Those drinkable restaurants...

In Brussels like anywhere else, gastronomy usually rimes with wine. BrusselsLife brings you on a tour of Brussels’ wine cellars: the most expensive, the biggest, the most original and the cheapest … None will escape our scrutiny.

In the galaxy of the stared and ex-stared, cellars are part of the setting, but this setting knows many variants. In the vicinity of place Rouppe, the four generations of Comme Chez Soi have accumulated a cellar which now contains 42.000 bottles, mainly from France and not all affordable. The Sea Grill managed to keep prices down while offering a variety of wines: the small appellations and unknown “terroirs” lie side by side with the greatest references of oenology. Lets quickly mention the Villa Lorraine, the Truffe Noire and l’Ecailler du Palais Royal which all offer beautifully classic wine lists.

Chez Lola on the Sablon has an always expanding wine cellar and proudly exhibits a few gems in a glass case near the cloakroom. Les Foudres in Ixelles also exposes its treasures but on a “Honey I shrunk the kids” version offering a small but well priced selection of wines to be enjoyed beside the tuns containing the precious liquid which you might be lucky enough to taste next year…

On the place Flagey, it is sometimes a good idea to leave your warm, flat beer in the Belga and go to Chez Marie. Here you will find what experts call the best wine list in the city, offering a range of wines from France, Switzerland, Slovenia or even Uruguay, averaging ¤40 a bottle. Still in Ixelles, the Maison Félix offers an array of French delicatessen to buy, eat in or for takeaway.

New World

Whether you like it or not, the Belga Queen has to be given credit for at least two things: it has a geographically mixed wine list and promotes the Belgian vine growers and wine dealers. As years go by and meals are savoured, Notos has destroyed the stereotypes associated with Greek food while bringing Greek wine into the limelight.

Not really belonging to the New World, Italian wines can count on a few successful ambassadors in Brussels such as San Daniele, Senza Nome and Bocconi to name only a few.

Finally, we would feel bad if we did not mention Les Brigittines, one of the rare restaurants to offer an excellent house wine. An original philosophy...