Brussels has a well-established organic food scene with a vast array of bio shops and organic restaurants – Hughes Belin offers a selection
Close to Flagey, Dolma (Chaussée d’Ixelles 329, 1050 Brussels), a friendly vegetarian restaurant combined with a bio shop, has kept up with the current trend for fine food at affordable prices; the same goes for La Saga near the Cinquantenaire (Ave de la Chevalerie 9, 1040 Brussels), a small organic shop with a great selection of essential oils and incredibly tasty food served in the vegan restaurant at the back.
Not far away, near Plasky, BioLogic (Ave de Roodebeek 143, 1030 Brussels) constantly updates its stock with new products – hemp seeds, stevia (a natural sweetener) and seafood – and has a delicious range of home-made soups, sandwiches, salads and spreads. Close to the Grand-Place, Natural Corner (Rue de l’Escalier 1, 1000 Brussels) opens seven days a week offering a wide variety of foodstuff as well as a range of organic cosmetics and free advice on how best to use them.
What all these small shops have in common is the warmth of their customer service
What all these small shops have in common is the warmth of their customer service but the same can be said for the much bigger Sequoia, a bio supermarket with branches in Uccle (Chaussée de Saint-Job 532) and Stockel (Rue de l’Eglise 101) featuring no less than eight thousand organic products ranging from food, wine and cosmetics, to cleaning products and books.
THE TASTE OF LOVE
Taste love in the dishes served up at the slow food restaurant Trop Bon, close to Flagey (Chaussée de Vleurgat 1) using seasonal produce sourced from farms on the outskirts of Brussels. At Watermael-Boitsfort in Place Keym, Chez Josy is the perfect example of a restaurant where the clientele is made to feel at home, with quality cooking and a warm setting – try the home-made lemonade.
More central, almost in front of the Cirque Royal at Madou, Bio Lounge (Rue de l’Enseignement 116-120) is a small zen-like refuge of peace and harmony with excellent food and service at bargain prices. Just two doors away at Wine Walk, drink organic wine at affordable prices or buy a bottle to take away. But if fresh juices and smoothies are more to your taste, then Greenz Biobar in Uccle (Rue de Nieuwenhove 84) is definitely the place to be and delicious salads, soups and sandwiches are available as well.
In St Gilles, a popular venue for lunch is definitely Les Filles – Plaisirs Culinaires (Rue Vanderschrick 85), a sociable table d’hôtes – meaning clients share the same big table – with a tasty three-course, eat-as-much-as-you-like lunch for just €18. The three women who run this restaurant also offer a catering service, company lunch deliveries and cooking courses. All ingredients are organic or sourced from small farmers. Last but not least, Kamilou snack bar with three locations in Ixelles (Rue d’Edimbourg 26), St Gilles (Rue Fernand Bernier 1) and Wiels brewery (Ave Van Volxem 354, 1190 Brussels) deserves a mention: friendly, simple, tasty, fair trade, local and organic.
