The 5 best restaurants for local atmosphere in Brussels

This stylish restaurant stands opposite the church where Pieter Bruegel was buried. The interior is decorated in a warm style, with mirrors, paintings and art nouveau lamps. The cook uses the best local ingredients, including Cantillon beer.

This friendly little restaurant in a quiet residential street is a good bet if you want traditional Belgian cuisine. The lamb is succulent, the frites are served in a paper cone, and the Zeeland mussels come with a choice of 30 different sauces. The place is always busy and staff occasionally struggle to cope with all the tables.

This rustic restaurant lies hidden down a quiet cobbled lane on the edge of a nature reserve. You can dine in the wood-panelled interior or outside on the terrace when the weather allows. The menu is fantastic value for Brussels, although you might have to factor in a taxi fare.

Hidden down a cobbled lane in the Marolles, this intimate bistro opened in 2020. It’s a relaxed, romantic place with exposed brick walls and velvet curtains. The enthusiastic young team create an inspiring menu using seasonal ingredients.

This is a friendly, relaxed restaurant with authentic Brussels charm. A great place to go with kids: its walls are decorated with quirky comic-book murals illustrating episodes from Belgian history. The cooking is Belgian style with classics likemoules-frites, beef stewed in Belgian beer and saucisse-stoemp (sausage with mashed potatoes). The menu lists interesting Belgian beers, along with Belgian Cécémel(chocolate milk) for the young ones.