You have one meal in Brussels...

Roy d'Espagnne. Right on the Grand Place, authentic cuisine of good quality, and an extensive collection of Belgian beers.
That is my "go to" spot every time I arrive in Brussels. Once I am sitting there with a beer in my hand admiring the beautiful view, that's when my vacation really begins.

If the day is not nice, I'd head to Galeries Saint-Hubert. There are a number of restaurants in there. No recommendations on a specific place as I'm vegan, lol....

https://www.grsh.be/en/history/

Just eat chocolate!

Thanks Pam and Linda! Kathleen, there's no chance I won't be overindulging!

I'd go anywhere that served mussels and fries (which I assume is almost anywhere)! But, that's just me ;-)

Nope. Not just you. Mussels and fries (with mayo) and a local Belgian beer. Just about any restaurant in the area around the Grande Place will do.

Good point about the Galeries St. Hubert if the weather is rainy, Pam. Tavern du Passage is a reputable choice there.

Yes, I think mussels in Brussels is the way to go. I'm only going to be there a few hours, might as well go all out touristy.

If you want something better than Le Roy d'Espagne, try Aux Armes de Bruxelles or Vincent. There are a lot of very dodgy restaurants around there.

Similarly there are some dodgy chocolate places in the area - only buy chocolate from branches of the better chains: Neuhaus, Corne Port-Royal, or Galler.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Honestly, the best thing that I ate in Brussels may have been the chicken schwarma sandwich from a place called Sultans of Kebap, located on Anspach not far from the Grand Place. I went back the next day I liked it so much.

If you want something more traditionally Belgian, I enjoyed the two Art Nouveau cafes, Le Cirio and Falstaff. Both have beautiful interiors, though I thought Falstaff was a bit more impressive, while I liked my food more at Le Cirio. I'm not a fan of seafood, so no mussels for me, but I did enjoy a traditional Flemish dish called waterzooi.

Agree with CJean. I did that on a solo tour in 2018 in Grand Place. Also recommend doing one of the chocolate tours, really fun!

Thanks, those both look great. Oh gosh, a chocolate tour 🤤

Thai/Chinese: Lotus Vert (Centre), Hau Wang (Centre), Neuf-Neuf Dragon (Evere), Van Kim (Molenbeek) Indian: Le feu de Bengale (Centre) Meat: Colonel (pricey but extremely yummy) (Louise) Japanese: Kabuki (Centre), Makisu (Centre, Janson & Bailly) has great “fast & Cheap” sushis, but it’s not at all real Japanese cuisine, Anata (Centre) Belgian Cuisine: Le clan des belges (Matonge), Amadeus/Mozart (Centre) Burgers: Manhattan’s (Centre, Louise), Rambo (Chatelain), Smashed Burgers (Centre, only available for delivery) Italian: Ricotta & Parmesan (Centre)

Thanks for those suggestions, canoe.company-0a.

We had really good meals at Le Marmiton (by the galleries) and Fin de Siecle (more of a walk, more hipster type place with a very interesting menu). Both Belgian food.

Thank you!

We were being entertained in Brussels and were taken to Le Cygne ( The Swan) on the Grand Place. Excellent.

.... fries (with mayo)

That makes gelato and beer fine dining ( https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/tourist-fined-for-decorum-violation)