The best French cuisine restaurants Bruxelles - Brussel

Young Rémi Colombe and Martin Tfelt have taken over the well-known Ucluse brand. A large mural by Brussels artist Denis Meyers, featuring 200 words dear to the masters of the house, is the visual backdrop. In the kitchen, Franco-Asian influences, with products sourced from quality suppliers and producers. "We are the third generation of owners and we want to continue to develop the restaurant," says Rémi Colombe, who makes no secret of his ambition to one day win a Michelin star.

In a neighborhood known for its popular Saturday market, David Martin has brought gourmets back to the abattoir area. In a Belle Époque setting, the brasserie serves in a more stylish spirit than in the days when chevilleurs ate elbow-to-elbow! What's on the menu? Refined cuisine inspired by the Belgian-French tradition (mussels smoked in hay, Bresse poultry...), using noble ingredients but with Japanese accents - a cuisine the chef particularly appreciates - and from the South-West, his native region. Double starred and double deserved!

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.

A bright and renowned neighbourhood brasserie, the cuisine features hearty cuts of beef and is also popular for its home-style dishes and its "banc d'écailler" (from September to May inclusive). Lobsters (in four ways) and fish take the lion's share of the menu. People flock here all year round, especially from the neighbouring RTBF (French-speaking Belgian radio and television) and take advantage of the conviviality of the half-floor to feel at home. And it's been going on for thirty years and still with Costa Loulas at the helm.

Remarkable and respectable, everything is superb both inside and outside, thanks to the careful attention of Pascal Devalkeneer and his dynamic team. Total disconnection when you arrive in this quiet area bordering the Forêt de Soignes. Here, everything is done to make you feel good, with comfort and service included. A gastronomic and creative cuisine made from carefully selected products, most of which are organically grown, from small producers, small-scale fishing and local produce. Note: double starred!

The French Kiss is as much land as it is sea. Chateaubriand to be shared by two for lovers of grilled meats; lobster, oysters or sole meunière like so many other undeniable classics. The foie gras is strutting around with the words "homemade" and if the fries have the right to be mentioned, it's because they are treated with care. The atmosphere is most pleasant with its brick walls and the bar in oak barrels. The efficient service makes it a pleasant meeting place in the neighbourhood. Snacks and take-away meals next to the restaurant.

Completely in tune with the times, Djo defines itself as a "bistro-bar" where the preparations - like tapas - are to be shared. Hot, cold, meat, fish and vegetables, the dishes follow one another with Mediterranean accents or local flavours. The formulas are adapted to small and large appetites, with a particular attention to the quality of the products. Wood and raw materials for the decoration fit well in this old mansion. Nice cocktails for the aperitif or any other moment of the day.

Chou is the nickname of Dominique Aubry, who has created a fine epicurean address on the foundations of a well-known former bistro. In the kitchen, which opens onto the dining room, chef Hakim Akandar works with products of certified origin. You can even leave the orders to him for a menu that always has a pleasant outcome, but varies according to your mood. On the menu, you'll find cabbage, but not only cabbage, and meat has a special place. Transparency is the key word here, as the beautiful wine cellar is visible from the dining room floor.

Good value for money, La Buvette serves a rather graphic cuisine on the plate, made with clearly stated seasonal ingredients. Guests are seated in an old butcher's shop, the hooks of which remain on the ceiling, in a setting enhanced by dark tones. The menu is also available in a vegetarian version and shows off all the chef's science. The wines on the menu are anything but sad, and their prices too, rest assured. Make a reservation to dine on the ground floor, as the first floor is a little less original.

The decorators who worked on this restaurant-bar had a free hand! They were able to make this place a place above the fray and it shows. A great challenge for the chef, who has followed suit with a menu that can be described as international. He has succeeded in this challenge and the cuisine excels in all areas, with an obvious love for seafood, beautiful meat preparations and Belgian touches. There are also some nice veggie surprises. To impress the gallery, note that Cospaïa was a republic of Umbria from the 15th to the 19th century.

Full of love for their mothers, once upon a time there were Nico, Audrey, Laurent and Julien. But above all, it is their cuisine that is targeted! The restaurant is dedicated to them. The concept is nostalgic of the 1980's: casserole of the day, cheeseburger of the sons, music of the 1980's, decoration linked to the characters and people of the time..., one would almost be afraid to be caught with an elbow on the table or not to finish one's plate! Let us also note the piece of beef of the day, the rib of beef on board and the brunches of Sunday.

Odette-en-Ville uses an ultra-contemporary urban decor... without going overboard. The lounge-library has a beautiful effect. The wall-mirror, helped by the glass roof, does everything it can to help guests be seen. This trendy boutique hotel also caters for gourmets. The perfect egg, green asparagus, grey shrimp and mousseline is perfect; so is the salmon back with teriyaki sauce! For dessert, Odette's rice pudding, tasted during a previous visit, is a reminder that there are other sweets on the menu that Proust would not have disparaged!

Alexandru Sapco, of Moldavian origin, officiates at the stoves of this gourmet pearl nestled in the Marolles. First, you enter this old house with its cozy atmosphere (lots of wood, bricks, subdued light) before being taken in charge by the young team of the restaurant. At noon, you choose the lunch menu or you can pick from a narrow menu (2 options per service). In the evening, we happily let ourselves be submitted to the menu. Alexandru's cuisine is lively and creative, like the superb candied quince, baba and lime ice cream. Moldavian wines on the menu.

Ivresse is a wine shop, a caterer, but also one of the most exciting restaurants in the south of the capital. You enter via the wine shop side and its wall of bottles before entering the room which is rather in the industrial/recup spirit. In the kitchen, the chef Benjamin Rauwels proposes a restricted menu but whose products have been carefully selected (local, seasonal, organic). It is impossible to know in advance what you will eat, but vegetables have a large place, without forgetting fish and meat. And let's not talk about the accompanying wines, as a wine merchant is obliged to do!

With its location opposite the Manneken, you'd think this café was just another tourist trap. Not so! On the first floor, it looks like a good old café with an updated look. The beer list isn't too bad, and there's plenty of room for nibbles. The secret is upstairs, where you'll find the restaurant, which opens on weekends. And there, yum! The menu is very Belgian-Brussels, with white pudding in puff pastry, one of the best carbonnades we've had in a long time, and a mandarin, honey curd, lemon thyme and crumble. A real pearl!

The restaurant of Bob Delvigne, the friendly boss, is more than ever decorated with paintings and objects referring to Hergé's characters. The kitchen, for its part, continues a formula that works: simple, pleasant (in comics, it seems that the chef is a fan of the clear line!) and allowing you to eat as much as you want at a reasonable price. We just wonder when we'll find - at last - "Syldavian" specialities on the menu! Some of the salads are named after a "haddockian" swear word. Only 150 metres from its former address, we must remind you...

The brasserie setting, with its white tiles and dark mirrored banquettes, sets the tone. Olivier's grandfather was a beer merchant and wine taster before becoming a member of the sommeliers' guild... The menu is evolving, with French gastronomy with a local accent, some of which is offered orally. The autograph menu is already an invitation to a moment of quality! The service is professional, the plate is meticulous and the wine list boasts three hundred labels.

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.

At the Mess, you can eat chic and healthy at the same time. You can drink a fresh juice as an aperitif: the kefir excites your taste buds. We follow with a full vegetable lasagna, but we're eyeing some plump carrot gnocchi. We finish in freewheel with a lobster of first choice! The more "scoundrel" dishes are also there for the amateurs: croquettes with grey shrimps or the cuckoo of Malines... The menu varies with the seasons. Two small lounges allow you to isolate yourself and the terrace is the ideal place to fill up on vitamin D.

At Brasseries Georges, they know how to turn sauerkraut into a moment of pure bliss. And their seafood platters are second to none, as are their traditional dishes in general, which, without being creative, are beyond reproach. What's more, the fries are old-fashioned, and their shrimp croquettes have been voted the best in Brussels. What else? A veritable institution that continues to attract a new clientele of well-born gourmets, as much as it retains the loyalty of Ucluse's fine pedigree. A fine traditional address!

In Brusseleer, Schieve lavabo means "crooked sink". Burgers, pasta dishes, salads, etc. are all (r)-safe preparations such as parmesan fondues, dumplings in tomato sauce, vol-au-vent and suggestions that change all the time. Not forgetting the famous Schievelavabolo, which is an ogre in its XL version! As in all the other "Schieve" (Altitude 100, Place Jourdan, Uccle, Auderghem and La Hulpe), the brocante decoration (woodwork, numerous enamelled plates...) is inimitable! What more could you ask for?

The idea, original, is no longer new as this sign is now part of the local landscape. But a restaurant specialising in mushrooms is not something you find in the streets. In this little culinary theatre where trumpet, agaric, morel or lentin play the main role, tapas, sausages and other mushroom delicacies are cooked before your eyes with fresh products, from the starter to the dessert. And what's more, they are always served with one of the many wines on the menu. Organic or biodynamic, these wines are also off the beaten track. Again, please!

Located in an old petrol station dating from the sixties, the Kif Kif café welcomes you with a smile as big as the sun. The decoration, a bit crazy, revolves around a mysterious character, between Rachid Taha and Che... At the entrance, a display of Moroccan pastries straight from the famous Parisian brand La Bague de Kenza makes your mouth water, while in the kitchen an Israeli chef and a Moroccan chef prepare grilled meats, couscous, tajines and oriental salads with talent. The terrace is very pleasant.