Brussels with a vegetarian?

[Izabel_blue]

Hello out there...

Just wondering if anyone's got any tips on where to take my Veggie BF in Brussels. We're going for a Eurostar weekend from London (where we live) and staying at Le Meredien -- near the Gare Centrale and the Grand Place. So, anywhere central-ish would do.

I eat fish and seafood so what we'd be looking for ideally are a few places that have good veggie options on the menu, rather than entirely veg places. But any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Cheers from Clerkenwell, London

Elizabeth

[kerriar]

Brussels has never had a specifically vegetarian culture but many places will go out of their way to be helpful. The best choices would be in more ethnic restaurants where non-meat dishes are a standard part of the culture. Brussels has plenty of these – Italian, Middle Eastern, Indian etc. so you should have no problem.

Vegetarian restaurants do exist and seem to be increasing in number and quality. The Exki chain, which could be described as vegetarian fast food, has several locations – see their website http://www.exki.be/. They are pleasant, bright and airy and suitable if you want something quick.

L'Element Terre is on Chée.de Waterloo near the corner with Rue du Mail and seems ok. It's near the rather trendy Chatelain/Bailli area where there is a good choice of places to eat. The crowd will be local/international but should be less overrun with tourists than the streets around Grand Place.

Mi-Figue Mi-Raisin serves nice lunches on Rue Archimède (metro Schumann) near the European institutions. There is no real reason to go to this area however unless you are a public building junkie – it's all rather dull and don't expect the magnificence of Ottawa.

Your hotel is near the Grand Place. This you should see but really try not to be tempted to eat in the tourist traps around there. You'll do eat much better elsewhere – have a look at some of the Brussels places mentioned elsewhere on this site. People who live in Brussels expect good quality and reasonable prices (at least by London standards) and it's worth searching out the places where locals go.

These are usually a bit away from the city centre but this is a compact city so you will not have to go very far.