Housed in a beautiful old house in the Marché aux Poissons de Bruxelles, a stone’s throw from Place Sainte-Catherine, Chez Jacques is an unfairly overlooked institution. Inside, the Belle Epoque bistro setting has hardly changed for 60 years even if the place is no longer open, as it was then, from 3 a.m. to welcome with a stuffed gun and a cup market workers… In fine weather, the spacious terrace installs…
Housed in a beautiful old house in the Marché aux Poissons de Bruxelles, a stone’s throw from Place Sainte-Catherine, Chez Jacques is an unfairly overlooked institution. Inside, the Belle Epoque bistro setting has hardly changed for 60 years even if the place is no longer open, as it was then, from 3 a.m. to welcome with a stuffed gun and a cup coffee for market workers… In fine weather, the spacious terrace set up on the sidewalk now delights both passing tourists and locals alike. Chez Jacques was taken over in 2015 by Adrien (in the kitchen) and Jean-Philippe (in the dining room), the sons of Jean-Michel Argoud, who enjoyed the good times of L’Huîtrière and Vistro, two former restaurants neighboring the Quai aux Bricks. The address is above all a brasserie as we like them, with excellent value for money. The three-course menu at 34 euros is irreproachable. While the few beers on tap — including the Taras Boulba (5 euros) or the Jacques, an excellent blonde brewed for the house (6 euros) — or a great organic Domaine de la Cotteleraie in Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil ( 39 euros) will do just fine in the glass. We like the idea of offering the Zeeland mussel cassolette as a starter, especially since, fleshy, they are well seasoned and well seasoned. Unless you opt for the salmon tartare, honey, dill and pink peppercorn vinaigrette. Rather nice. If the steak with pepper sauce is quite ordinary, the house fries with beef white are a pleasure to see. They also go well with meunière solettes, nicely colored with hazelnut butter. A perfectly realized classic. What more? A good little dessert, just as classic: a tasty chocolate mousse with custard. And there, we are very happy to have finally found a simple and efficient Brussels bistro that does not take Belgian cuisine lightly. An address which, instead of relying solely on passing tourists who we don’t care to disappoint, has managed to retain local customers thanks to its honest and tasty cuisine.
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