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Fin de Siècle
They also don’t take reservations, so expect to wait a while for your table. Our party of five takes a draughty seat by the door and nurses a round of Trappist beers (Rochefort, Chimay, Orval) in the meantime.
Finally seated, we have a look down the rows of other diners squeezed together at long wooden tables. There’s a party of 17 next to us. (Or are they together?) This is by no means a romantic one-on-one kind of restaurant, but rather a place where you bring along a bunch of mates, or go to meet a few new ones.
The atmosphere is full of energy, buzzing to the sound of silverware on plates, clinking glasses and plenty of laughter. Miraculously, our server remains as calm as a Buddhist monk. She is in fact the owner of the restaurant, which has been around for 16 years. And there are in fact two dining rooms – across the street from each other – equally as busy. She doesn’t bother with publicity: Word of mouth serves just fine.
At Fin de Siècle, there are no menus. You order from a giant chalkboard at the centre of the room, which is filled with classics and a few nods to African and Asian cuisine: entrecôte, calamari, spare ribs, lamb, couscous. In the end, it’s the simple, traditional dishes that convince our table.
My friends order rabbit in a Kriek beer and prune sauce, grilled entrecôte, Chimay-infused beef stew and the most classic Brussels dish of all, stoemp with sausage. I decide on the ham shank in a grain mustard sauce, one of my favourites.
The dishes arrive within 15 minutes looking, well, good enough to eat. We tuck in, and it’s unanimous: Everything is excellent. But my fork takes a wander around the table just to be sure.
The stoemp is a royal portion of mashed potatoes topped with two thick, juicy country sausages and surrounded by a moat of savoury gravy. The beef stew is just as it should be, the meat falling apart and the sauce dark and bold like the Chimay. Next to the stew is a heap of lumpy potatoes, tender broccoli and buttery soft witloof. The entrecôte is without sauce, and it doesn’t need any. The steak is barely grilled on both sides, bloody in the middle and very tasty. It comes with a baked potato and a huge salad.
Mine also comes with a butter-stuffed baked potato and loads of salad, with a creamy vinaigrette. Together with the ham shank, my plate is big enough to be slightly embarrassing. It’s mostly bones, I try to explain to my dining companions in between bites. But that’s not true. The ham shank consists of a massive portion of pork, steamed to the point where it’s practically falling off the bones. Its delicate, sweet flavour is perfectly complemented by the sharp and tangy grain mustard sauce.
As good as it is, we all agree that the rabbit is the best. Its Kriek and prune sauce is so sweet, almost caramel-like, that the whole dish tastes like dessert. The generous helping of meat is succulent and slides right off the bone. It comes with a pile of mixed sautéed veg including carrot, courgette, broccoli and green beans.
Completely stu ffed and contented after five fantastic meals and 10 quality brews, we pay less than €24 a head.
Rue des Chartreux 9, Brussels; 02.513.51.23
Daily, 16.30-23.45
Mains: €13-€19
An absolute must for classic, hearty dishes and a true Brussels experience
This article first appeared in Flanders Today
I wasn't disappointed with my visit to this hotel. The food was delicious and well-prepared, and the atmosphere was cozy without being stuffy. Nothing fancy, but service was attentive without being overbearing. The wine list was well-priced with an emphasis on French reds. The matter of fact, I inspired to work on my gaming based dissertation because of this article. Later, by taking help from https://cultureofgaming.com/my-gaming-experience-how-did-i-write-an-incredible-games-based-dissertation/, I have completed my dissertation. My teachers have appreciated my submitted work.
