Budget
Mamma Roma
3 shops: flagey chaussee de vleurgat-vleurgatsesteenweg 5, chatelain/kastelein rue du page-edelknaapstraat 5 and place jourdan/jourdanplein. small pizzeria for eat-in bar-style seating or takeaway, sold by weight. delicious crunchy base and some unusual toppings one was spicy with walnuts, very tasty. long queues but speedy service, deals available for pizza + drinks.
Chez Martin
The small nondescript fritkot plonked on place saint-josse/sint-joost saint-josse-ten-noode/sint-joost-ten-node and run by the calm and affable martin is a serious contender for the best friterie in brussels. you can eat your frites at the nearby cafe gambrinus and wash them down with a pintje or two. martin is closed since december 26, 2009, but a new fritkot will be opened beginning of 2011 at the same location.
Arcadi
Rue d'aremberg-aremberglaan 1b, just at the exit of "galleries de la reine", in the direction opposite to the grand-place - a quirky combination of old and new, the menu ranges all over the place but the reason people flock here is the selection of over 30 sweet and savoury pies tartes. a slice big enough for a meal, served with salad, costs â¬7-7.50. also current special of cafe & slice of pie for â¬5.
La Friterie de la Barrière
Rue du parc-parkstraat just off the barriã¨re de st-gilles/bareel van sint-gillis. golden and crispy frites - just the way they should be. this exterior of this fritkot also serves as mini-museum with several tracts, articles and other literature on the fronts and sides of the shack on the good ol' belgian frite.
Snack Pizzeria Porte de Halle
Avenue henri jaspar-henri jasparlaan, 134, directly across the city ring from porte de halle-halsepoort. the gentlemen running the place speak a little bit of english and serve the best donar kebap and pizza in the neighborhood. the #39-pizza porte de halle is probably their best pizza. tel. 02/534 0051; open 11:00 - 23:00 w/free delivery on orders over â¬10
La Friterie de la Place de la Chapelle
Rue haute-hoogstraat near les marolles/marollen. another personal choice for the best frites in brussels: the big chunks of potato, fried golden, and served with the usual dazzling array of sauces.
The matter over which establishment serves up the best frites locally known as fritkots in Flemish and "friterie" in French remains a matter of heated debate. Some argue that the best frites in Brussels are served at the fritkot near the Barriere de Saint-Gilles, while others defend St-Josse's Martin Place Saint-Josse/Sint-Joostplein as the prime purveyor of the authentic Brussels frite just as others claim Antoine Place Jourdan/Jourdanplein remains the king of the local french fry. No matter which fritkot you're at, try to be adventurous and have something other than ketchup or mayonnaise on your fries. Of the selection of bizarre sauces you've never seen before, "andalouse" is probably the most popular with the locals.
FRITKOTS
Sel et Sucre Creperie - Glacier
Avenue des celtes-keltenlaan, 4, near merode subway station, parc du cinquantenaire-jubelpark and the arc de triomphe-triomfbloog. the fantastic crepes and friendly service makes up for the ordinary decor and just around the corner from the arc de triomphe-triomfbloog. open 12:00 - 22:00.
Midrange
Chez Oki
Rue lesbroussart-lesbroussartstraat 62, ixelles-elsene, (http://www.chez-oki.com/). french-japanese fusion cuisine in a modern decor. the chef has worked for prestigious restaurants in paris. reasonable prices.
Jacques
Quai aux briques-baksteenkaai 44, +32 02 513 2762. an authentic old bistro, with a charming kitsch decor. very good fish.
Madou's Provence
Rue de la presse-drukpersstraat 23, +32 02 217 3831. closed saturday noon and sundays. innovative southern french cuisine at affordable prices.
Les Brassins
Rue keyenveld-keienveldstraat 36, ixelles-elsene, +32 02 512 6999. its crowd is mostly made out of young couples or students. rich choice of beer, with more than 50 varieties on the menu, and good quality of food.
Falstaff
19, rue henri mausstraat 19 by the bourse-beurs. has cheap and decent food and is open every day until 2am, around â¬20-30.
Shamrock
+32 02 511 4989. its exterior and misleading name belie a great range of individually cooked indian food. get to know the owner and he'll treat you like an old friend.
Le Beau Soleil
Rue joseph lebeaustraat 7 sablon area. this tiny restaurant approx. 14 seats looks like a violin workshop, so you sit next to all the tools and half finished violins. unlike other belgian restaurants, it is open from 9am to 5pm mo-fr, 9am to 6pm sat,sun, closed on wednesday. the menu is small but really delicious. the atmosphere is informal and friendly.
Viva M'Boma
Vlaanderenstraat-rue de flandre 17, +32 02 512 1593. for real belgian home cooking. terrace in the summer.
Chez Léon
Rue des bouchers-beenhouwerstraat 18, +32 02 511 1415, (http://www.chezleon.be/). now franchised into france as well, this is the original and while it's huge and looks like a tourist trap, the moules are excellent and it's packed every day. moules, beer and a starter will set you back â¬25, and kids eat for free.
Au Pré Salé
20, rue de flandre-vlaamsesteenweg near st catherine square, +32 02 513 6545. a former butcher shop, locals flock here for some of the best moules in town, sold by the kilo figure on â¬24 and served up in half a dozen ways. also serves the full range of other brussels favorites.
Thanh-Binh
+32 02 513 8118. the restaurant is very popular amongst the euroworkers and business types common in brussels and serves good thai food. it can get crowded and is often noisy but is well worth a try.
Lune de Miel
+32 02 513 9181. some very tasty thai and vietnamese dishes served in a fine decor.
Restaurant Vismet
Place sainte-catherinplaats 23, +32 02 218 85 45. a small bistro that really gets busy after 19:00. very good seafood. the handwritten menu can throw foreigners off, but everything on the menus are top notch. appetizers: around â¬15; main dishes: â¬18-30
Scheltema
Rue des dominicains-predikherenstraat 7, +32 02 512 2084. specializes in fresh and tasty seafood.
T Kelderke
'T Kelderke, Grand'Place, 15 Grote Markt, +32 02 513 7344. â¬9-19 main courses. â¬8.50 Plat du jour. Well-made typical Belgian fare. Try the carbonnades à la flamande Flemish beef stew & mussels. Note that this place can feel cramped when full of diners.
Aux Armes de Bruxelles
Rue des bouchers-beenhouwerstraat 13, +32 02 511 5550. closed mondays. basic honest food, including some very decent moules. crowded, although worth the wait.
Place Saint Catherine-Catherinplaats is also a popular area, and once the fishmongering centre of Brussels. While many of the fish shops have moved elsewhere, it is still home to many good seafood restaurants featuring lobster as a specialty.
In Ixelles-Elsene:
L'Ultime Atome: Increasingly chic, but still just about affordable brasserie, serving tasty food and drink from breakfast till late. Place St Boniface-Bonifatiusplaats off the Chausée d'Ixelles-Elsensesteenweg.
Mano a Mano: Italian restaurant on Place St. Boniface-Bonifatiusplaats; Good food, not too expensive.
L'Amour Fou: Similar to above located on Place Fernand Coqplaats.
Dolma: Buddhist cafe/wholefood shop on Chausée d'Ixelles-Elsensesteenweg It is on the right hand side, just before Place Flagey, on your way out of town.
Yamato: Small ramen shop.
Les Brassins (http://www.lesbrassins.com/), Belgian-French cuisine, tasty and a real bargain.
Brussels' tourist restaurant gauntlet can be found in Rue des Bouchers-Beenhouwerstraat, just to the north of Grand Place. The place has a bad reputation for waiters imposing themselves on passers-by, trying to lure customers into their restaurant. The authorities are aware of this, and are trying to take measures. Some restaurants may also tempt you with cheap prices for the menus, but when seated, the item on the menu happens to be unavailable, and you're forced to accept another, noticeably more expensive dish. Often, the exaggerated price of the wines will also compensate for the attractive menu. Knowing this however, you may be able to negotiate a better deal before entering.
A few restaurants stand out from the crowd though:
Close to the Bourse Jules Van Praetstraat rue Jules Van Praet is another rapidly developing street of restaurants and bars. Those of note include:
It is outside the touristic centre that the best deals can be found. Here are a few addresses in the Upper Town and Louise Area:
Top end
Les Larmes du Tigres
tears of the tiger, justitiepaleis, de wynantsstraat 21, +32 02 512 1877, closed tu, (http://users.skynet.be/le...). upmarket and stylish thai restaurant found just behind the palais de justice and better than most food found in thailand.
La Belle Maraichere
Place sainte-catherineplaats 11, +32 02 512 9759, closed we-th. a classic fish restaurant. very fresh fish and good old traditional cooking.
Belga Queen
(http://www.belgaqueen.be/), rue du fossã© aux loups-wolvengracht 32. a restaurant within an old, restored bank building. has an oyster bar, gorgeous bathrooms with strange stall doors, and a cigar bar housed in the old bank vaults. a good looking younger crowd seem to enjoy this place, and don't miss the offbeat restrooms.
De Gulden Boot (la Chaloupe d'Or)
24 grote markt grand place - one of the most famous restaurants in brussels, situated on grand place. beautiful old building, but too much of a tourist trap. and even after a â¬200 dinner, you will get charged â¬0.50 to visit the toilet.
Vegetarian
Dolma
A very nice vegetarian buffet monday till saturday from 19 till 21h (http://www.dolma.be/). chaussã©e d'ixelles-elsenesteenweg 329. reservation 02/6498981.
La Tsampa
An organic/vegetarian shop annex restaurant (http://www.tsampa.be/), closed on saturday and sunday. rue de livourne-livornostraat 109.
L'Element Terre
Located in ixelles-elsene, l'element terre features an ecclectic menu and wonderful, attentive service. chaussã©e de waterloo-waterloosesteenweg 465.
Forget about eating out if you're strictly vegan. There are some vegetarian restaurants that might cater without animal products though:
Chocolate until you drop
Brussels is chock full of chocolates, but the ultimate indulgence for the chocoholic is Place du Grand Sablon-Grote Zavel Plein, where you will find three shops selling some of the best chocolate in the world: Neuhaus, Pierre Marcolini and Wittamer. Each store has its own specialties: Pierre Marcolini's take-away cakes and ice cream are reasons to be tempted, while Wittamer is the only one with a cafe on premises and also sells the ultimate hot chocolate. Passion Chocolat 20 Rue Vanderlindenstraat is a bit out of the way but its artisan chocolate is worth a visit, and you can taste lots of it for free at the entrance.
There is plenty of good eating to be had in Brussels. Most people concentrate on the three classics: mussels moules in French and mosselen in Flemish, fries frites in French and frieten in Flemish and chocolate. A few more adventurous Bruxellois/Brusselse dishes include anguilles au vert/paling in 't groen river eels in green sauce, meat balls in tomato sauce, stoemp mashed vegetables and potatoes and turbot waterzooi turbot fish in cream and egg sauce. For dessert, try a Belgian waffle wafel in Flemish and gauffre in French, also available in a square Brussels version dusted with powdered sugar, and choices of bananas, whipped cream and many other toppings. Although many prefer the round, caramelized version from Liège.
One shall however always bear in mind that it is important to check the prices of food items before ordering, just like what people should do when visiting pubs in France and Soho, London. Beware especially when servers make choices for you. It has been reported that tourists have to pay up to â¬7 for a litre of sparkling water, costing less than â¬0.70 in local stores. Leave the restaurant without paying in such a case, as violence is often resulted where confrontations arise.
Visitors should also beware of the 'Italian Restaurant Streets' in the tourist and shopping districts. These streets are lined with small Italian restaurants, some offering "3 course meals" for just â¬12 or 13. They are all run by just a few shop owners and serve unappetizing store purchased food. They will not 'include service' as most all restaurants in Brussels do, and many tourists have reported getting scammed here, especially when not paying with exact change. A common practice is to present you a menu where prices aren't anything near the ones advertised in the windows. Be sure you ask why there is such a price difference BEFORE ordering and do not hesitate to leave if you do not agree with the price. If you were offered a drink and already sipped from your glass before receiving the menu as is often the case then just pay for the drink and leave.