The best French cuisine restaurants Belgium

Here everything is fresh and combined with great skill by chef Jonas Aernout and his team. The dishes are changed regularly so that you can always enjoy seasonal products. Among the dishes to share are the famous nachos with spicy tomatoes, Italian ham, croquettes, mini-pizzas or fried shrimps. At lunchtime, you can also try more traditional dishes such as fillet of sea bass with buttermilk purée or beef tartar. A very high quality place.

Near the Churchill tram stop in Uccle and the Montjoie park, Chez Musette is a charming bistro where, in addition to drinking, you can eat. The place is really cosy with all the decoration that has been found. From midday, you come to have a coffee, to eat (the menu is based on fresh products and short circuit with only 3 starters, main courses and dessert). At aperitif time, beers, wines and cocktails are available as well as plates to share, in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. A real neighbourhood bistro!

Marianne and Ronny are originally from Charleroi. Lovers of the Eau d'Heure lakes, they were given the opportunity to set up shop at the Auberge du Coin. Their brasserie-style cuisine is complemented by a number of fine suggestions, including a few well-executed dishes featuring local beer. The pleasant atmosphere makes you want to prolong the moment, so you'll want to check out the drinks menu, which features a fine selection of regional mousses and a variety of cocktails. Terrace to take the temperature before a dip in the lakes.

Yannick is what we call a traditional saucier. When it comes to game, he makes his stock from crushed bones and binds his sauces with blood: the result is simply divine. The cuisine served here is truly traditional and local, with a Franco-Belgian accent. Like the hare à la royale, which requires such tedious preparation that it has disappeared from most restaurant menus. It's so much a part of our heritage that it could even be called "museum" cuisine. But Yannick also adapts his menu to the market and the seasons.

A warm welcome tops the list of qualities of this well-known Hélécine restaurant. But a smile, a kind word and attentive service don't fill the stomachs of gourmands, so the menu comes to the rescue. If you're a gourmet, this is the place for you: grill, flammekuches, raclette and mussels as much as you can eat (weekdays and in season), while those with smaller appetites need look no further than the salads, which are also very tasty. The terrace is a delight in summer.

At the foot of the cable car leading up to the fortifications, this restaurant could easily be a tourist trap... but it's not! In fact, the chef had a distinguished gastronomic career before taking over this local institution. Dinant locals and strollers alike can be found here, and the menu rotates between classic dishes and those from the Haute Meuse region. Petits-gris de Warnant, trout from the Leffe stream, regional cured meats, locally-raised meat, or the sweetbreads with morel mushrooms that are the pride of the house.

The Kaffee Damast is a friendly, trendy bistro. It's the perfect place for an aperitif with tapas, a brasserie dish or even a simple coffee break. Even if you're not planning to visit the Texture museum (which would be a mistake, after all...), drop in for a visit to this designer brasserie, which is pleasant and sometimes even musical. Concerts are regularly held here, including the VlazzJazzJamsession on the^3rd Sunday of the month.

Push open the door of La Différence, this pretty brasserie on the Grand'Place, one of the city's finest restaurants. Here, you can enjoy French-Belgian cuisine at reasonable prices in an Art Deco setting, marked by superb ceiling heights. Don't miss the spiral staircase. The à la carte scampi à la diabolique appetizer is excellent, while the main course of pork cheek cassolette à la Double Ronsische, pain d'épice and chicory salad is a taste of the country. The atmosphere is friendly.

Michel Norga and his wife Geneviève tastefully enlarged a beautiful building on a street corner. That's how Le Coin des Saveurs was born over 10 years ago. The cuisine is creative, daring and inventive. Fresh, seasonal produce is used in colorful, tasty dishes. Despite their success, they are not resting on their laurels, and are constantly coming up with new and sometimes daring creations. When you come here, you're guaranteed constant quality and meticulous attention to detail.

The Hotel Damier, with its rococo facade, offers gourmet dining of the highest quality, tastefully decorated by the De Coene brothers in shades of green and wood that blend perfectly with the green plants and paintings. Large chandeliers, a soaring glass ceiling and wooden floors shape this noble room. The very nouvelle cuisine plates are colorful assemblages as delicious as they are beautiful! Aesthetically pleasing, with emulsion sauces alongside meats and fish cooked to perfection. Brasserie dishes, on the other hand, are less sophisticated.

Be Belge is a small, recently relocated restaurant in a leafy corner of Namur, with a short menu that anticipates the seasons. Catherine and Axel do their name proud with dishes that feature local ingredients... but not only. Fish from the North Sea coexist with farmhouse pork with Bister mustard, game in season, and strawberries and chocolate are the special guests for dessert. Axel Devaux is a graduate of the Namur hotel school. His menu is bimonthly and features home-made products.

L'Entité is the kind of address you feel you've always known. Unchanging, with its terrace in front, from which you can watch the passing cars and pedestrians while being seen, you can enjoy a beer, a coffee, a croque or a dish of the day. The clientele? A flock of regulars either leaning against the counter, or always at the same little marble and wrought-iron table. The bulk of the clientele are students and staff from the nearby university. Its ideal location close to the RAVeL and Louise Marie Park attracts many customers.

Sophie and Steven opened Le Bagù in October 2022, and they're already raking in the compliments. The name suggests a Mediterranean influence on the menu (change B to R and you get ragù). The menu is short, in keeping with the seasons. Careful bistronomic cooking, original combinations, a surprising wine list and a cosy atmosphere (admire the wallpaper) put everyone in agreement. The icing on the cake: friendly, attentive service and a large terrace to enjoy the fine weather.

This brewery, housed in a restored former spinning mill, has all the cachet of an industrial space: large windows, exposed brickwork and a superb terrace to boot. Jean Rodriguez brews his beers here, while his son Nicolas is in the kitchen. The highlights of the menu: Belgian specialties (carbonnades, vol-au-vent) and meat dishes (pavé or Irish entrecôte). Nicolas went to good school (with his father, a former restaurateur, and at the hotel school in Namur), so he knows what he's doing!

Unique in Belgium, this rotunda sits at the end of a jetty that plunges more than 300 meters into the sea. Built in 1894, destroyed and restored more than once, the jetty is currently being restored to its 1930s appearance. In the meantime, you can still enjoy its restaurant, with its 360-degree panorama of the sea and beach. You can follow the rhythm of the tides while enjoying honest brasserie dishes, devouring a waffle after a stroll or just having a coffee or a drink for fun. A coastal icon!

A veritable institution referring to the speciality of yesteryear, La Tartine is a very simple restaurant set in a pretty house with an outdoor terrace. Whether you're hungry for a snack, coffee, crêpe or craft beer, this former bistro is a favorite. The menu features comforting classic Belgian brasserie dishes that are invigorating in winter and refreshing in summer. La Tartine has a room with a stage, and an old-fashioned bowling alley for private parties. A universe of variable geometry. A warm welcome guaranteed.

Contemporary frame and graphic plates form here... a pair just as we like them. Franck and his daughters develop their love for the local culture, wines and cheeses. In addition to a menu featuring the region's producers, the wine cellar is well stocked and a maturing cellar of the local star. Franck has even developed a "herve" matured in Vacqueyras (wine from the Rhone village twinned with Herve), closing the loop in his own way. In the inner courtyard, two terraces also invite you to sip a cocktail in a lounge atmosphere.

Pierre and Julie De Bidart, brother and sister, have taken over a beautiful mansion facing Place de la Digue. The gourmet restaurant's interior boasts well-spaced tables, a hushed ambience and sober decor. The chef serves up generous, meticulously prepared dishes. His cuisine has a slightly fusion flavour. The choice is limited to a lunch menu (with a choice of 3 or 4 courses) that changes every week. A vegan menu is also available, as is take-out by reservation. Interesting selection of wine packages.

After a great start, this restaurant in the south of the city has reworked its image with its new chef, Romain Longchamps. Feline to the tip of its velvet armchairs, Bagheera blends a jungle decor bathed in subdued light with the interior of a Belle Époque house. To start, we choose a well-balanced cocktail while waiting for the plates. These are laid out to perfection, as is the signature dish (Muscovy duck cooked on the trunk, bigarade sauce, surfing the sweet-savory line). After service, tables and armchairs are pushed aside for dancing.

The former Jauche railway station is a rather unusual location for a restaurant. In 2004, Luc Van den Bossche and Olivier Hebrant took it over and refurbished it according to their tastes. Luc is in charge of the dining room, and Olivier is in charge of the stove, concocting delicious French dishes with a meat focus (various cuts of beef), a delicious cassoulet as in the South-West, and sauerkraut in winter. Where Olivier has the most fun is with his ever-changing seasonal suggestions: beautiful, colorful plates, full of elegance.

When Katja Bantz took over her parents' restaurant with her husband Daniel Baratto, they breathed new life into this establishment in the lower town of Eupen. In a warm, wood-panelled setting, Daniel cooks traditional gourmet dishes such as veal kidneys with mustard or Irish beef steak... in short, hearty dishes that keep you going in an area known for its harsher winter climate than elsewhere in Belgium. A restaurant that has bounced back from the floods of July 2021, making it well worth a visit.

Originally located on the Grand Place in Jodoigne, Portes du Temps has now moved to the Chaussée de Tirlemont. The friendly little bar has been transformed into a fine gourmet brasserie, with a decor that combines quality natural materials with harmony and simplicity. White walls, flagstones of Soignies blue stone on the floor and large picture windows opening onto the terrace and beautiful garden. On the menu and in the dining room, Christine Saintenoy favors quality local produce and seasonal vegetables wherever possible. A great address in Jodoigne!

Bas and An both have extensive experience in the restaurant business. They have just opened a table in the magnificent cloister of a former clinic. On the plate, while portions are limited, this choice guarantees the freshness and seasonality of the products, which are sublimated in detail. In autumn, for example, you can enjoy marinated mackerel as a starter, rosemary lamb with a legume salad as a main course, finishing with a delicious rhubarb ice cream with yoghurt and honey. The flavors are well-balanced and the dishes elegantly presented.

Grégory Laeremans has opened his restaurant, assisted by Maxime in the dining room and as sommelier. The focus is clearly on gastronomy, with a strong organic connotation, particularly for vegetables. Vegetables are adapted to the seasons, as is foie gras, which the chef also likes to work with. From the bread to the garnish, absolutely everything is made in-house. As for the wine list, it boasts some sixty organic or integrated wines. The wines come from France, Italy and Belgium.

In this salon adorned with gilded moldings, a dapper chandelier and other coquetries, you can enjoy Hasselt specialties and dishes that are as excellent as they are hearty. The terrace is very pleasant in fine weather, but it's true that it's indoors that you can play at being a grande dame or a ^19th-century gentleman. However, the establishment doesn't just offer dishes in due form: you can also opt for a snack, a salad or even a coffee break accompanied by your lady speculaas (not speculoos, we repeat!).

Gaston Vouzôte (vouzôte being a local expression meaning "you people") is a contemporary luxury brasserie. An institution firmly rooted in its terroir, blending French and Belgian culinary cultures: escargots from Kain (near Tournai), seasonal terrine, blanquette de veau... Alongside this, you'll find a whole selection of Irish or Argentine beef grilled in a Mibrasa oven. Come with your stomach wide open, as the portions are copious. Cheerful service and a full terrace as soon as the sun comes out.

A restaurant and cafeteria in Grand-Hornu, Rizom's menu reflects the melting pot of people who used to work in the coal mines, and draws its inspiration from a variety of roots: Belgian, French, Italian, Spanish, sprinkled with Asian touches. Starters and seasonal dishes are available in veg, fish or meat versions, but the plates are always small masterpieces with lively yet balanced flavors. Also of note are the 3 different accompaniment formulas: Belgian wines, beers and non-alcoholic fermentations. Designer decor.

This Casanova will charm you in an instant! This gourmet restaurant on the seafront overlooks the beach and the North Sea, where the products are magnified on the plate. Start with prawns (fresh or in croquette form), continue with Ostend-style plaice or North Sea bouillabaisse, and finish with a soft chocolate fondant, all served in a bright, contemporary room lit by sunshine and hints of orange in the decor (I hear this color whets the appetite).

In the center of Spa, opposite the casino, this discreet little address blends in with the other buildings. But behind its façade lies a simple, welcoming place, with a large, shaded terrace at the back. In terms of cuisine, the restaurant offers a colorful mix of brasserie and gastronomy, with a focus on regional specialties, including langoustine skewers, marinated lamb and beef, as well as fresh pasta dishes (such as the lobster, saffron and vegetable ravioli) that will delight fans of the genre.

In a family home, Xavier and Karine have set up shop in the heart of Spa. Their cuisine is halfway between gastronomy and tradition. The tasteful decor is a blend of modern and antique design. With a focus on fresh market produce, the menus offer excellent value for money. Preparations are close to perfection, both visually and in taste. As for the wine selection, it matches the dishes and has no unpleasant surprise effect on the bill.

La Guinguette is the unpretentious resto-bar of Renipont-plage, a charming summer and aquatic leisure centre in Walloon Brabant. This rustic troquet guarantees a healthy, fresh, good and cheap cuisine, for various hungers and specific desires: steak, bolo, salads, soups, hamburger, chicken, with or without fries, nothing very complex but invigorating and well prepared. We appreciate the place for its bucolic setting. The terrace at the edge of this tide-free body of water is really very pleasant from spring to fall.

The name has a double meaning: barge, to evoke the old quays where the restaurant is located, or is it the grain of folly of Grégoire Gillaert (the chef) and Barbara Hoonaert (the sommelier). The very raw room (exposed brick walls, wooden tables) fits in well with the philosophy of the chef (who can be seen cooking behind glass): to highlight the nature of each product, according to the seasons. The result is colorful, gourmet dishes that are just right. The wines selected by Marie Houx, the new sommelier, also hit the mark.

Damien Vanderhoeven's neighborhood restaurant, a member of the Jeunes Restaurateurs d'Europe, has become a fine gastronomic establishment with a national reputation. His cuisine is creative, modern, based on seasonal products, flirting with Japanese gastronomy... and probably a bit too expensive for small budgets. Inspired by painting, he seems to have fun projecting colors on the plate like an artist. Cooking classes to try to reproduce his works at home. And always the smile of Agnes to punctuate the service..

Manhattan ambience (like the name of this Chairman's district) in this classy brasserie, all in black, with orange banquettes, circle-shaped light fittings and large windows. The menu takes you around the world: burger, green curry, linguine alle vongole, schnitzel and that good old American filet. Honest cooking, fast and attentive service, especially at lunchtime when there are a lot of offices around. It's at cocktail hour that the Chairman really comes into its own. A good idea after a shopping spree on Rue Neuve.

A small neighborhood restaurant opened in 2023, Crush already has its regulars, especially at lunchtime. Is it its emerald walls and wooden furniture? Its short but effective menu of Franco-Belgian cuisine? Or its lunch menu that highlights seasonal produce? We're also very partial to the friendly, smiling service provided by Aurélie (the partner of chef Jonathan, an ex-Counter des Galeries employee). Add to that a well-thought-out wine list and one of the prettiest terraces in the city center, overlooking the Béguinage church.

If you are passing between Florenville and Etalle, make a stop at this very nice burger bar, installed in the old station of Sainte-Marie-sur-Semois. The menu (burgers based on local products, fries and beers) is well stocked with, among others, a Trappist burger where Orval cheese is honored, the peasant with Ardenne ham or the Franky and its secret sauce. So good that Franky has received several awards. Several local beers are proposed, notably those of the Clochette brewery, very close to the establishment.

This young restaurant (opening in 2019) is headed by a young chef, 30-year-old Maxime Van Bellingen. A young team is on hand to serve you in a beautiful dining room that's both rustic with its wooden furniture and contemporary with its exposed brick walls. Maxime's background is in fish, and it shows! He pays great attention to seafood. Everything is extra fresh, in season, local whenever possible, and the dishes are a feast for the eyes and taste buds. A breath of fresh air on the local culinary scene!