![]() |
Home - City Guide - Brussels - Food and Drink | ||
![]() |
||
Food and Drink Brussels is a gastronomic centre which some believe to outshine Paris in terms of quality and variety. Traditional fare includes moules-frites (mussels and chips); waterzooi (creamy broth with chicken, fish or eels); lapin à gueuze (rabbit with Brussels-brewed beer); carbonnade flamande (beef braised with beer); anguilles au vert (eels in green sauce); stoemp (mashed potato mixed with vegetables) and gaufres au chocolat (chocolate waffles). In autumn, freshly picked wild mushrooms and game dominate the seasonal menus. And, famously, there are more than 400 Belgian beers available to drink. International cuisine of all kinds is also on offer - the result of the strong EU presence and immigrant communities. Grand-Place is surrounded by restaurants, but with some notable exceptions (listed below), these are overpriced and mediocre. It is best to go further afield - to Place de Ste-Catherine for seafood; trendy Rue Antoine for international cuisine of all types; the EU district around the Rond-Point Schuman for Italian, Spanish and Greek establishments; and Place du Grand-Sablon and the ChaussÉe de Charleroi in Ixelles, for top-notch restaurants. Budget Mediterranean meals are served around Gare du Midi. Food is on the pricey side in Brussels: the cheapest meals will cost up to BFr500; average about BFr800 and rise to about BFr2000 (and upwards) at the most expensive restaurants. Standard opening hours are 1200-1500 and 1900-2400, although some restaurants stay open until about 0200. The busiest nights are Friday and Saturday, when it may be wise to pre-book. Many restaurants close in July and August. Although service charges are included in the bill, an additional tip of about 10% is standard. Restaurants: The legendary Comme Chez Soi, Place Rouppe 23 (tel: (02) 512 2921), is hidden away in a somewhat unprepossessing square. But the fame of this gastronomic restaurant, which opened in 1926, has spread worldwide. The Art Nouveau interior is a shrine to the three Michelin-starred haute cuisine of master chef Pierre Wynants and son-in-law Lionel Rigolet. The house speciality is sole mousseline with Riesling. HabituÉs take an apÉro in the cellar bar, and know to book (at least a week) in advance. There are three menus, ranging from BFr2150 to BFr4900. La Maison du Cygne (tel: (02) 511 8244), situated in a guildhouse on Grand-Place, at number 9 (entrance Rue Charles Buls 2), once housed a bar where Karl Marx would meet with Engels. Now it is a capitalist Mecca to French haute cuisine. At lunch times, the business community takes over, in the evening a more romantic atmosphere descends. Classics include pheasant with braised endives, and rich, creamy foie gras. Expect to pay about BFr2750. Jacques Brel is among the Bruxellois to have enjoyed Aux Armes de Bruxelles, Rue des Bouchers 13 (tel: (02) 511 5550), located in the Ilot Sacre restaurant district around Grand-Place. This typical bistro has been serving up traditional Belgium fare - including eels in green sauce, and mussels and chips with mayonnaise - for about 80 years. It is at its most crowded for Sunday lunch, which will cost about BFr500 for a main course. Another traditional institution is the Taverne du Passage, Galerie de la Reine 30 (tel: (02) 512 3732), fixed forever in time in the 1920s, with its dÉcor and Belgian classics - waterzooi, fresh herring in spring, steak tartare (known throughout Belgium as filet amÉricain) and plenty of beer. Belgian families descend on the tavern for Sunday lunch, which costs about BFr1500. Chez LÉon, Rue des Bouchers 18 (tel: (02) 511 1415), is more popular with tourists than the locals, but is among the few restaurants around Grand-Place to serve up decent seafood (in huge portions). There are also branches at Bruparck in Heysel. Expect to pay about BFr1000. Tradition is cast to the winds at Bonsoir Clara, a stylish restaurant for the trendy, set on the design-conscious Rue Antoine Dansaert, at number 22 (tel: (02) 502 0990). The menu is international with good vegetarian options and reasonably priced - a three-course meal costs about BFr2000. Next door, at number 20, is Moroccan restaurant Kasbah (tel: (02) 502 4026), an Aladdin's cave where large portions of couscous are served up in a magical, lantern-lit interior. The set menu starts at BFr700. An arty crowd is drawn to Lola, Place du Grand-Sablon 33 (tel: (02) 514 2460), where French cuisine is served in minimalist surroundings. Main courses cost about BFr600. While vegetarians are not too restricted by Brussels' menus, Totem Cubain, Rue des Grands Carmes 13 (tel: (02) 513 1152), is dedicated entirely to spicy vegetarian cuisine. The restaurant is simple, peaceful and good value. Main courses cost less than BFr400. CafÉs: The cafÉs and bars of Brussels are among the city's major sights, each one different and most combining the conviviality of the British pub with the intellectual frisson of the Parisian cafÉ. CafÉs and bars are pretty much indistinguishable, most serving a mixture of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and food ranging from simple crôque monsieur (cheese and ham on toast) to more elaborate, good-value fare. Beer is the beverage to sample. With over 400 varieties, and corresponding glasses to match a good few, cafÉ crawling is de rigueur. Most cafÉs offer a choice of at least 20 beers - including the favourites of Mort Subite and Verboden Frucht (Forbidden Fruit). Lambic (spontaneously fermented beer) and sparkling gueuze (refermented lambic) are specialities used to make fruit beers; the most popular is cherry (kriek). Whatever the merits of beer, the coffees and creamy cappuccinos served in Brussels' cafÉs are just as tempting, always served with a fine Belgian chocolate. CafÉs cluster around Grand-Place; although many of these are for tourists only, they do offer a fine view of the square. The area west of the Bourse is also packed with cafÉs - including Greenwich, Rue des Chartreux 7, with its wood-pannelled interiors, and habituÉs deep in their games of chess. This, along with La Fleur en Papier DorÉ, Rue des Alexiens 53, set in a sombre seventeenth-century building, was Magritte's favourite. One of the trendiest is Zebra, at number 35, run by the enterprising owners of Bonsoir Clara and Kasbah restaurants. The famous Art Nouveau Falstaff, south of the Bourse at Rue Henri Maus 19-25, attracts the whole spectrum of Bruxellois society and a smattering of tourists. Licensing laws are extremely relaxed, and cafÉs sell alcohol from opening time (about 1000) until they close (0200 or later). The terrasses on Place du Grand-Sablon are perfect for soaking up the sun while the neo-Classical glass-topped Galeries St-Hubert encloses elegant tea rooms for the cooler weather. Delectable biscuits at Maison Dandoy, Rue au Beurre 31, can be enjoyed with a drink at the little tea room. |