5 Restaurants for Valentine’s Day dinner in Brussels
I’m personally not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. It’s such a commercialized and impersonal day, so I try to ignore it and instead declare other days (there are 364 of them) as special. Nowadays, though, you almost can’t get around all those heart shaped chocolates, heart shaped flowers, heart shaped cakes, heart shaped toilet paper, heart shaped pasta, heart shaped plates – do you want me to continue? But one thing I’d never say ‘no’ to is a decent dinner, so here’s my list for tomorrow’s go-to places.
1. Share your food at Tarzan
Isn’t that perfect?! Your fingertips can meet while you both try to grab that last piece of food on the plate between you? Or you can find an agreement that the person who gets the last bite of this course won’t get it for the next. Anyhow, the small plates at Tarzan to share are perfect for an evening for two. You can try a few dishes, have one or two bottles of wine and who knows what the evening might bring.
Good to know:
Price: 5-7€ for a glass of wine, around 8-10€ for a small dish to share; Address: Rue Washington 59, 1050 Ixelles
2. Stay for a bit longer at La Buvette
When dining here, you should be sure that your date will be a good conversation partner for at least one and a half to two hours as it takes some time to eat the six or nine courses that are being served at La Buvette. So make sure not to take your Tinder date. It’s a nice spot with a romantic atmosphere. But not too big either, therefore it’s better if you don’t come here in case you anticipate any bigger couple fights.
Good to know:
Website: http://www.la-buvette.be
Address: Chaussee d’Alsemberg 108, 1060 St Gilles
Prices: 49€ for 6 courses, 64€ for 9 courses, and absolutely worth it
3. Play Lady and the Tramp at Nuovo Rosso
There’s nothing better than sharing food. Wait what? Ok, you’ll usually won’t hear these words coming out of my mouth, but at Nuovo Rosso the pasta portions are so big (and delicious) that you could easily share them. I very much recommend their Paccheri del Prete, they’ll shoot you directly to cloud nine.
Good to know:
Address: Rue Bosquet 62, 1060 Saint-Gilles
Prices: Around 11-18€ for a starter, 12-28€ for a main course
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4. Fall in love over sushi at Nonbe Daigaku
One of the, if not the best, sushi and sashimi place in Brussels. Incredibly fresh fish served by an incredibly adorable slightly older Japanese chef. Sit at the bar, look into each other’s eyes and then concentrate on your delicious dinner. Have some warm sake with it, I heard it achieves wonders!
Good to know:
Prices: Around 60-80€ for a dinner with drinks per person, a platter of sashimi is 30€, the mixed nigiri platter is 40€
Address: Avenue Adolphe Buyl 31, 1050 Ixelles
Make a reservation!
5. Test your partner at Holy Smoke Brussels
No-carb boys or girls are a no-go? Vegetarians are even worse? Well, this is the place to test your future husband or wife to be, because there’s certainly very limited vegetarian options at this American BBQ spot in the heart of St Gilles. Slow cooked brisket, smoked sausage or as-tender-as-it-can-get ribs are better than any red roses I ever got!
Good to know:
The crew is very nice and very responsive in terms of bookings. Just be aware that 50% of the seats can be reserved each night and the other half is up for grabs, first-come-first-serve, and they don’t accept groups bigger than 8, which I find a bit odd
Price: Around 25€ for a dinner with drinks.
