Bruges Brugge - Amsterdam Bruges and Brussels - page 371

cuisine a creative and gourmet twist. Reservations are required
for dinner but not lunch. This place is a winner (€13 Mon-Fri
lunch special with coffee, beautifully presented €19-24 dinner
plates, fancy €49 fixed-price meal includes dessert, open Mon-Fri
12:00-14:30 & 18:30-23:00, closed Sat-Sun, great pastas and sal-
ads, Langestraat 15, tel. [phone]). They also run the Barsalon
restaurant next door.
Barsalon Tapas Bar, more than a tapas bar, is the brain-
child of Peter Laloo from Rock Fort (listed above), allowing him
to spread his creative cooking energy. his long, skinny slice of
L.A. thrives late into the evening with Bruges' beautiful people.
Choose between the long bar, comfy stools, and bigger tables in
back. Come early for fewer crowds. The playful menu comes with
€6-10 “tapas” dishes taking you from Spain to Japan (three fill two
hungry travelers) and more elaborate €14 plates. And don't over-
look their daily “suggestions” board with some special wines by
the glass and a “teaser” sampler plate of desserts. The €35 five-tapas
special is a whole meal. Barsalon shares the same kitchen, hours,
and dressy local clientele as the adjacent Rock Fort.
Pili Pili is a mod and inviting pasta eatery, where Gianna
Santy handles the customers while husband Allan Hilverson pre-
pares and serves pastas and great salads at good prices. It's clean,
low-key, and brimming with quality food and snappy service
(€10 lunch plate with wine, €8-10 pasta, Thu-Tue 12:00-14:30 &
18:00-22:30, closed Wed, Hoogstraat 17, tel. [phone]).
Restaurant de Koetse is a good bet for central, affordable,
quality, local-style food. The feeling is traditional, a bit formal,
and dressy yet accessible. The cuisine is Belgian and French,
with an emphasis on grilled meat, seafood, and mussels (€28-37
three-course meals, €20-25 plates include vegetables and a salad,
Fri-Wed 12:00-14:30 & 18:00-22:00, closed Thu, non-smoking
section, Oude Burg 31, tel. [phone], Piet).
Bistro de Bekoring, cute, candlelit, and Gothic, fills two
almshouses and a delightful terrace with people thankful for good
food. Rotund and friendly Chef Roland and his wife, Gerda, love
to tempt the hungry—as the name of their bistro implies. They
serve traditional Flemish food (especially eel and beer-soaked
stew) from a small menu to people who like holding hands as they
dine. Reservations are smart (€12 weekday lunch, €35 fixed-price
dinners, €42 with wine, Wed-Sat 12:00-13:30 and from 18:30,
closed Sun evening and Mon-Tue; out past the Begijnhof at
Arsenaalstraat 53, tel. [phone]).
Bistro in den Wittenkop, very Flemish, is a stylishly clut-
tered, laid-back, old-time place specializing in the local favorites.
While Lieve cooks, her husband Daniel serves in a cool-and-jazzy,
candlelit ambience (€35 three-course meal, €20-25 plates, Tue-Sat