It’s all about the food! Cheer yourself up with a tasty takeaway

The capital’s appetite for takeaway food is booming during the confinement period. As well as the usual fare of kebabs and pizzas, diners have the choice of something classier with plenty of restaurants transforming their businesses into takeaway operators.

Despite their doors being closed, many places have turned to weekly menus and special offers to keep customers happy and their kitchens ticking over. I am Horeca is one charity that is supporting the sector in Brussels and Flanders.

So here’s some of our favourite addresses in Brussels, from high-end options to global cuisine and cheap and cheerful eats. With the feasting season around the corner, many gourmet restaurants are also prepping festive menus to enjoy from the comforts of your home.

Belgian

Traditional Place Sainte-Catherine brasserie La Belle Maraîchère specialises in fish, seafood and seasonal dishes; a takeaway selection is currently available and the menu changes monthly.  

Brussels institution Les Brigittines in the Sablon is a brasserie serving Franco-Belgian favourites (pictured above). Discover its hearty cuisine in weekly-updated three-course takeaway menus. 

Contemporary

Asian bistro Old Boy Restaurant delivers new dishes each week while collaborating with other tasty city eateries (check out its festive menus).

Gus Brussels in the city-centre offers a takeaway traiteur and delivery service, describing its fare as “Brassonomie, a subtle combination of brewing skills and gastronomy with a Belgian flair” (pictured above). Organic produce takes centre stage at Le 203 BXL bistro in Saint-Gilles, where the menu also changes weekly. 

Gastronomic

Coquum’s three-service sampling menu is available Thursday and Friday with chef Cédric Dassonville inspired by Japanenese and Scandinavian cuisine. Fermentation and preserving techniques ensure seasonal produce can be served all-year-round.

Creative fusion maestro Toshiro (the former chef at L’Air du Temps and San) conjures up a weekly takeaway service every Friday (pictured above). Influenced by French gastronomy, he also draws on his Japanese heritage for a delicate, colourful and harmonised cuisine. Lacto-fermentation is also a speciality of Barge, whose duo of chefs also trained under L’Air du Temps celebrity chef Sang-Hoon Degeimbre. The downtown pair invite diners on a five-course gastronomic journey to a different country each week every Friday and Saturday.

Michelin star

For a bit of posh nosh, these three Michelin-star restaurants offer the ultimate indulgence with gourmet takeaway options. The Experience Box at two-Michelin-starred La Paix promises customers ‘a night out at home’. The Anderlecht address, famous for its fusion of French and Japanese cuisine, has been awarded 17.5/20 by gastro bible Gault & Millau.

Another Michelin star address serving delicious food during the confinement period is Bozar Restaurant (Gault & Millau 2021: 17/20) with its Les Casses-Croûtes service (pictured above). Chef Karen Toyosyan updates the seasonal menus weekly. Wine in the City in Jette boasts an extensive tapas, mains and fine wine menu. Classics include shrimp croquettes, salmon gravlax, plus Asian-influenced winter-warming spicy sweet potato soup.

Meanwhile, chef Pascal Devalkeneer has transformed his Uccle restaurant into a seasonal deli, selling some of its finest produce, from home-smoked salmon to truffle enriched foie gras and French classic bouillabaisse, as well as seasonal products and wine. L’Épicerie du Chalet de la Forêt is open weekends until 13 December.

Italian

For a gastronomic experience with an Italian flavour, place an order with Racines. The four- or five-course weekly menu comes with two or three bottles of accompanying wine plus a final bottle to round off your evening. Inspired to attempt a dish at home? Each week, the Ixelles restaurant publishes one of its signature recipes.

Alternatively, keep it simple at PastaMadre (pictured above), which specialises in natural sourdough pizzas crusts made with Carillon Lambic beer and topped with fresh Italian and Belgian ingredients. You can also order a craft beer from the Place Rouppe pizzeria. Similarly famed for its tasty pizzas is Marcella in Rue du Bailli, with its excellent wine menu and friendly service also highly appreciated.

Meat

Carnivores can treat themselves to a prime or mature cut from home or abroad at Colonel steakhouse in Louise village and Fort Jaco.

Its takeaway service extends to seasonal favourites such as raclette and stone-grill pierrade (pictured above). Meat is equally on the menu at Texas BBQ and bourbon bar Holy Smoke in Porte de Hal. Tender cuts are slow-smoked in southern US style and washed down with home-spiced American whiskey or a tempting selection of classic and creative cocktails.

Veggie

Inspired by Taiwan street food, Liu Lin proves that takeaway vegan food can be healthy and sophisticated. The plant based menu centres on rice, noodle and fried light snacks.

You can’t beat a bit of southern Indian spice for a winter pick-up, and Saravana Bhavan Brussels in Avenue Louise, delivers mightily with thalis, masala dosas among its warming veggie options (pictured above).

Asian

A newcomer onto Brussels’ burgeoning street food scene is modern Asian outlet Ly in foodie hub Rue des Bouchers.

Up until the end of January, the Vietnamese-inspired pop-up is serving chill-busting spicy dishes like slow-cooked pork in bao buns, original banh mi sandwiches and mussels with red curry and rice (pictured above (c) Ruben Sciffer, and in main image). Ingredients are locally sourced and short-chain, while the wine selection is natural and biodynamic.

Or seek solace in a colourful energy-boosting poké bowl. The soy-dressed Hawaiian raw fish salads at PokiPoké in Ixelles are packed with fresh ingredients. Pick your protein and choose your own toppings. Promising a Filipino sharing feast for the holiday season is chef Noel Kamayan at the Humphrey chez Pias restaurant. Grilled chicken, fish, seafood, pork and soy, vinegar and chilli sauces are piled atop rice and banana leaves; all designed for eating with fingers.

African & Middle Eastern

Also perfect for dipping into with your family or social bubble, Ethiopian restaurant Toukoul specialises in tasty spicy sharing dishes served on traditional injera bread, plus authentic stews and zingy salads.

Remaining in the African continent, Au Bois d’EBENE in Boulevard du Midi (pictured above) plates up tasty and generous portions of various regional specialities. 

Or take a tour of the Middle East, starting with Saint-Gilles Syrian street food address My Tannour. Huge clay ovens are fired up to spit out home-made bread ready to be stuffed with delicious fillings, plus smoked meat and grilled veggies. For pitas, kebabs and other Turkish treats, try Snack Anatolie in Molenbeek.

Fries

Everyone has their favourite address for the original Belgian street food. Fritkot Chouke opened in Place Sainte-Catherine a year ago with a mission to cook up traditional fries in beef dripping, alongside a choice of gourmet burgers. A similar ‘real fries’ drive fuels Patatak at its outlets in Parvis Saint-Gilles and the Bourse. Homemade sauces stretch to truffle mayo and the fries menu includes sweet potato.

Or try the hot chips and other savoury deep-fried delights at Friterie du Bourdon in Uccle (pictured above).