Eating, drinking and dancing
We've tracked down the best cafés for people-watching, the bars with the coolest cocktails, the most accomplished restaurants and the liveliest local nightlife in Brussels.
Restaurants
Belga Queen
Antoine Pinto’s Brussels brasserie institution is set in an elegant 18th-century building and serves an array of proudly Belgian dishes, Belgian beers and Belgian wines. There’s a champagne and oyster bar too.
32 Rue Fossé aux Loups, Brussels, 1000 BXL Belgium
(+32 (0)2 217 2187)
Sea Grill
Quite simply one of the finest seafood restaurants in the city, the Radisson hotel’s fine-dining room might need to rethink its interiors, but it does serve flawless fish.
47 Rue du Fossé aux Loups, Brussels, 1000 BXL, Belgium
(+32 (0) 02 217 9225)
Brasserie Georges
This restaurant and beer hall is as reliable today as it was when frequented by the likes of Hemingway, Satre, Rodin, and Zola came to tuck into its seafood platters at the turn of the 19th century. It also boasts two world records, having made the largest sauerkraut ever served, together with the biggest baked Alaska.
259 Avenue Churchill, Brussels, 1180 BXL, Belgium
(+32 (0)2 347 2100)
Lola
A classic cosmopolitan brasserie with smart, slick looks and a vegetarian-friendly French seasonal menu, with some Flemish dishes too.
33 Place du Grand Sablon, Brussels, 1000 BXL, Belgium
(+32 (0)2 514 2460)
Kif Kif
A fashionable, low-key but lovable Moroccan restaurant, featuring some excellent Lebanese dishes.
1 Square Biarritz, Brussels, 1050 BXL, Belgium
(+32 (0)2 644 1810)
Cafés
Café Belga
A great spot for a snack and cool beer in the late evening sun. Chill-out Djs take to the decks most evenings.
18 Place Flagey, Brussels, 1050 BXL, Belgium
(+32 (0)2 640 3508)
De Walvis
A trend, lively spot to while away the day surrounded by the city’s artistic in-crowd. Live music most nights.
209 Rue Antoine Dansaert, Brussels, 1000 BXL, Belgium
(+32 (0)2 219 9532)
Bars and clubs
Barcy Mundi
Something of a jack of all trades in the Brussels night scene, this super-cool nightspot manages to be a velvet-sofa’d wine bar, a grill restaurant, a tapas bar and one of the city’s premier clubs at the same time, attracting a young, professional clientele.
1 Rue St Bernard, Brussels,1060 BXL, Belgium
(+32 (0)2 534 4797)
Mappo Mundo
An ever-lively, split-level watering hole in the Brussels bar-hopper’s area of choice, the Place de St Gery, this popular stop-off stays open beyond the witching hours and serenades the clientele with Latin house tunes.
2–6 Rue du Pont de la Carpe , Brussels, 1000 BXL, Belgium
(+32 (0)2 513 5116)
The Flat
Despite the fact it fits not one but two gimmicks into one space (drinks are priced on a stock-market system of supply and demand, and the bar’s rooms are themed around the layout of an urban apartment), this popular night spot is actually worth a visit. Settle into the ‘bedroom’ with a cocktail with a after-work crowd.
12 Rue de la Reinette, Brussels, 1000 BXL, Belgium
(+32 (0)2 502 7434)
Dirty Dancing @ Mirano
Nothing to do with the Swayze and everything to do with Belgian electro-house, this well-established Saturday club night opens its doors at 11.59pm and doesn’t cool down till 6am. NB The more glam you put into your garb, the quicker you’ll get through the door.
38 Chaussée de Louvain, Brussels, 1030 BXL, Belgium
Le Bazaar
Once a Capuchin convent, now a restaurant and club, Le Bazaar has been draped and chandeliered into gorgeousness, with a French-Moroccan menu on offer upstairs and a cavernous dance floor downstairs.
63 Rue des Capucins, Brussels, 1000 BXL, Belgium
(+32 (0)2 511 2600)