Eating Out in Brussels

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Brussels has an international reputation for the quality of its cuisine, which is richly deserved. Even at the dowdiest snack bar, you will almost always find that the food is well-prepared and generously seasoned – many of the city’s best restaurants are equal anywhere in Paris. Traditional Bruxelles dishes are “rabbit cooked in gueze beer” or “steamed pig’s feet”. But you will find many really delicious international restaurants as well. Turkish, Spanish, Vietnamese and Japanese cooking is worth a try. Belgian kitchen is although popular for its fresh seafood, mussels and fish, especially in and around the Saint Catherine district.

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La Bonne Humeur

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A traditional family-run restaurant in St Josse that produces wonderful mussels and chips, as well as a few other Belgian classics such as shrimp croquettes. If you want moules-frites and are fed up with the hordes of tourists around Grand Place and the centre, this is the place to come. It's also cheaper than the more central restaurants. Bus 29. Open noon-2pm, 6.30-9.30pm, Mon, Thur-Sun. Average 900 BF.

type:Belgian
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address:244 chaussée de Louvain, 1030 Brussels
tel:02 - 230 71 69

Marina

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In this pleasant old street close to the Bourse you will find one of the best, and definitely one of the nicest Italians in Brussels. Quiet but warm atmosphere, a rather kitschy interior, but great food at very friendly prices and an impressive (Italian) wine list. Average cost per person: BEF 800 (EUR 20). Open: 7pm-midnight daily

type:Italian
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address:56 rue des Chartreux, Brussels 1000
tel:+32 2 502 06 36

Samouraï

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Brussels is badly supplied with ethnic restaurants and many of those tend to dumb down their flavours to suit local tastes. This comfortable little Japanese restaurant, hidden in one of the city’s grimier side streets, is an exception. Chef Saito Harumi’s sushi is as delicious as any you’ll find in Tokyo. Closed Sun lunchtime & Tues.

type:Asian
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address:28 Rue du Fossé aux Loups
tel:+32 (2) 217 56 39

La Rose Blanche - De witte roos

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Taverne and restaurant right in the centre of town, open every day from 10am.

type:Belgian
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address:Grand Place, Grote Markt 11
tel:02 - 513 64 79

Falstaff

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Falstaff was Brussels. The restaurant behind the Bourse had so much art nouveau atmosphere, that the waiters could afford to be very rude. To me it is unclear what the status is right now, but let's hope that Falstaff will be back to it's normal self soon. *D: L'Eperon d'or Very nice house of the seventeenth century, soft and padded interior, carefully prepared meals. We recommend to make reservations.

type:Belgian
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address:Rue des Eperonniers 8
tel:02/512 52 39

L'Achepot

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Small and basic family-run estaminet or tavern that looks as if it hasn't changed for several generations. The food is traditional Belgian and French, with dishes such as stoemp and goat's cheese salad, and plenty of offal, including kidneys, brain, tripe and liver. Métro Ste Cathérine. Open 11am-midnight Mon-Sat; food served noon-3pm, 6.30-10.30pm. Average 800 BF.

type:Cheap
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address:1 place Ste Cathérine, 1000 Brussels
tel:02 - 511 62 21

Bruneau

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Bruneau is impressing. It is a haughty restaurant near the Koekelberg basilica. Jean-Pierre Bruneau is a brilliantly creative chef. Sleek decor provides a perfect setting for his exquisite designer cuisine. Look for classics with a modern inflection, such as coucou de Malines. Closed Tues evening & all Wed.

type:Belgian
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address:75 Avenue Broustin
tel:+32 (2) 427 69 78

Comme Chez Soi

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What to say about Belgium’s most famous restaurant that has not been said many times before? Perhaps that it’s much smaller than you expect - just 40 places, on bistro-style banquettes. Also that it’s refreshingly unpretentious, despite its glittering reputation. Comme Chez Soi is still fronted by courtly Pierre Wynants. For a business lunch with a difference, up to 30 diners can be seated at a special table in the kitchen - offering a unique view of the small army of chefs, working feverishly to produce food of sublime quality & refinement. Closed Sun, Mon.

type:Belgian
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tel:+32 (2) 512 29 21

La Cité du Dragon

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Most of Brussels’ Chinese restaurants are low-profile places better suited to a quick takeaway than a business lunch. Not so La Cité du Dragon, an outcrop of exoticism amid the filling stations & furniture warehouses of the old Waterloo road. It’s big & showy, with the intimate charm of a hotel atrium, but the food is not bad and the ambience seems to impress the local business fraternity.

type:Asian
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address:1024 Chaussée de Waterloo
tel:+32 (2) 375 80 80

Chaochow City

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Large, bustling Kantonese restaurant with mainly Oriental guests, which must be a good sign. The dim-sum and the steamed fish are great. Daily special at lunch-time for 125 BEF (3 EUR), from 5-9pm a larger special can be ordered for 190 BEF (4.75 EUR), at noontime on Sundays you can partake in a phantasmogoric eat-till-you-drop buffet for 515 BEF (12 EUR). Open: 11am-12.30am Daily

type:Asian
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address:89 boulevard Anspach
tel:+32 2 512 37 56

Au Stekerlaplatte

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The street outside is rundown, and the façade is unassuming to say the least, but this traditional bistro is always full. Inside it's dark and the atmosphere is convivial. There is a long menu, most of it traditional Belgian food and all of it good value. Métro Hotel des Monnaies. Open 7pm-1am Tue-Sun. Average mene 1.500 BF.

type:Belgian
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address:4 rue des Prêtres
tel:02 - 512 86 81

Chez Léon

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One of Belgium's most successful culinary exports, Chez Léon works to a simple formula: big portions of mussels and chips, paper tablecloths, brisk (sometimes impatient) service and a quick turnover. Locals sneer at it, and it's certainly not the place for a romantic tryst, but it's good value and popular with every nationality other than the Belgians. There are other branches in the Bruparck in Heysel, and at Waterloo. Métro Bourse. Open noon-11pm daily. Average 850 BF. Menu 595-970 BF.

type:Belgian
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address:18 rue des Bouchers
tel:02 - 511 14 15

La Khaima

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It is hard to imagine that you are still in Brussels when you enter this authentic Moroccan restaurant. The walls, ceiling and floor are all draped in Moroccan carpets, the staff are dressed in authentic clothes, the tables are large round copper trays. The only difference between this and a Nomad's tent are the wicker chairs and the cushioned benches. Of course the food follows its interior; there's a wide selection of "Tajines" and "Couscous". Average cost per person: BEF 1200 (EUR 30). Open: 12am-2.30pm & 7pm-11pm Mon-Sun

type:Asian
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address:1390 Chaussée de Wavre
tel:+32 2 675 0004

Les 4 Saisons

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Well known first class restaurant. With Frédéric Gonzalez taking over from the brilliant but unassuming Dutch chef André Smit its reputation grows. The food is still excellent value: genuine haute cuisine that is sophisticated without being pretentious, seasoned with an occasional hint of southern France, where Gonzalez learned his skills. The luxurious decor, including stained-glass cupola, is what locals fondly believe to be ‘the British look’. Closed Sat lunchtime & all Sun.

type:Belgian
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address:2 Rue de l’Homme Chrétien
tel:+32 (2) 505 51 00

Brasserie Au Beaumes de Venise

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A favourite retreat of locals in the snobby southern commune of Uccle. Decor is traditional without succumbing to cliché, while culinary style is several cuts above your average bistro nosh. A seasonal menu offers four choices of starter, main course & dessert for around BFr1,000. But call ahead, because the 40 available places are invariably occupied. Closed Sun and Mon.

type:Belgian
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address:62 Rue Darwin
tel:+32 (2) 343 82 93

La Mosaïque

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An excellent choice if you’re looking for somewhere small but classy near Avenue Louise. All revolves around the slight figure of Joël Crasset - a talented cook who worked at top restaurants such as Bruneau before taking over La Mosaïque. He personally slaves over a hot stove and can feed just 35 lucky mouths at each sitting, but if you’re not partial to rich pickings like foie gras, don’t bother. Closed Sat lunchtime & all Sun.

type:Belgian
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address:23 Rue Forestière
tel:+32 (2) 649 02 35

Nico Central

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The arrival of London super-chef Nico Ladenis, with a branded restaurant in the Swissôtel, was not enthusiastically received by the local gastro-press. Opinions mellowed, however, as they got to know the food and worked out it was actually being prepared by a vrai Belge, Philippe Lecomte. In fact, that special Ladenis touch is clearly evident in the best of Lecomte’s dishes, especially the sublime sauces. Closed Sun.

type:Belgian
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address: 19 rue du Parnasse
tel:+32 (2) 505 25 78

Totem

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Hidden behind Grand Place this small and fashionable restaurant is the hit with Brussels Vegetarians, who comes for the friendly atmosphere and wholesome food - organic soups, fresh salads, tofu ... quiet cheap, good choice of wines. Metro: Bourse

type:Belgian
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address:rue des Grands Carmes 6

La fiancée du pirate

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Kitchen open from 12 am till 2 pm and from 7 pm till 1 am. The one and only Madagascan restaurant in Belgium.

type:African
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address:37 Place de la Vieille Halle aux Blés, 1000 Brussels
tel:02/502 72 56

Apocalypse

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Near the campusses of the two Free Universities (one French, one Dutch) you will find this excellent Vietnamese restaurant. Delicious food, nice interior and sit-in-the-garden facilities in summertime. Open: midday-11pm Mo-Fri.; weekends only evenings. Take bus 95/96.

type:Asian
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address:20 Avenue Adolphe Buyl
tel:+32 2 647 07 18
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