Bruxelles - Brussel

Jean-Luc Collin's beautiful brasserie was born in the 1900s and was then called Café de l'Espérance. It honours the winegrowers with a hundred or so wines on the menu, including quite a few natural or biodynamic wines. Inside, there is a restaurant area, a brasserie area and an open kitchen where you can keep an eye on the brasserie or local dishes, good cuts of meat or offal such as brains and marrow bones. Non-stop scaling and take-away seafood, suggestions and excellent lunch. Pleasant and professional service.

Giant clock, suspended passageways, old drawer cabinets and above all this lively brewery atmosphere. A magnificent setting for a kitchen where oysters, fish, seafood and regional recipes are put in the spotlight. The menu changes twice a year and plays transparency with the traceability of the products. Like those from their own farm for Bresse chicken and other meats. Some biodynamic wines complete the menu. La Quinc' has an induction kitchen allowing low temperature cooking and minute preparations.

ABC Mateos mixes Brussels and Spanish tradition by offering delicious tapas (in a very popular Street Bar formula) directly linked to the daily arrivals of fish and shellfish. Sea snails, shrimp croquettes, fish soups, grilled sardines, fried smelts, paella, oysters, all accompanied by a glass of white wine... Small selection of Spanish wines to take away. You can lick your fingers and keep them clean to start a seafood platter, if ordered. In short, this is much more than a fishmonger's, welcome to Max's!

When veganism rhymes with haute cuisine! Nicolas Decloedt's establishment ticks all the right boxes. First of all, there is the location, next to the Place Flagey. The room is sublime with its high ceilings and frescos. The cuisine is based on 24 micro-seasons with organic products. Nothing is thrown away, the leftover vegetables are used in sauces or infusions for cocktails (Hortense was originally a cocktail bar). The plate is an explosion in terms of construction of the dishes, colors, flavors ... A reference of its kind!

Introducing Verdō, which revamps the concept of brasserie dishes with a plant-based twist: no animal products are used in chef Benjamin Lagarde's recipes. To welcome you in a room all in minimalism, but full of warmth, you will find the co-owners, Krystelle Gérard and Gabriel Cloquet. At the counter or at the table, you'll enjoy a soup with the true taste of vegetables or a Verdō tartar. Our dish of the day was a homemade seitan, potato and mushroom parmentier that was just as satisfying (and gratinated) as the meaty version. Yum!

Enter the organic produce store and at the far end of the staircase, you're there. Chez Tan is the place to eat healthy, organic, vegetarian or flexitarian food: raw, marinated or cooked at low temperature, to preserve as many vitamins and original flavors as possible. Rare vegetables garnish the plates. Starters include fennel and avocado fettine marinated in lemongrass, with a purée of raw spring herbs, followed by a fillet of sea bass stuffed with spinach and wild garlic, with a cardamom emulsion of white asparagus. Culinary art!

An institution in Evere for three decades, the Lion Belge owes its good reputation to its numerous wood-fired grills and its well-stocked brasserie dishes. Dimitri, the owner, mixes in his menu the classics of the French-Belgian, Italian and Greek cuisine. In addition to the menu, there are weekly suggestions that change with the seasons, without forgetting the mussels. For starters, the mezze are particularly recommended. Bar and terrace for the occasional sunbeam. Pleasant piano bar on weekends. Reservation recommended.

L'Ami Roger is known for its great Burgundian and Savoyard fondues. And almost as much for its fried mussels (the Belgian favourite in jumbo format). Alongside this, there are suggestions such as these tasty meats from Uruguay and Australia. The marinated prawns are a little marvel cooked on a plancha. Gian-Carlo has been at the helm of the establishment since spring 2019. He has transformed the garden terrace into a remarkable place. Note the owner's Italian roots, and link to his excellent risottos.