Good places to eat in Belgium

[Comet]

Some of the good places we've found to eat in when we've been in Belgium:

Oostende
Stad Kortrijk, Langestraat 119
Had loads of meals in here. Had steak, omelettes, plaice all served with some of the nicest chips I've had in Belgium. The prices are good too.

Zeebrugge
Old Barrel, Zeedijk 13
Had steaks, ribs and pork chops in here, all excellent quality and good portions with nice chips. An absolute must visit for us every year, without fail, when we are in Belgium.
http://www.oldbarrel.be/

Nieuwpoort
De Roos, Kaai 14
Had very good steak and chips here. Handy for bus and Kusttram stops.
http://www.restaurantderoos.be/

Lissewege
Huyze Saeftinghe, Onder de Toren 5
Had pasta here, very good. The steak and chips also looked good. Lissewege is a lovely village, well worth visiting.
http://www.huyzesaeftinghe.be/

Brugge
Cambrinus, Philipstockstraat 19
The ultimate beer pub also serves very good beer-themed food. The rib eye steak is recommended.
http://www.cambrinus.eu/english.htm

Chagall, Sint Amandstraat 40
One of my favourites. The steak here is excellent, as is the scampi (not served in breadcrumbs like it is in the UK). Christmas specials are also very good, they had ostrich one year which my Mum tried and recommended.

Lange Muur, Sint Amandstraat 11
The Chinese restaurant has a better range on its menu than I've seen on Chinese restaurants over here. It seems quite a popular place and the food is good. We have had three Christmas Day meals in here. The Kantonese Rijsttafel is very good, it was our choice of Christmas dinner in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and would have been in 2009 if Eurostar had not broken down because of a bit of snow
http://langemuur.zystar.be/

Brussels
Maison Antoine, Place Jourdan 1
The chip stall, very nice chips in a cone. Cheese Crack is recommended accompaniment, bite the end of the Cheese Crack and dip your chips in the melted cheese.
http://www.maisonantoine.be/

Cirio, Rue de la Bourse 18
Don't remember what I had in here, I only remember that it was nice.

Poperinge
Hotel de la Paix, Grote Markt 20
Very good steak here.
http://www.hoteldelapaix.be/

Genval
La Laguna, Avenue du Lac 2
Had some very good veal here, friendly service.
http://www.lalaguna.be/

Would love to hear of other good places to eat and drink in Belgium

[regi]

As a 100% born and raised Brugian, I should respond at least something. Hey , we housed the Burgundian dukes in the past.
I disregard the fact that many of these places are not easy to reach by train or other public transport.

Brugge:
De Kroon, at the inside of the ring road.
quite cheap, most things fresh. Daily specials depending on supply. Many regional specialities. The spare ribs are fine.
http://www.cityplug.be/nl/Brugge/5EMKBV ... Kroon.html

La Tâche, just accros the canal opposite De Kroon. A bit more expensive ( but still affordable) , a real restaurant, but also in another league.
http://www.latache.be

Le Bon Vivant in the city centre. ( just 3 minutes walking from The Chagall ) One plate bistro style, before on Charcoal but now on lava stones, still very tasty and still one of my favourites. http://www.lebistrobonvivant.be/index/

Duc de Bourgogne:
http://www.ducdebourgogne.be/
To be honnest, I have not visited this place since the take obver by a chain of restaurants. Before it was one of the most posh and traditional Brugian restaurants.
But the prices seem to have halved, so maybe you can add it to your list.
The dining room has the best seats in town, overlooking the most photographed scene of the city. Scenes of the movie "In Bruges" were taken here.

Parkrestaurant, city centre, at the park.
Lunches, but also great à la carte. French style, completely disregarding nonsens about calories, vegetarian, promilliage etcetera. An absolute no go area for diabetics except if they are on a suicide mission.
http://www.parkrestaurant.be/
The owners are just fabulous guys. They have some passions such as Scottish whiskey, Nina Simone and travel to...Thailand ! Upstairs 4 enormous lush guest rooms.

Around Brugge:
Poortershuyze, on the road to Sijsele: refined Belgian cuisine and even some Thai dishes. Some things charcoal grilled. Medium priced.
http://www.poortershuyze.be

At Loppem, just south of the highway, you find 3 great places:

Ten Voute, just before the town centre:
http://www.tenvoute.be
I bring here my suppliers.
Traditional Belgian cuisine

Smulkroeg Paseo, on the town's square
I come here with my kids.
Cheapest of the 3, but still of a higher standard than the name " Smulkroeg" would imagine.
http://www.tenvoute.be/frame.html

O-Point. I take here my customers.
http://www.o-point.be/contact.html
The cook has always surprised me with specials, mostly common Flemish recepies with a original touch.

And north of Brugge, on the old road to Ostend:
D'Hofstee
http://www.dhofstee.be
Very popular with local families because of the low price, lot of food and good taste. Charcoal grilled.
But...no credit cards accepted ! ( and no ATM within 10 km ! )


So far a quick brainstorming what Brugge concerns...

[regi]

Brussel:
Chez Maria.
http://www.cityplug.be/nl/Brussel/DLKIH ... Maria.html
When you look at Google street view, it looks really dull. But that is just a cover for a rather big restaurant behind that white curtain.
At Anderlecht. About 5 minutes walking from Brussels South train station.
Without any doubt or discussion, this is worldwide recognised as the most Belgian bourgeois style restaurant.
Mirrors on the wall, leather cushions on old oak chairs, traditionally dressed personnel because they have been dressed like this already since the last 100 years or what.
The menu is quite short. It involves the very basic Belgian dishes such as Américain Préparé.
See picture here:
http://be.convivoo.com/nl/restaurant/6792/Chez_Maria
The waiter comes at your table and shows you the raw lump of beef. Than it is grinded in the kitchen. The waiter comes back and prepares the Américain at your table. With capers, self made mayonaise, a fresh egg, worchester sauce, pepper , onion and that is about it. Served with fresh french fries. They have it in 2 sizes: take the small one. The big one will cause a indigestion for a week.
Steak, panfried in real butter. The piece on your plate looks as if they have some cows wandering at the back and the cook just walks out with an axe and chops off your steak. Again served very simple with fresh fries , a bit of salad ( hey, you don't come here if you are a vegetarian ! ) and the juice out of the pan or...fresh béarnaise sauce. If you, dear members, receive one day the message that I have passed away by a cardiac arrest by artery blockage, this restaurant is the main cause. But I love it.
Oh yeah, if you want to behave silly, they have also Sole Meunière. But again, a big one, fried in butter.

It is also a place where you don't look at or study the wine menu. You simply say " Châteauneuf-du-Pape "
This is what you order with red meat Chez Maria.
The bill will be not cheap. Who cares, it is crisis, we have to eat our frustrations away.

It could be that they have desserts, but I never reached that stage. They don't even ask, and the waiters don't behave too arteficially by asking if it tastes nice. No way. A waiter Chez Maria is from a special brand, silently filling your wine glass, removing the plates without asking if you have finished ( they see it ) and immediately see your raised eyebrow when you want the bill. I wonder what happens if somebody can't finish his dish. I think that the waiter just bows forward 1.5 degree, looks at your plate and than straight in your eyes. You surrender and keep on slashing through the meat.

I think that the script writer of the movie "the Adam's family" spent here some days.

Strange note: many business deals of national importance have been arranged at these tables by grey haired state officials and their lobbyists.

[regi]

Copenhagen Tavern at Brussels, accross Avenue Louise , is also OK.
http://www.copenhagentavern.be

[Comet]

Thanks for those recommendations regi

Here are a few more of mine:

Lier
Ristorante Rosario
Eikelstraat 15
http://www.rosariolier.be/
We ate here in 2006, it was a hot day so we sat outside. It was a busy place, which is a good sign early in the day when some places are still quiet. I remember having veal with pine nuts and spaghetti and it was very good.

Spa
Ate at a very good place called Les Relais, don't know the address or if it's still there, but if it is then it may be worth trying.

Eupen
Ratzkeller
Klötzerbahn 2
http://www.villesvirtuelles.be/minisite ... 8291&page=
We've eaten here on our visits to Eupen, it gets busy early on (good sign). The lamb with chips was very good, had this both times. Eupen is a lovely, under-visited and under-rated place. A visit to this town is highly recommended!

Liege
Brasilia
Rue Pont d'Avroy 44
Ate here in 2003 when our visit to Liege was cut short by the weather! Excellent veal, and had my first Ciney beer here.

Tournai
Le Kennedy
Grand Place 35
Wrote a review of this place viewtopic.php?t=7091&p=59872

Oudenaarde
The Pub
Markt 27
Very good pasta and nice pancakes here, as well as Roman beers

Veurne
Torentje
Grote Markt 34
Ate here a couple of times. First time spot on perfect, second time the chips were a bit iffy but the steak was beautiful.

Dinant
Monaco
Rue de la Station 24
Had some very good veal here.

I have also eaten in good places in Blankenberge and De Panne, but I don't remember their names. The Blankenberge one is near the station and they serve whole plaice and the De Panne one was on the main street near where the tram stops in the centre. Our favourite place in Antwerp closed down some time ago so last time we ate some chips from a stall in Centraal station and had a muffin and hot drink in the Panos opposite the chip stall.

[Comet]

There was a good place in Brugge for waffles as well, but I don't know its address, or if it's still there. It was called "The Tea Room" and the waffles were the nicest I've tasted. They were served warm from what I remember, and the cream was proper whipped cream, not that awful stuff out of an aerosol can which disappears in seconds. This was a really nice place.

[regi]

There was a good place in Brugge for waffles as well, but I don't know its address, or if it's still there. It was called "The Tea Room" and the waffles were the nicest I've tasted. They were served warm from what I remember, and the cream was proper whipped cream, not that awful stuff out of an aerosol can which disappears in seconds. This was a really nice place.

Think that you mean the tea room in the main shopping street "Steenstraat" (is even on the Belgian Monoploy )
Really a place to have a quiet coffee with pancakes or waffles.

[Comet]

That's probably it then regi, I remember it was on a busy street but I didn't know the name of the street Nicest waffles I've had in Belgium. Waffles seem relatively harder to get on the coast, most places seem to serve pancakes rather than waffles, so we usually go a bit inland to have waffles.

[HumphreyE]

My favorite ever restaurant is Le Maison du Cygne that is located right on the Grand-Place, a postcard-perfect assemblage of gabled 16th-century guildhalls, Brussels's most famous architectural view. The cuisine is delicious, I usually order roast pheasant, beef tournedos with duck liver, oysters in champagne and salt-crusted sea bream.

[regi]

My favorite ever restaurant is Le Maison du Cygne that is located right on the Grand-Place, a postcard-perfect assemblage of gabled 16th-century guildhalls, Brussels's most famous architectural view. The cuisine is delicious, I usually order roast pheasant, beef tournedos with duck liver, oysters in champagne and salt-crusted sea bream.

LA maison du Cygne ... is indeed a great place to favour the traditionals.
But it will easely fork out 70 € a person.

[Comet]

I remember having some nice meals in Falstaff in Brussels. I had some salmon once which was very good, and on another occasion ordered "lamb chops" expecting maybe a couple of what we would call "lamb chops" in Britain. What I got were two full racks of very tender, perfectly-cooked lamb. On our last visit to Falstaff a few years ago the food had gone down the pan, the waiters were horrid and we vowed never to eat in there again.

[jan_olieslagers]

Don't I remember some kind of scandal at the Falstaff? Money laundering and what not? I went there once in its "great" days, and found it only posh, lots of glitter and show, and far too expensive for what they had to offer. Typically Brussels, I might add.

[regi]

I have scrapped the Falstaff from my list many years ago , exactly for the same reasons. Terrible waiters, bad food, quite expensive and the streets around this place are littered by obscure people who can be described most positively as just a nuisance.
Typically for Brussels is that if you just cross the street and enter the Jules Van Praetstraat, and enter a kind of Little China Town, you feel much more relaxed.

[Comet]

I remember a nice chip place in Brussels, don't think it was too far from Falstaff. We used to eat there if we went over to Brussels for our beer buying breaks. I think it was called Fritland or something like that, it always seemed quite popular but I don't know if it's still there or not.

I like to avoid eating on the market squares as I find the prices to be verging on rip off when you consider that you can get the same meal on a different street for a smaller price. Sometimes we've saved on catching a train to Zeebrugge and eating in Zeebrugge, we've spent less doing that than we would have paid in some Brugge eateries.

[Bralo20]

Aalbeke (near Kortrijk):

Saint-Cornil: http://www.st-cornil-aalbeke.be/

One of the best restaurants in Belgium where one can eat the most delicious "Cote a l'os". I'll drive with a smile more then 100km's to go and eat at Saint-Cornil, even though it's a quite noisy restaurant and you don't go there for the friendly staff. More then once they threw our dishes on the table but damn, the meat is more then worth it. 22 EUR per person for the cote a l'os is actually quite cheap, certainly since you'll get a huge amount of meat. But a better option is to go for the menu. 38 EUR and you'll have a cocktail, a starter, a main and a nice dessert (go for the Irish Coffee, one of the best I ever drank). oh, and there's also a half bottle of wine included (or half a liter beer or a 1L bottle of cola (maybe other soda's too)). The meat you'll get will be melting in your mouth, it's so delicious you'll definately have a smile on your face. Hell, if I die tomorrow, I'll be happy with a Saint-Cornil dish as my last meal... Oh, the owners of the restaurant are also butchers with a nearby shop, so you can also take the lovely meat home and cook it in your kitchen.

Puurs (province Antwerp):

l' Unique: http://www.restaurantlunique.be/

Located in the center of the small village, Puurs, you'll find a trendy restaurant called l'Unique. l'Unique will present you with lovely food in a nice interior. They regulary change the menu and have daily specials. Been there quite some times and it's a good restaurant to eat a decent meal. Not that cheap but well worth the money. It's one of the few restaurants in my area that does serve fresh cut fries instead of deepfrees fries and you'll also get homemade mayonaise.

Londerzeel

't Notenhof: http://www.notenhof.be/

't Notenhof is located near the Gent-Mechelen railway in a lovely 18th century building and has quite a limited menu with daily fresh products. Prices may be a bit on the upper side but you'll get only (very) fresh products instead. A nice location for a business meeting.

Antwerp

Het Pomphuis: http://www.hetpomphuis.be

Het Pomphuis is a restaurant build in a old "pump house", the scenery alone is quite amazing (you still can see the old pumps) but fortunately the food is also quite good. A rather big restaurant but always very busy, if you want to be certain that you'll have a table, call and reserve one to be sure! Prices may be a bit expensive but the food is more then worth it, it's all very delicious and you'll go back for sure. I've discovered the restaurant during a business meeting and now it's my place to go to when i'm in "the city" (or 't Stad like they call it). Definately worth visiting!

Zeebrugge

Brasserie Nelson: http://www.brasserienelson.be/

You can find Brasserie Nelson at the old fishmine in Zeebrugge. It's a nice restaurant in a changing area. Years ago, even after the mine closed, you found several big fish factories (like Huysseune which was only quite recently demolished) in the area. During the years all of then closed and made place for housing, several new housing blocks can be found in an area that becomes more trendy with the years. In one of the last "old" parts of the area, right across the mine you'll find Nelson. Nelson will present you with fresh seafood right from the sea! Shrimp Croquettes (with fresh shrimps from Zeebrugge), sole, etc... are very nice and fresh. Meatlovers will enjoy the decent steak.

When visiting Nelson you can also take some delicious fresh fish to home, two houses further you'll find the fishstore "Westhinder" which has some amazing fresh fish. I'll happily drive 120km's to Zeebrugge to have my fish from Westhinder (long live the chilled box (koelbox)).

[regi]

This brings back many memories from my childhood when we went on Sunday late afternoons to Zeebrugge to buy fresh fish in those shops around the Nelson. ( similar fresh fish shops are also opened at Nieuwpoort , accross the fishmine. But the ones in Ostend are primarely a ripp off for tourists)

About the restaurant in Aalbeke: thank you for the tip. Checking their prices, I had to smile: they don't accept credit cards. Exactly the same as in d'Hoeve near Bruges. It explains why they can keep their prices reasonable. Just think

[Comet]

As a tourist I always avoid anything on a menu which does not show a price, I like to know exactly how much a meal will cost. Some places which do not quote a definite price for a menu item could charge a tourist alot more than they would a local.

When we go to Zeebrugge it is impossible to get out of the habit of eating in this place http://www.oldbarrel.be/ "T'awd Barrel" is somewhere we always head to when we're on holiday, I love their food and if you want to go on the beach it is a handy location.

[Comet]

Zeebrugge
When visiting Nelson you can also take some delicious fresh fish to home, two houses further you'll find the fishstore "Westhinder" which has some amazing fresh fish. I'll happily drive 120km's to Zeebrugge to have my fish from Westhinder (long live the chilled box (koelbox)).

People wonder why I prefer Zeebrugge to the dump known as Scarborough (I am happy to admit that yes, I do think Zeebrugge is far in front of Scarborough in North Yorkshire!) Scarborough is supposedly a fishing place, but can we get such nice, fresh fish here? Can we hell. We get pathetic, wizened, dried up semi-fossilised scrags consisting of skin and bone (literally) in the so-called "fresh" fish shops here (the very few there are in this place). Scarborough, North Yorkshire, is the most demoralising, depressing dump to have to do your shopping in that I've ever encountered.