Gourmet products local specialties and wines Bruxelles - Brussel

Probably the most pleasant, the best supplied and the cheapest organic shop in the city and perhaps in the country! Open 6 days a week in a wing of the old Palais des Vins, you can find fruits, vegetables, bread, cold cuts and fresh cheeses, fruit juices, wines, olive oil, dried fruits in bulk, coffee, etc. Everything is organic, in short circuit if it is possible, but most of it comes from Italy. Excellent service and seriously controlled prices, which is not so common with organic food. And when it rains, you'll appreciate shopping in the dry.

Known since 1983, long before the return of the small craft brewery trend, Beer Mania offers more than 400 beers from here: gueuzes and krieks, browns and ambers, lagers and whites, abbey beers and of course the Trappist queens. Tastings during the opening hours of the store and small jazz concerts organized regularly. Wide range of accessories, a hundred different glasses and many personalized gifts. Delivery around the world for orders placed online in this temple of hop drinks.

It used to be said that "where the brewer goes, the baker does not". But here, these two trades are reinforced because we brew and knead. The bread is made with natural leaven and organic flours low in gluten. There are several kinds, they are all superb! As for the Funky beer, it is brewed partly with unsold bread. As for the dregs, the residues of the brewing, they go to the kneading trough. The loop is closed, nothing is wasted and the quality of the products is great! The brewing place is the Brussels Cooperative Brewpub (CoHop).

Since 1998, the company has been offering more than 80 chocolates and about forty different sweets. For the former, the coatings and fillings are all made in the workshop, without any preservatives. The coatings are designed to be very fine, to best serve the taste of the filling. Mainly classic but with some original breakthroughs! Pralines, ganaches, truffles, marzipan, tablets, fine flavored tablets, mendiants, florentines, orangettes, fruit jellies... Less known than the international brands, Passion Chocolat is nevertheless at the top.

Charli is green, organic, 100% natural... a true friend of nature! Charles Reboulet is off the beaten track! You must try his fig and almond demi-gris or his apple tarte tatin. Through the windows of the workshop, you can see the breads made from long-fermented dough (from 24 hours to 4 days!). A few seats are available for tasting. As an alternative to (small) breakfasts that are often not very nutritious, Charli Saléoffers, on the other side of the street, a (small) quality restaurant, highlighting artisanal productions.

La Grande Épicerie offers around 12,000 items in all food sectors. On a human scale, the store sells fresh produce, delicatessen cuts and mature cheeses just the way we like them. All to be washed down with one of the 600 wines and champagnes on offer. The butcher's department is also very tempting (wagyu beef, simmental, charolais...), as are the pastry and cookie shops (Dandoy, Sirre, Brian Joyeux...), the coffees and teas are numerous, and the organic and fair-trade products on offer are varied!

This former apothecary was responsible for theinvention of the praline, a small filled chocolate bite designed in 1912. And with his persistence in ideas, we also owe him the patent of the ballottin, a receptacle perfectly adapted to contain these sweets! It all started at this address, Galerie de la Reine, in this magnificent shop. His know-how in the field of luxury chocolates and biscuits seduced many, including the Belgian court (of which Neuhaus is a patented supplier). His success now extends to the whole world.

The shop welcomes real chocolate lovers. There are some amazing sweet and sour tastings (based on the ingredients and spices used in the chocolates): terrines, burgers (meatloaf, home-made dried fruits, candied onions, cocoa sauce), rillettes (cocoa touch), tarts (sweet). Laurent Gerbaud draws his inspiration from his distant travels! To be discovered in a magnificent tea-room with a vast terrace that makes you want to spice up your next chocolate mousse with delicate spices. Workshops on Saturdays (reservation required).

Forcado offers a wide range of pasteis de nata, including classics such as lemon, coffee, chocolate and speculoos, as well as raspberry, mojito, caramel and port cookie with vanilla cream. A range of cakes are made the old-fashioned way, just like in 1960s Portugal! A gluten-free range is also available. The store is spacious, uncluttered and bright... all signs of the Braz de Oliveira family's continuing success. The team has recently been reinforced to continue production, the patriarch having retired.

Kenny Vandenhende and Marc Lindekensde's atelier-boutique was born of an original concept. The former is a chocolatier, the latter an ice-cream maker, and together they explore these two worlds with passion and talent. There's no fuss here, just top-quality raw materials, a warm, professional welcome and a focus on customer satisfaction. In the mixed-race neighborhood of La Chasse, the results are exotic, like this ras el hanout praline. Also worth discovering: a trompe-l'oeil of chocolate French fries. Original and as addictive as the real thing.

This wine shop focuses exclusively on organic wine from Languedoc-Roussillon and gourmet products from the same region. The original wine list offers around seven references. To be consumed by the bottle or by the glass to get a detailed insight into a region that has some real nuggets. Don't neglect the plates and sandwiches which have the same appetizing Occitan accent: foie gras, terrines, charcuterie, tapenades, cheeses, marinated anchovies, tuna rillettes. Head office of the same name in Paris, between Beaubourg and Sébastopol.

Not only does Jean-Claude Joncour know the subject extraordinarily well, but he is also a finder of beautiful, lesser known French appellations. More than a thousand bottles available - mainly French - including also famous labels (Sociando-Mallet, Pape Clément, Latour...) also in old vintages. And always attractive prices for the one who is regularly quoted as one of the best wine merchants in the country. Regular organization of tastings (usually twice a year).

After a long spell at Mary's, Jérôme Grimonpon realized his dearest wish: to open his own 100% artisanal chocolate factory and let his wildest ideas roam free. In the meantime, he has been awarded the title of "Belgium's best artisan chocolatier": quite an accolade! Tablettes, orangettes, spreads and, above all, pralines reveal all the subtlety of his work: ginger or thyme ganaches, caramel fleur de sel or "éphémères", limited-edition creations. A gourmet journey that's surprising, explosive and always exciting.

On the edge of the Sablon and Marolles districts, you'll find C'est Bon, C'est Belge, an establishment that's part grocery store, part delicatessen and part restaurant, with the advantage that you can eat just as copiously as in a traditional restaurant. The focus is on Belgian products, of course, from the north and south of the country! The cuisine is pleasantly tasty, with a touch of inventiveness. And in the glasses too, "C'est du Belge", as King Albert II used to say! Wines and/or beers are Belgian, artisanal and gluten-free. At lunchtime, a well-priced lunch completes the offer.

Inaugurated at the end of February 2020 at the start of the pandemic, Fine Bakery has nothing to fear from the day after. No one could resist the crisp sourdough breads, the delicately flaky croissants, the French-style pastries such as this brioche lyonnaise with pink praline, the small savoury and sweet tarts... The bakery is in the back of the store, exhaling its aromas. As for the baker and his companion, they are on hand to serve and explain their daily production. Another gourmet address for Sablon and Uccle (^2nd boutique).

Its central location, anchored in the daily life of the people of Brussels for more than 160 years, means that one could almost pass by without thinking about it. You can let yourself be carried away by the bewitching scents and choose from a good twenty different beans, including an amazing Australian skybury or a refined Blue Mountains from Jamaica! Corica also offers a wide range of world teas and chocolate from Michel Cluizel. Harold Anciaux practises his art of roasting in what looks like a laboratory of the company's know-how!