In the center of Oostende across from the waterfront, this is a tourist-oriented high turnover restaurant. But for our purposes it was perfect: Moules frites. Mussels and fries.
The seating was crowded and busy, with menus in Dutch, English, and French. Service was scant but adequate. The local Belgian abbey beer, Tongerlo, was rich and delicious. And then the mussels. Perfect! We each had a giant bucket of mussels, the biggest freshest we've had since Café de Bruxelles closed in New York a few years ago. Mine had a cream sauce (poor choice); my wife's had a wine sauce (yes, Erika, a better choice). The frites were good, not great. But the beer and the big tender mussels, and of course the bread for soaking up the broth, made this a fabulous meal.
We even got to see a local boy on a bicycle deliver a big burlap bag of fresh mussels while we were waiting for ours. Now that's "local flavor." read more