Dining & Food in Brussels

Brussels has restaurants to rival Paris and London both for price and quality. Brussels is no place for weight watching – fries, chocolate and mussels are everywhere you look – and portions are large.
Give in to temptation by experimenting with some of Belgium’s famous beers – like Hoegaarden, an example of blanche beer, or, Trappiste beers such as Chimay, Orval, or Achel made in abbey breweries (Leffe is an abbey beer, but is not made in a monastery!). Other varieties include the non-malted lambic, blended gueuze, red beers aged in oak and kriek – fermented with cherries or raspberries. Or take a scholarly approach and visit museums at Brewers’ House (Grand’Place 10) and the Musée de la Gueuze (56 Rue Gheude). Or drop in on the La Binchoise brewery in Binche (25 miles south of Brussels).
If chocolate is more your thing, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven in Brussels. Gen up on choc facts at the Musée du Cacao et du Chocolat (Grand’Place 13), before embarking on a guided tour around town with La Fonderie (Rue Ransfort 27). Alternatively indulge in a factory visit at Le Chocolatier Manon (Rue Tilmont 64) or Planete Chocolat (Rue du Lombard 24) or time your trip to coincide with the annual Chocolate Passion fair, held around Valentine’s weekend.
Drinking in Brussels is a way of life and can be an almost 24-hour experience. The art nouveau Falstaff is a good way to start as is Cirio. The Grand Place itself is lined with terrace bars, full of life in the summer. Le Roi d’Espagne (No.1) is the most atmospheric. Brussels most infamous Irish pub, O’Reillys, can be found on boulevard Anspach. Ten minutes’ walk away is place St Géry which is full of designer bars, plenty of atmosphere and packed summer terraces. Round the corner at 6 rue Antoine Dansaert is the art deco Archiduc which is open until the birds start singing.