It’s difficult to find your way in the dense jungle of Brussels restaurants. Especially since new establishments have sprouted like mushrooms after confinement. In a city which imports a lot of raw food materials and where inflation has hit the catering sector hard, it is quite possible to eat badly and very expensively. Here is a list of addresses for foolproof treats.
Fox Food Market
Sculpted concrete counters, designer chairs, bursts of neon… Beneath its trendy clothes, Fox is a quality gourmet market at low prices. Three gourmet bites, prepared using the asado (South American grilling technique) by Logan Depuydt, cost just 13 euros. We also like the work of chef César Lewandowski, who prepares okonomiyaki, a kind of soft Japanese pancakes. He boldly revisits them (dish around 15 euros), for example by topping them with confit pork, teriyaki sauce, a still runny egg yolk and homemade ginger mayo.
Fox Food Market Boulevard du Souverain, 25, Watermael-Boitsfort.
Anju
In the clean-lined room, punctuated with Korean photos and drawings, we are quickly transported to Seoul. Pajeon (a kind of vegetable pancake) whipped with slices of pepper, yukhoe (beef tartare with sesame oil) bristling with roasted pine nuts and pansy petals… Here, the plates to share are stylish but have character, magnified by the rigorous work of chef Gaspard Hardy. Allow 30 euros per person.
Anju Rue de la Source 73, Saint-Gilles.
Fernand Obb
Winner of the prize for best gray shrimp croquette several times at the Eat Brussels! festival, this popular counter broadens the horizons of street food. The delicious homemade pistoles (typical little round buns resembling mini-burgers) contain Brussels salmon trout, smoked in the kitchen (6.50 euros), or even pastrami (cured, spicy, homemade smoked) made from Belgian beef brisket (16 euros).
Fernand Obb Rue de Tamines 27, Saint-Gilles.
Klok
On the ground floor of a hotel, a bright room combining bricks, vintage furniture and hop vines dripping from the ceiling. Jordan Joubert is the conductor of a bistronomy without borders at bargain prices (starters around 5 euros, large plates from 10 euros). In addition to the mix of flavors, we appreciate the quasi-laboratory work done in the establishment’s cellars, where the team refines countless fermentations, oils, vinegars, miso (fermented cereal paste) or kimchi (spicy fermented vegetables)… giving flavor to a unique and tasty cuisine.
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