The best French cuisine restaurants Wallonie

At the edge of the main road, we are surprised by the calm and the hushed atmosphere of the place. Bertrand Jacquin, the chef, does not compromise on quality. Every week, we discover a new lunch with products from the market. The speciality, lobster, is highlighted in the menu of the same name. The other menus also vary according to the seasons. To accompany your dishes, you will have the choice between many references of wines: more than 160 references from France and elsewhere, but also whisky, gin and rum.

Thierry Van Damme, who collects fine breweries like others collect classic cars, launched this one with his partner Michel Grenier. A brasserie overlooking the Meuse at the foot of the Luxembourg Bridge, it boasts a shellfish bench (oysters, mussels, clams, langoustines, North Sea shrimps...). The menu features regional classics: croquettes crevettes, entrecôte, américain, sole meunière, vol au vent... Afternoon drinks service only. In fine weather, superb outdoor terrace.

A local classic, Restaurant Léo has been housed in a train carriage in the center of Bastogne since 1946! In the bistro, you can come just for a drink, while nibbling on snacks to enjoy the setting. The restaurant serves good local brasserie cuisine (dumplings in tomato sauce, sauerkraut...), as well as pizzas and more elaborate specialities using noble seasonal ingredients: game, scallop risotto, homemade shrimp croquettes, ravioli with foie gras...

Attention, original concept! The idea is simple: compose your salad as you wish. You choose the base (iceberg, arugula, rice, pasta, quinoa, etc.), then the dressing and the ingredients that will make it a marvel. There's a vast choice of fresh produce (tomatoes, avocado, pine nuts, feta, bacon, chicken, grilled eggplants, walnuts...). A few suggestions are on the menu, such as the Caesar salad with its special anchovy vinaigrette. The place, with its industrial allure, is an ideal stop-off point for a quick, healthy lunch.

Owned by the Trappist beers of Chimay, the Auberge represents the beers and cheeses of the same name in the store or on the menu. A must-see destination, the Auberge offers a restaurant with Chimay flavors, a brewery, a boutique, a hotel and the famous Chimay Experience Museum. In addition to the numerous dishes cooked with the local Trappist, Poteaupré is a privileged place to discover the particular vintages and almost all the Chimay on cask. To digest all this, several walks start from the inn.

Located on the banks of the Meuse, near the marina, this Michelin-starred restaurant offers a unique setting. Contemporary architecture and interior design use aluminum and wood as the main materials. Creative cuisine is served here, with meticulous presentation: chef Julien Wauthier offers pleasure to the palate and the eye. The menu features noble products such as scallops, game and offal such as sweetbreads and veal cheek. The terrace on stilts and the riverside garden are sure to tempt you on sunny days.

In a typical, unadorned but recently renovated setting, the chef offers French and Belgian cuisine accompanied by local beverages: Saint-Feuillien, Binchoise beers, etc. One of the city's oldest institutions, next to the town hall on the Grand-Place, so typical of the region... Enjoy traditional dishes, particularly offal (cervelle meunière, if it's on the menu, is a delicacy). L'Industrie is also one of the few places where you can find the famous "doubles de Binche", buckwheat flour and beer pancakes.

Thierry Marée has been at the helm of this Liège-style Lyonnais bistro for almost 20 years. The warm decor of this thatched cottage with its copper pots and pans. Sitting on one of the wooden benches, you'll be tempted by pork snout remoulade, genuine Liège-style meatballs, some of the best in the city, oven-baked knuckle of ham... A must-try is the truffled oeuf cocotte with foie gras mouillettes, a real delight. A fine menu of traditional dishes washed down with fine vintages or Lyonnais pots.

Here is a young, welcoming and inspired house that offers fresh and light cuisine... well in tune with the times and the flavours of the moment. The chef, Alain Morillon, concocts little wonders of French cuisine in the "gastronomic" vein. The menus change every two months to keep up with the seasons and the products are as organic and local as possible. Everything is refined, from the decoration to the cooking and the prices have never killed anyone. The address, all in simplicity and humility, is really worth the detour.

At the helm are Gérard and Stanny, who have been sharing their 15 years of experience in the kitchen and dining room. The dishes are prepared in the house, which has a pretty room with exposed brick walls, but they can be enjoyed on the terrace, a must in summer. You can enjoy fresh pasta, a speciality of the house, following Italian recipes or others made with local ingredients. A seasonal suggestion card completes the menu. We loved the Bauletti with porcini mushrooms, oyster mushroom cream, fine herbs with a hint of garlic

This is one of the most pleasant addresses with its large terrace on the banks of the Meuse in the summer. At the head of the updated sign, Max Guldentops and Gregory Franchi. Here the decoration is modern, very clean and bright, offering an absolute view of the river. A place that offers dishes ranging from the simplest brasserie dishes (prepared American, scampi friti, vitello tonato...) to the noblest such as lobster or cod back and other fresh fish, so that you can open their menu to all wallets and desires.

Here's an old mansion transformed into a wine bar, offering nearly 70 wines by the bottle and 25 by the glass. The room is decorated in a chic recycled style, with a cosy, trendy feel. From here, the open-plan kitchen offers permanent show cooking (which you can visit if you wish), as well as a vegetable kitchen. The à la carte menu includes momenties, tapas combining French and Mediterranean cuisine, and a bistronomic menu offering 3 or 5-course menus, including an entirely vegetarian menu featuring seasonal vegetables.

Taken over at the end of 2023, this institution of Liège's gastronomic landscape has benefited from a refreshment while retaining the unique style of the place. The traditional Art Deco brasserie is unique in the region. The kitchen offers a variety of lobster dishes. The menu evolves with the seasons. The seafood platter features oysters, clams, mussels, langoustines, half clams, shrimps and periwinkles. You'll also appreciate the shrimp croquettes, considered the best in the city, as well as the genuine Liège coffee.

Sitting at John Maes' is the assurance of a disconcerting moment every time a plate arrives. The chef proposes a cuisine without (too) extravagance, regularly renewed and using local products. Although these are treated with care, they are most often diverted from their original aspect. The contemporary setting may not have the exuberance of the plate, but the decoration brightens up the large bays open towards the Meuse. A beautiful terrace allows you to enjoy the environment even more fully.

At the entrance to the city, the tavern offers a variety of menus and daily specials. Pan-fried Irish entrecôte, vol-au-vent, homemade meatballs and old-fashioned knuckle of pork are just a few of the must-tries served at Champs-Élysées. Seafood is also a highlight. In fact, everything is homemade, in keeping with the traditions of an authentic brasserie. The owner is a sommelier by passion, and it's a pleasure to discuss wines with him. The dining room and veranda are spacious, as is the terrace, heated in winter and shaded in summer.

This gourmet address offers market cuisine, with a regularly renewed menu in line with the seasons. Chef Cédric Manderlier's cuisine is contemporary, inventive and faithful to original flavors, refined and created from noble products - culinary haute voltige. Certain "timeless" dishes remain on the menu all year round, such as Holstein beef entrecôte, turbot filet or langoustine tartar. In summer and winter alike, you can enjoy the pleasant light of the covered veranda.

A well-balanced mix of conviviality, exchange and reflection... At the start of a "project kot", four young people enthusiastically launched this café-citizen where debates and other militant events are organized. The menu is praiseworthy and includes a number of seasonal specialities, both organic and home-made (pasta, quiches, soups, sandwiches...). With special beers and some cocktails from far away places. Nice decoration and concert evenings, including regular jam sessions. Don't hesitate to check their Facebook page for the calendar.