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Sjo d'O

This little restaurant doesn’t look too appealing. It’s in a nondescript terraced house in the shadow of the E40 flyover, just beyond the edge of Brussels. Inside, it recalls the living room of an elderly aunt: reproductions of dull 19th-century landscapes, teddy bears huddled on a radiator and the bar hung with witch dolls, seemingly left over from Halloween.
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There is a reason, however, why Sjo d’O was the only place around Brussels that the 2012 Michelin Guide added to its Bib Gourmand list of best-value restaurants, and it soon became clear when a plate of plump tempura prawns arrived as an ideal appetiser while we waited for our meal.

The Franco-Belgian food served here is good, simple and a real bargain. There’s a fixed three-course menu at €30 in the evenings that comes loaded with lobster, salmon, foie gras and other high-end nibbles. At lunchtime the menu is set at €20. We started by sharing a lobster cooked in a peppery cream sauce with chives and button mushrooms. Among the mains, the sole meunière was fresh, firm and cooked to perfection; the salmon steak came huge and accompanied with a trio of king prawns. Both dishes were served with a warming mash of potatoes, cress and chopped bacon.

To finish, the home-made trio of dark, milk and white chocolate mousse was dense and intense – it felt like eating a whole box of pralines. This is a good, honest neighbourhood eaterie. Closed at weekends.

Statieplaats 3, Kraainem, tel 02.306.40.50