For a good home-cooked-style meal and a decent beer selection, Les Brassins is the place to be, and is perhaps one of the most underrated cafes in Brussels. It's tucked away on a narrow one-way street that could easily be mistaken for an alleyway. It has a modest, yet amazing, selection of beers, an interesting menu of meal specials to complement and a good mix of jazz and '70s rock in the background. Les Brassins is also quite the popular hang out for locals.
These four establishments will give you quite a cross section of the cafes and beer bars in Brussels. Make sure to keep a good base of sustenance in your system, being that most beers are a bit deceiving to the palate and hide their alcohol percentages. Therefore, moderation is a must, especially as there are many beers over 8-10 percent alcohol by volume. So now that you're primed, go ahead and live it up in this very inspiring beer mecca.
La Tribune de Bruxelles le Fri Oct 08
Attention, fournisseur de bonheur. Tout le monde connaît Les Brassins, ce petit estaminet où il fait bon boire une bière –artisanale de préférence– entre potes. Le type d’endroit idéal pour refaire le monde. Il ne faudrait pas oublier pour autant que l’adresse livre d’excellents plats bien de chez nous. En saison, le gibier est à l’honneur. On aime la bonne terrine de marcassin et les plats cuisinés sans esbroufe. Les produits sont de belle qualité. Outre l’hommage au monde brassicole, l’adresse fait valoir une belle carte de vins. Au final, l’assurance de prendre un bon bol de convivialité. Santé!
The Economist le Fri Oct 08
Les Brassins is exactly the type of restaurant Brussels excels at. Tucked down the back-streets of Ixelles, just south of the centre, the appealingly rustic setting (walls adorned with old metal beer plaques, a cheerful blackboard listing the day’s specials) attracts locals and expats who feast on simple, well-prepared Belgian dishes, made with fresh local produce.
Your correspondent enjoyed the stoemp, a traditional mix of sausages and mashed potatoes which tastes far better than it sounds. The frites are also superb—the waiter will top up your plate if you ask him. There is a wide range of beer and wine to go with the large salads, steaks and daily choice of fish.
After your meal, you might wander up the street to inspect the plaque marking the birthplace of Audrey Hepburn.
The New York Times- July 8, 2007 le Sun Jul 07
Brussels is a foodies' paradise, and you'll struggle to eat a bad meal. A standout among the hundreds of traditional Belgian brasseries is Les Brassins (36, rue Keyenveld; 32-2-512 6999; www.lesbrasins.com); a lovely place that serves 50 differents brews and Belgian classics like Lapin à la Kriek (rabbit stewed in flavored beer) and stoemp (a winter stew with potatoes, carrots, onion sauce and sausages) for under 15 euros ($20, at $1.35 to the euro). The restaurant is at the end of a hard-to-find back street in Ixelles, a neighborhood popular with expatriates. After your meal, wander up the street and find the plaque marking the birthplace of Audrey Hepburn.
For a good home-cooked-style meal and a decent beer selection, Les Brassins is the place to be, and is perhaps one of the most underrated cafes in Brussels. It's tucked away on a narrow one-way street that could easily be mistaken for an alleyway. It has a modest, yet amazing, selection of beers, an interesting menu of meal specials to complement and a good mix of jazz and '70s rock in the background. Les Brassins is also quite the popular hang out for locals. These four establishments will give you quite a cross section of the cafes and beer bars in Brussels. Make sure to keep a good base of sustenance in your system, being that most beers are a bit deceiving to the palate and hide their alcohol percentages. Therefore, moderation is a must, especially as there are many beers over 8-10 percent alcohol by volume. So now that you're primed, go ahead and live it up in this very inspiring beer mecca.
Attention, fournisseur de bonheur. Tout le monde connaît Les Brassins, ce petit estaminet où il fait bon boire une bière –artisanale de préférence– entre potes. Le type d’endroit idéal pour refaire le monde. Il ne faudrait pas oublier pour autant que l’adresse livre d’excellents plats bien de chez nous. En saison, le gibier est à l’honneur. On aime la bonne terrine de marcassin et les plats cuisinés sans esbroufe. Les produits sont de belle qualité. Outre l’hommage au monde brassicole, l’adresse fait valoir une belle carte de vins. Au final, l’assurance de prendre un bon bol de convivialité. Santé!
Les Brassins is exactly the type of restaurant Brussels excels at. Tucked down the back-streets of Ixelles, just south of the centre, the appealingly rustic setting (walls adorned with old metal beer plaques, a cheerful blackboard listing the day’s specials) attracts locals and expats who feast on simple, well-prepared Belgian dishes, made with fresh local produce. Your correspondent enjoyed the stoemp, a traditional mix of sausages and mashed potatoes which tastes far better than it sounds. The frites are also superb—the waiter will top up your plate if you ask him. There is a wide range of beer and wine to go with the large salads, steaks and daily choice of fish. After your meal, you might wander up the street to inspect the plaque marking the birthplace of Audrey Hepburn.
Brussels is a foodies' paradise, and you'll struggle to eat a bad meal. A standout among the hundreds of traditional Belgian brasseries is Les Brassins (36, rue Keyenveld; 32-2-512 6999; www.lesbrasins.com); a lovely place that serves 50 differents brews and Belgian classics like Lapin à la Kriek (rabbit stewed in flavored beer) and stoemp (a winter stew with potatoes, carrots, onion sauce and sausages) for under 15 euros ($20, at $1.35 to the euro). The restaurant is at the end of a hard-to-find back street in Ixelles, a neighborhood popular with expatriates. After your meal, wander up the street and find the plaque marking the birthplace of Audrey Hepburn.