Brasserie 28 is a fairly new place to have something to eat and (their specialty) enjoy a Belgian beer. The location couldn’t be better: the restaurant is situated inside of the Brussels Central train station. Ideal for travellers. They even have a little terrace outside. The interior is spacious with lots of light pouring in through the windows. I find the interior hard to describe, since it is such an interesting mix of styles. You’ll just have to experience it for yourself.

So, is the food any good? Since my company and I had to catch a train, there wasn’t enough time to try the food sharing formula, which sounded really lovely. I’ll have to come back for that another time. The concept of Brasserie 28 was developed by Caulier, the producer of the only naturally sugar free beers in the market. Since I don’t drink beer, I can’t comment on the quality of the beers, but I’m sure they’ll find a health conscious public for their product.

I can comment though on the Buffalo Burger I ate. The burger was really nice, with an unexpected combination of organic beef, mozzarella, tomato confit, basil and rucola pesto. I quite enjoyed it. With the burger came some very thinly slice potatoes, which were really to salty for me. The waitress recommended we order some extra fries with our burgers, but I actually had enough with the burger alone. A big eater would really need those fries, though.

I got the impression staff wasn’t trained well enough. The girl (who was friendly) didn’t know the wines on the menu. So Brasserie 28 can improve on that part. I would definitely come back here for a drink with friends though, because the wine was nice and not expensive at all.

Information
Brasserie 28 by Caulier Brussels Central Station
Boulevard de l’impératrice 3
1000 Brussels
Belgium
+32 2 511 05 31
http://www.brasserie28caulier.be/
https://www.facebook.com/b28centralstation

Visited June 2017. You can find my review about Brasserie 28 Caulier also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 3/5, food 4/5.

Gatsu Gatsu is a Asian style restaurant which tries to emulate Asian street food. The interior really evokes the atmosphere of a traditional food alley in an Asian city. The concept is simple: you choose the ingredients for your wok (rice or noodles, meat, fish or tofu, vegetables) and the food is made while you wait. It is very nice that you can see the cooks do their magic.

If the weather is nice you can eat outside on the terrace with wooden tables and red plastic stools. When I went to Gatsu Gatsu, not long after they opened, I got the feeling that the staff was not yet used to the concept and they needed to streamline their process a little more.

The wok I had was very nice though. Love the fact that they offer udon noodles!

Information
Gatsu Gatsu
Rue du marché aux herbes 99
1000 Brussels
Belgium
+32 2 514 15 95
http://www.gatsugatsu.be/
https://www.facebook.com/GatsuGatsuBxl/

Visited June 2017. You can find my review about Gatsu Gatsu – Wok Alley also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 2/5, food 4/5.

Great place to enjoy cocktails in the sun. The terrace is really lovely and in summer you’ll have a hard time finding a free seat on the terrace. The cocktail menu is extensive and the cocktails are reasonably priced (lots of cocktails at about 9 euro).

I enjoyed met daiquiri with basil and honey very much. A special touch to a classic drink. Since the weather was gorgeous my friend and I enjoyed our drinks outside (the cava was also very nice), but the interior of Skylab is also really gorgeous, witch nice sofa’s and a lovely bar. A classy place to enjoy a cocktail or two.

Skylab, Quai au Bois a Bruler 9 métro Sainte Catherine, Brussels 1000, Belgium
https://facebook.com/skylabloungebar/
+32 2 203 03 50

Visited June 2017. You can find my review about Skylab also on TripAdvisor.

Intermezzo is a traditional Italian restaurant which serves great food. The place is always packed at lunch time, so that speaks for itself. A colleague and I had lunch on the terrace on a very hot spring day. The interior of the place is very nice, with a beautiful wooden floor and ceiling with a real authentic feel to it.

it was a bit of hassle to order, because the menu was written on a chalk board inside, so we had to go inside to see what our options was. After we decided on our order, the waiter returned after a few moments to tell us they run out of the dish my colleague ordered. Defeats the purpose of a chalk board, if you asked me, but she changed her order.

We didn’t had to wait long for our pasta, which was perfectly cooked. I really enjoyed my spaghetti cozze with large mussels. The combination with the tomato sauce was just perfect.

Information
L’Intermezzo
Rue des Princes 16
1000 Brussels
Belgium
+32 2 218 03 11
https://www.facebook.com/L-Intermezzo-1424337587799300/

Visited June 2017. You can find my review about Intermezzo also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, service 3/5, food 5/5.

Café Bota is the restaurant in the same building as the popular music venue ‘Botanique’. The place has a beautiful terrace overlooking the gorgeous Botanical Garden of Brussels. Sadly when I went there for lunch with some colleagues, it was just way to hot to sit outside on the terrace in the sun. It was a pity that staff didn’t open more parasols to provide their customers some shade.

Luckily we found a table on the inside of the restaurant where it was nice and cool. When we wanted to order there were already lots of plates sold out. A bit of a shame, since it was only 12.30h. But no worries, we found a dish to suit everyone. The wait was kind of long for a quick lunch (more than half an hour), but the pasta really was excellent. My pasta was cooked perfectly al dente and the sauce with white truffles and cherry tomatoes was really perfect. The home made lemonade was also excellent.

Staff should work on their hospitality and friendliness though.

Cafe Bota, Rue Royale 236, Brussels 1210, Belgium
http://botanique.be/fr/cafe-bota-fr
+32 2 226 12 28

Visited June 2017. You can find my review about Cafe Bota also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 4/5, service 2/5, food 4/5.

We stopped at the pub À La Bécasse during a guided tour through Brussels with as topic Belgian beers. So it is easy to guess, what the main reason for our visit was. We had some ‘Lambic’ and ‘Kriek’ beer, accompanied by some traditional Belgian ‘blood’ sausages and cheese. If you want to soak up the atmosphere of traditional Belgian pubs, this place is ideal. You’ll feel like you got transported back into time when visiting this pub with its wooden interior and a very classic vibe. If you’re visiting with a group, you can pour your own beer from large pitchers.

Be warned: the entrance is easy to miss, since it’s only a small door leading to the pub.

a la becasse, Rue de Tabora 11, Brussels 1000, Belgium
http://www.alabecasse.com/en/info.html
+32 2 511 00 06

Visited June 2017. You can find my review about a la becasse also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 4/5, service 4/5, food 4/5.