based casseroles or horse steak are accompanied by hand-cut fries or stoemp (mashed potato), with speculaas ice cream for dessert.
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La Maison du Cygne
Try for a table overlooking the Grand Place in this refined 2nd-floor restaurant where you can dine on bank-breaking, but beautifully prepared Belgian classics. Service is appropriately fussy and the wine list outstanding. Budget diners after a taste of Louis XIV grandeur should try the 1st-floor Ommengang bar (noon to 2pm Monday to Friday), where lunch menus cost €18, including a half-bottle of water.
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Pré Salé
Local diner on a shabby backstreet that's become an institution with the locals. Looks a bit like a butcher's shop when you first enter - all white tiles, bright lights and big plates of spare ribs - but it's very infectious, particularly on Friday nights when you'll need to book a few weeks in advance to partake in the soirée spectacle, a vaudeville-style dinner show.
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Café des Spores
Getting here means trekking out to Uccle, but it’s well worth it if you like chanterelles, porcini and other assorted fungi from the forest floor. Mushrooms feature in every dish (even the cep tiramisu) at this ‘mushroom restaurant’. It sounds gimmicky but it isn’t at all – the daily changing menu is market-fresh and there’s a solid wine list.
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De Gekroonde Hoofden
Spare ribs (in honey, natural, and the house version, sweet and sour) are the speciality of this large, airy restaurant situated footsteps from Ghent’s castle. You can fill up on them à la carte (from €15) or as part of all-you-can-eat deals (€23 to €37), finished off with chocolate mousse. Staff are welcoming and genuine.
reviewed
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In't Spinnekopke
This long-time favourite with its odd name (In the Spider's Head) occupies a 17th-century whitewashed cottage on a newly revamped square. Dine outside in summer, or cosy up inside in winter and enjoy Brussels' specialities (in particular the cod or the assortment of meats cooked in beer-based sauces).
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Hungry Henrietta
Fashion buyers cut deals over seafood bisque, crispy-skinned ray with capers, and seared scallops on a bed of mashed potato in Henrietta’s glossy black-lacquered and polished-concrete interior, or on the outdoor terrace. Call ahead as it’s periodically closed during school holidays.
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Les Petits Oignons
Cosy up by the crackling open fire in winter or keep cool in the candlelit garden in summer at this Marolles mainstay. You’ll need to exercise judgment when ordering the generous mains, as orders for dessert (including the house profiteroles) are taken at the beginning of a meal.
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L’Atelier Européen
Fronted by a hedged courtyard, this former wine warehouse has a pared-down menu of meat and fish dishes such as sautéed veal and grilled sea bass, with a couple (but only a couple) of offerings for vegetarians. Wine is given its due, with a well-chosen list and monthly specials.
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Brasserie Ploegmans
An endangered species. This bar is the local of old folk from the Marolles and has plenty of working-class kudos. It's one of only a couple of remaining family-owned pubs on this street and is generally full of smoke, a rich assortment of characters and Brussels dialect.
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Henri
In an airy white space on this street to watch, Henri concocts tangy fusion dishes like tuna with ginger, soy and lime, artichokes with scampi, lime and olive tapenade, or Argentinean fillet steak in parsley. There’s an astute wine list, and staff who know their stuff.
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De Stove
Just 20 seats keep this gem intimate. Fish caught daily is the house speciality, but meat-based dishes on the monthly changing menu include the likes of wild boar fillet on oyster mushrooms. Everything, from the bread to the ice cream, is homemade.
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L'Ane Vert
This welcoming local brasserie serves up hearty dishes such as coq au vin (chicken stew) in its cosy indoor setting, and outside when the weather is agreeable. There are also some decent vegetarian options on the menu, and fine wines too.
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L’Idiot du Village
Booking ahead is essential to secure a table at this colourful, cosy place secluded on a little side street near the Place du Jeu-de-Balle flea market. Dishes are rich and aromatic (lots of herbs) and portions plentiful considering the cachet of this place.
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Brasserie de la Roue d’Or
If you’re hankering for hearty Belgian fare (rabbit, pigs’ trotters and the like), follow the locals’ lead and head to the ‘Golden Wheel’, where the décor is inspired by the city’s surrealists.
reviewed
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