A COUPLE OF DAYS IN BRUSSELS
We’re combining business with pleasure and staying a couple
of nights in Brussels at the end of November.
It’s too early for the Christmas market, but there is a buzz to the
place as preparations are under way in the Grand Place and all around.
We’ve arrived mid-afternoon and grabbed a taxi from the
station. Our hotel is clearly not one of
the most-renowned however, as the driver clearly has little idea of where he’s
going, and ends up dropping us near the Bourse, when we need to be right the
other side of the centre. So we’re not in the best of moods on arriving at Hotel
Mozart. Close to the Grand
Place, in the street of the giros”,
this is a surreal place – all Moroccan tiles, and windy corridors, and a
bedroom complete with a pole in the middle of it! Somewhat regretting the “value” option!
We go out for a wander around – a vin chaude by the Manneken
Pis, free chocolates and a good value
coupe of champagne in the Galleries Royales, and a beer in the Espagne de Roy
in the Grand Place.
For dinner we have booked into Restaurant Vincent in Rue des Dominicains
(just off the tourist strip) for 9pm – recommended in several guides and
reviews. The place is packed, buzzy,
lively, with a couple of separate rooms, but our booking is recognised and we’re
shown straight to our table. Tables are basic and very close together, so it’s
not what you’d call grand – but perfectly fine.
The striking feature though is the decorative tiling on the walls. At
one end there is a depiction of a small fishing boat struggling in the waves,
with an old pecheur in a blue smock
struggling with the sails. On other
walls are ducks and rural scenes – all very splendid.
Vincent has a reputation for its flambéed steak, though
there’s an extensive range of seafood starters and fish dishes too. So we decide to go large and order the double
angus fillet, preceded by shrimp croquettes. A bottle of Brouilly at €32 seems
a reasonable accompaniment.
The croquettes are excellent. We’re sharing, one each, but
there is plenty of flavour here and not too heavy a potato base. All around people are having a good time,
with large plates of food appearing all over.
Service is very friendly and jolly.
Our meat is duly served up to the team at the flambé dish in the centre
(we had thought it might be done at the table, but it isn’t that far away), and
arrives with a tidy portion of frites. Full of flavour and texture, and cooked
just bloody, it’s a beautifully executed piece of meat.
We look at desserts for interest, but are then tempted in by
the Crepe Vincent. This is fruity and
sharp, crisp and juicy – a revelation.
So we’re happy bunnies when we set off back to our weird hotel, having
just €122 on such a splendid meal.
Breakfast at the Hotel Mozart is also an experience. After following a maze of signs around the
first floor, one emerges back on the ground floor, apparently next door to the
hotel entrance. There’s a bizarre copper
dome over the bar area – which only comes to make sense when later in the day I
see the breakfast room has been converted back into a Lebanese restaurant! Breakfast itself, to be fair, is a simple but
fresh combination of baguette and croissant, with strong coffee and fresh
juice.
We meet later for a beer in the Galleries, and then do a
little shopping. We call in Cirio, a splendidly old-style bar near the Bourse
for a glass and some charcuterie, before deciding to stop for a light lunch. We’re
trying the Danish Tavern – an unimpressive
bar near the church, but it’s handy. I
have try the local speciality, Waterzooi Poularde, a sort of chicken soup with
substantial portions of meat and root vegetables. It’s an ideal warmer for a cold day. B just
has the bacon and mushroom omelette (rather than mussels, which had been the
point of choosing this place!!). It’s
all fine, full of shoppers, and with a loopy waiter who revels in teasing his
colleagues. €42 with one bottle of rose.
This evening, we’ve decided to go for La Marmiton,
at the corner of the Galleries and Rue de Bouchers. It’s very nearly full, but we’re lucky to get
a table. It’s another cosy place, a little classier perhaps, but still
relaxed. There’s a quiet Brit couple one
side of us, and a group of 4 excitable, smartly dressed young things the other –
Eastern European we think. We order a
bottle of French Sauvignon (@ €22), and I have the foie gras to start. For mains, I have the Sole Ostendaise (with
asparagus) and B steak tartare. We indulge a second bottle, so this all some to
€113.
Day 3 and our train
is not till late, so we decide to do some shopping up on Avenue Louise this
morning. A little way, there is a small
lane down to some other smart shops, and rather oddly sitting by a grassy
patch, an old building called the Green House. In summer there must be seating outside as
well. It’s just noon, so we call in, to
see several shoppers in already. Plus a couple of regulars chatting to the
staff. It’s a strange, but elegant style
– colonial wood and teas. We’re not
eating but the dishes that do emerge look and smell interesting, and the range
of choice includes some very unusual orientally-inspired dishes too – probably worth
a try another time.
We walk back into town, and then on to St Catherine’s to
find somewhere for lunch. Several places
were recommended the reviews, but we struggle to choose one. When we do, the kitchen has closed. So too
the next one, though they were doing fruits de mer standing up outside. So
sadly we head back to the Grand Place, and choose one of the places in the
tourist drag – La Porte de Bruxelles. It’s indistinguishable from several others
along the street, and transpires to be a sister place to the one across the
way. So much so in fact, that all the meals are cooked over there and brought
over, and the waiters are a bit grumpy at being in the second place. It doesn’t have a great deal of charm, but it
is fairly busy, and warm. The food however does make up for things. B has grilled garlic gambas – six huge
prawns, in a liberal and enthusiastic garlic sauce, cooked gently and
lightly. I have the tomato stuffed with
crevettes – a beast of a dish, with crevettes in a sauce with a little kick to
it. Main courses were mussels frites for B (at last) and monkfish with leeks
for me. Both really good. The second bottle of Sauvignon racked the
price up to €149 which seemed a bit much for somewhere with little style, but
the food was pretty good.
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