Brussels Bruxelles - Amsterdam Bruges and Brussels - page 432

Rue des Bouchers (“Restaurant Row”)
Brussels' restaurant streets, two blocks north of the Grand Place,
are touristy and notorious for aggressively sucking you in and rip-
ping you off. But the area is an exhilarating spectacle and fun for
at least a walk. Order carefully, understand the prices thoroughly,
and watch your wallet.
Restaurant Chez Leon is a touristy mussels factory, slam-
ming out piles of good, cheap buckets since 1893. It's big and
welcoming, with busy green-aproned waiters offering a “Formula
Leon” for €14.50—a light meal consisting of a small bucket of
mussels, fries, and a beer. They also offer a €28.50 fixed-price meal
that comes with a starter, a large bucket of mussels, fries, and beer
(daily 12:00-23:00, kids under 12 eat free, Rue des Bouchers 18,
tel. [phone]). In the family portrait of Leon's brother Honoré
(hanging in the corner), the wife actually looks like a mussel.
Aux Armes de Bruxelles is a venerable restaurant that has
been serving reliably good food to locals in a dressy setting for
generations. This is another food factory, with white-suited wait-
ers serving an older clientele impressed by the restaurant's reputa-
tion. You'll pay a bit more for the formality (€24 fixed-price lunch,
€35-46 fixed-price dinner, Tue-Sun 12:00-23:00, closed Mon,
indoor seating only, Rue des Bouchers 13, tel. [phone]).
Restaurant Vincent has you enter through the kitchen to
enjoy their 1905-era ambience (€27.50 fixed-price meal, Mon-Sat
12:00-14:30 & 18:30-23:00, Sun 12:00-15:00 & 18:30-22:30, Rue
des Dominicains 8-10, tel. [phone], Michel and Jacques).
Finer Dining
Restaurant de l'Ogenblik, a remarkably peaceful eddy just off
the raging restaurant row, fills an early-20th-century space in the
corner of an arcade. The dressy waiters serve well-presented, near-
gourmet French cuisine (€24-27 plates, Mon-Sat 12:00-14:30 &
19:00-24:00, closed Sun, across from Restaurant Vincent—listed
above—at Galerie des Princes 1, tel. [phone], Yves). A mussels-
free zone, their rack of lamb with 10 vegetables is great.
Belga Queen Brasserie bills itself as a “wonderfood place.”
A huge, trendy, dressy brasserie filling a palatial former bank
building, it's the spot for Brussels' beautiful people and visiting
European diplomats. While a little more expensive than the alter-
natives, the “creative Belgian cuisine” is excellent, the service is
sharp, and the experience is memorable—from the fries served
in silver cones, to the double-decker platters of iced shellfish, to
the transparent toilets stalls (which become opaque only after you
nervously lock the door). The high-powered trendiness can make
you feel a little gawky, but if you've got the money, this is a great
splurge. Consider their €33 three-course, fixed-price meal with