Here’s a good trivia question: What do famous Belgians Amélie Nothomb, Franquin, Stromae and Marouane Fellaini all have in common?
Well, novelist Nothomb, comic artist Franquin, Stomae, the singer, and footballer Fellaini were all born in the Brussels district of Etterbeek.
That famous Belgian quartet could now said to have been joined by a 5th member.
It is called “The 1040” and it is, in fact, a restaurant in the same commune that’s also become well known in its own right – in its case for the quality of its cuisine.
The 1040 – it takes its name from the post code for the locality – makes no pretence to be gastronomic but nor is it “just another” brasserie.
It is, in the words of its manager Anthony Ricciardi, more “bistronomie”. In other words, “something in between” gastronomy and brasserie.
The restaurant is situated on ground floor of the Sofitel Brussels Europe hotel on Place Jourdan, one of the most bustling and also pleasant squares in the city and in the shadow of both the European Parliament and Commission.
Like much of Brussels itself, it is run by what very much a multi-national team: Anthony hails from Naples while other colleagues in the restaurant are from Morocco, Argentina and France.
While the service is of the highest quality there’s no pretentiousness here and diners are made to feel at home in very relaxing surroundings.
From much of the resto you can observe the lovely work of the Italian-born executive chef Gabriele Petrucci and his team, all operating from an open kitchen.
However it may be classed the food is always the main thing at any restaurant – and the cuisine here is top class – but it could also be argued that it is the quality of the service that is equally important.
The good news is that, if you pay a visit to The 1040, you won’t be disappointed by that either.
Currently, there’s a special menu available which includes several dishes from Alsace in France. There’s also Alsace wine pairings with the food (though, note, that the pairings end at the end of October). The beautiful Alsace wine (reds and whites) is from the Arthur Metz house which is, this year, celebrating its 120th anniversary no less.
The “Menu Gourmand Resto Days” card will actually stay in place until mid-January so there is plenty of time to sample some very tasty dishes from a great part of France.
The Alsace items are clearly marked on the menu and include a starter, mains and desert from the French region.
The starter is called “the treasure of the Vosges” – a delightful buckwheat crepe parcels filled with Munster cheese from Alsace, ricotta and sautéed chanterelles from the Ardennes, delicately scented with sage.
The Alsace mains offering is a wonderful Sauerkraut (a real regional speciality) which consists of confit pork shank, Strasbourg sausage, white pudding, braised white cabbage ‘a la Binchoise’ soaked in Belgian beer and potatoes.
You can round things off with a lovely chestnut and pear charlotte, the Alsatian desert on the card.
Aside from the Alsace items there are other dishes on the same card including, for starters, pan seared and stuff squid and Brabant pheasant and, for mains slow cooked osso buco and roasted butternut squash. Alternative deserts include crème brulee and panna cotta.
This is top notch cuisine meaning that, whichever you choose, you are unlikely to be disappointed.
A celebration of Alsace would not be complete without a fine selection of Alsace wines, in this case from Arthur Metz. These include a Cremant d’Alsace Reserve de l’Abbaye Rose Sec and the Classique Riesling from Maison Arthur Metz.
The 1040 also boasts a rather elegant bar which makes for a lovely place to have an aperitif. Alongside classic cocktails and spirits,there is an impressive selection of Belgian beers.
Anthony oversees things and has himself made a meteoric rise to his current position. Still only in his early 20s, he started here as a temp but, such were his man management skills (not least in his expertise on wines) he was soon noticed by his bosses and rapidly promoted.
The fact that most of the people who eat here are not guests of the hotel is a sure sign of how good the cuisine is.
Apart from celebrating good cuisine you might also want to raise a glass to another celebration: the 60th anniversary this year of the Sofitel Group.
Appropriately, it was in Alsace (Strasbourg) where the very first of its hotels opened.
Further info:
The 1040
Hotel Sofitel, Place Jourdan 1,Brussels
www.sofitel.com
02.235.51.23