I wanted some seafood for my first meal in Brussels and specifically walked over here after all the…read morereviews I read. This was a combo fish monger and restaurant in one. Large refrigerated cases faced the street with a variety of fresh fish, shellfish and premade seafood items. In the back the kitchen and food prep were visible and completed restaurant or to go orders were queued at its own counter (though staff would drop off at your table). Prices were quite reasonable comparing them to other restaurants in the more touristy streets. Also the cashier was very friendly with both locals and visitors. My favorite was the razor clams followed by the mussels and fish soup. Each was nicely seasoned and good size/ meaty for the shellfish. A separate bowl was also provided to hold all the empty shells. The WCs were located down a spiral staircase in the rear of the restaurant and was tiny. Overall a great start to my eating in Brussels.

Thank you, Mer du Nord for giving me one of my favorite meals during a recent European trip. I'm a…read moreherring lover and I got to try both pickled herring and Dutch-style cured herring (the kind that you see people dip in chopped onions and dangle by the tail and eat with their head tilted back.) I loved them both, but since I was not sure I would ever get to try the Dutch style in my life-time and despite it being a bucket list food, I was so enormously grateful. Even more grateful because it tasted amazing. I plowed through more than one I must admit. I might never get to try it again so I had to get more than one. Don't judge me. LOL. Anyway, the lady that helped me once I had one of the pickled and one of the cured ones was very patient and very kind. She seemed genuinely interested in what I thought and listened to me as I gushed like a fan boy over their products. I will never forget that and I was very appreciative. The place is pretty close to central, downtown Brussels and it was nice to just go to a table out in a courtyard and enjoy one of the favorite things I had on that trip. It was awesome.

We had a reservation (highly recommended) for 6pm and were seated immediately. Friendly staff and…read morevery good service. Food (rack of lamb and paella) was delicious.

We stopped by The Lobster House for dinner while on our honeymoon in Brussels, and wow... such a…read moregreat choice. They're famous for their seafood paella with lobster, which is a must-try here. We skipped it since we wanted to save our full paella experience for Barcelona. I ordered the seafood spaghetti and my husband fell in love with it lol. There's something special about the sauce, so rich and flavorful. It was so good that we had to come back again before leaving the city. We also had the mussels, of course. You can't come to Brussels and not do "mussels in Brussels." The white wine sauce was amazing, and the frites that came with it were hot, fresh, and perfect for dipping. Portions are generous and everything is great for sharing. We also loved the fresh rolls they bring out at the start. The service is great! The ambiance is cozy and relaxed, perfect for a casual dinner or a special night out. I honestly can't say enough good things about this place. If I'm ever back in Brussels, I'll definitely be coming back. Highly recommend!

We visited from California and wanted a place away from the tourist lane. So glad we found this…read morespot. It's a quiet cozy restaurant. The owners/mangers were so welcoming and you could tell that they love what they do. The mussels were a hearty serving and so tasty (homemade Mayo). We'll definitely be coming back to this memorable spot.

So.... I like this place and would return. However, we did NOT have good mussels here. Their excuse…read morewas that it is the wrong season; they struck me as not fresh or over cooked (or perhaps a mix of those three). The steak tartar was very good. Service was very French; a little slow. Draft Maes beer on tap was fine. All-in-all, affordable and good (good frites). Their steak plate and seafood dishes that others were eating looked good as well. Indoor and outdoor seating on a nice square/plaza and slightly further down from all of the other more heavily tourists spots.

Nice place for mussels clams cod shrimp etc... one type of beer (Estaminet), wine, and still and…read moresparkling water. They don't have fries like every place in Belgium. They speak English for the tourists. Nice place. The mussels were a bit salty and small in size but the food was good. Nice flavors and seasoning. Nice staff also.

Great service and a fantastic meal today at this small spot that's connected to the famous Mer du…read moreNord. It's not fancy, but the seafood is fantastic. I ordered the top special on their specials board, a salmon salad. It was a good sized portion of salmon, chopped and mixed with a tangy dressing and then scooped onto a bed of arugula and lettuce that was on top of a slice of dark rye bread that had a dill cream cheese spread on it. Absolutely heavenly and delicious. They have a good selection of wines and a handful of Belgian beers in bottles.

This was a great experience. Nice small place that feels authentically Belgian. Great ambience and…read morefantastic service. In reviewing the menu, everything sounded fantastic. My wife settled on the beef stew with stoemp, I had the confit of beef chuck with a side of fries. They were both very tasty, the servings were perfect for normal appetites and the meal came with bread, and salad as well. We really enjoyed it, in retrospect I wish we had ordered a beef dish and something else, both dishes we had were excellent (the confit of beef practically fell apart with my fork) but the tastes were similar. Oh well, maybe next time. Highly recommended.

Came here on the suggestion of a friend. There was a queue outside as it was a Saturday evening at…read morearound 7pm. I got lucky and only had to wait about 10 minutes as I was a eating solo, and the other people in queue were 4+. Sat down, grabbed a Cantillon on draft, and ordered. The cheese board was fantastic. The mussells were wonderful, and the homemade sausage was unfortunately just okay. Could have done without it as it was dry and overcooked, but very much enjoyed my meal here. Would suggest eating here easily.

I stumbled upon this outdoor seafood tapas joint while exploring the neighborhood with a local in…read moresearch of a spot to sit and chat. Even though there were no seats available we switch gears as soon as we spotted this place, planked our elbows on the bar and got down to businesses testing some of the exciting tapas items on the hand-drawn menu. I had been in Brussels for over 24 hours and had yet to have anything fried, so fried was on my eating agenda. Cod fritters and fried mussels (which neither I nor my Brussels-born companion had ever seen) sounded like the perfect late afternoon snack to accompany our chat (as well as a glass of crisp white whine, what the hey?!). Since our spot at the bar was smack in front of the outdoor kitchen we were able to see everything prepared before our eyes. The mussels were steamed on the grill to get them out of their shell, then each one was coated in a light bread crumb mix and fried up fresh. Served with homemade tartar sauce they were beyond perfection: juicy, slightly spicy, crisp. The cod fritters were equally delicious in their tempura crust, but the mussels stole the show for sure. Who knew that you could have an authentic seaside experience in the heart of Brussels? Not me! But now that I've discovered this place you can guarantee I will be back every chance I get!

Came here for moules and I was quite disappointed with them. It barely had flavor. It was super…read morefresh but it had no taste. My dish came with bread and diced peppers and onions but it wasn't satisfying at all. The portion size was decent and the entire staff was friendly.

Super fun restaurant - The fish is caught fresh and they have a chalkboard that tells you what kind…read moreof fish will be used for each menu item. All of the fish came out super fresh, crispy, and flavorful. My favorite was the "monthly special", which was a spicy Cajun seasoning - but I also really enjoyed the Lemon & Basil and the Rosemary Thyme flavors as well. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the options here. One thing to note though - service is a bit slow since I assume they're making and frying everything to order in the back for freshness, so just be prepared to wait a bit for your food.

Delicious spot to get different kinds of fish and chips in Brussels! It's in the city center area…read moreand the fish was so fresh, chips were good & sauces were very tasty! Prices were also reasonable for the portion and location.

Food was ok. We went for the rabbit stew on my birthday. Kind of tasted like chicken? Pork knuckle…read morehad a sweet and savory marinate. Salad was a center attraction. Lasagña was t bad either. You have to try Belgium waffles while in Belgium, obviously. Servers were friendly but forgot about a few of our dishes. We waited forever until everyone got their food. We sat outside during a rainy day but the restaurant itself seemed classic with a wooden rustic vibe.

Traditional Belgian restaurant with friendly service near Porte de Hal. I ordered the Rabbit Stew…read morein Kriek Beer (€26), which was more like two large pieces of meat cooked in stew but not actually a stew (with some fries too). The rabbit meat was surprisingly tender and the stew/sauce added some nice flavor. For those who haven't had rabbit before, it takes kind of like chicken to be honest, just with smaller bones. I think the price was okay considering the quality and type of dish. The fresh grapefruit juice (€5.80) was very good too. The staff are very friendly, helpful, and attentive. I was seated right away and the service speed was pretty quick. They have a decently sized indoor space as well as outdoor patio seating. The environment has a traditional Belgian restaurant/pub kind of vibe. Overall, Le Bistro has high quality traditional Belgian food in a pleasant setting and I would definitely recommend it if you are in the area near Porte de Hal / Marollen.

Super fresh fish. Amazing fish soup. Nota huge menu, but for the huge number of people, especially…read morelocals, eating here, it's one of the top places in the center city. Order at the counter, someone shouts your name. Raise your hand. Delivery!! Fast service. For as busy as it is? Super clean. Outdoor seating. Not sure what they do in the winter, but the summer is grand! Mobile bar behind it, if you want something other than beer and wine.

c'est délicieux. Best fish I've had…read more It's no wonder there's so many people recommend this place. The service is fast and you can expect your food within 10 minutes. There's indoor seating with the door open as well as outdoor seating. I tried the fried cod and it was probably the best fried cod I've ever had. It was very well prepared. It was fried perfectly with an amazing crisp. The sauce was perfect with the fish and it wasn't too overpowering. The calamari was also amazing. It also went really well with the sauce and was perfectly fried. I'm not one for grilled fish. But the Pollo was really good. It still had a lot of moisture, even though it was grilled. Delicious food

Awesome place for fish and chips in Brussels…read more Backstory- I'm not big on fish and chips and hardly ever order it. My mom loves eating this dish since she grew up on it. So being in Europe, she wanted to eat fish and chips. We had dinner reservations somewhere else but decided to go here for some appetizer sort option to make mom happy. Bia Mara has a ton of fish options and they can get it cooked any way. My mom wanted the locally caught coal fish option. The fish tasted great with the light coat for frying option. We ended up sharing it with French fries. The French fries were amazing as well. This place is local favorite and is extremely busy. And the service was excellent. The server helped us right away. Explained the fish options of the day. Brought out drinks right away and brought out our order fairly quickly. If you want great fish and chips in Brussels, this place is the one to be at. ~

We stumbled upon Bia Mara while roaming this neighborhood in Brussels. Bia Mara specializes in fish…read moren chips and they have all sorts of fishes and styles to chose from. When we got there it was very busy and we wanted to sit outside but the tables were so small they were very uncomfortable to sit so we went inside. Even though it is a very small shop they had a good 30-35 people enjoying dinner. The fish was very fresh and as you are in Brussels of course the fries are always gonna taste great. 5 star fish n chips place. This is an excellent neighborhood to explore Brussels a little bit different from the areas most tourists visit.