Le Pré Salé – Belgian Comfort Food for Grim Days
For perhaps the first time since I moved to Brussels, I visited a Belgian restaurant to have some traditional Belgian food. I’ve been to some restaurants that were fusions of Belgian cuisine, but I’ve never had the true experience, so after searching I came across Le Pré Salé.
Le Pré Salé is located in the city center, a 3 minute walk away from the St Catherine Square on the vivid Rue de Flandre, which is home to many other restaurants I would love to try one day.
The restaurant is decorated in a simple yet traditional way, with white tiles on the walls, a bar in the same style at the end of the room with an open kitchen and dark brown wooden tables, simple tablecloths and quite bright lightning.
They’re menu is quite extensive, heavy on meat and greasy dishes and of course mussels are not missing either.
The restaurant gets quite full in the evenings, and it’s also a very buzzing place because of the acoustics. Waiters are efficient, quick and the food arrives after a short wait.
I tried the pan-fried Gambas with olive oil and garlic and the cheese croquette, both simple and very tasty.
Then I tried their Carbonade, a traditional Belgian dish from the Flemish region. Carbonade is a stew made from beef and beer, so it’s very tender meat in a thick sauce, which is perfect for dipping in some thick Belgian fries. It was the first time I had this. Thus I can’t compare it to previous experiences, but it was a decent and tasty dish, not presented in the most beautiful way, but that’s not needed here.
The food at Le Pré Salé Is an honest presentation of a simple, homemade, traditional dish, which is there to taste good, nothing more nothing less. Belgian comfort food I’d say.
The place is nice for an unpretentious, simple evening, so don’t expect fancy food or innovative ingredients, because here the slogan is what you get is what you see. It’s nice to bring parents or for an unplanned meal with friends. Don’t know I would go there every week, but I’m glad I’ve tried it out.
Good to know:
- Rue de Flandre 20, 1000 – Brussels
- Price: Around 6-10 Euro for a starter and 17-24 Euro for a main course.
