13 Best Restaurants in Ixelles and Saint-Gilles, Brussels

A restaurant with a firm eye on seasonal cooking, slow food, and organic produce. No surprise, then, that it's from the same people behind the Titulus wine bar, and that its selection of natural wines is among the finest in any restaurant in the city. The food isn't half bad either, and impresses with its often pared-down simplicity: from chicken with a lemon confit to a comforting chou farci (stuffed cabbage rolls). Dishes are not over fussed but presented simply and with confidence.

There's plenty of debate as to Brussels's best ramen. This cozy little joint is undoubtedly in with a claim. Diners cluster around the countertop as chefs boil up their stock, chop up the meat, and prepare each dish. The scents and aromas are reward enough, though the gyoza aren't bad either. That's your only choice really—the menu is tiny—but you don't come for anything more. No booking, just walk in and pray there's space. There's also a street terrace on warmer days.

Café Belga, in an ocean-liner-like Art Deco building, is a favorite among Brussels's beautiful people. Sip a cocktail or mint tea at the zinc bar, or sit outside on a deck chair and gaze at the swans on the Ixelles ponds.

Finally, the mushroom-themed restaurant of your dreams—well, someone's dreams. And while diners might discover that it isn't quite as eccentric as they'd expect (mushrooms feature in all dishes but often as side ingredients), it is nonetheless quite out there, particularly the desserts: try the cheesecake with cèpes and blueberries! The owners also run the impressive fine-dining French restaurant La Buvette and the excellent bakery Hopla Geiss, whose cinnamon rolls are utterly delicious, on the same street.

It divides opinion (as this hotly debated topic often does), but this is an outside shout for one of the best frites kiosks in the city. Locals who know tout it as such, and who are we to disagree? Certainly, the long queues at this historic crossroads between Chaussée de Waterloo and Chaussée d'Alsemberg (at one time a medieval toll point on the road out of Brussels) is proof enough, and the taste or sauce selection is not in doubt.

A self-declared "vegetable rotisserie," the imaginative prix-fixe menu dangles a mostly pescatarian collection of disparate ingredients, spanning fruit, veg, and fish that somehow come together on the plate to create tiny edible jewels. Yes, they might spit-roast the odd cauliflower, but the ethos here is as much about market-garden ingredients awash in lacy foams and flavorsome sauces. The stylish red-brick interior, hidden away on an otherwise nondescript street, makes it feel all the more like you discovered a secret in St-Gilles.

A bustling little coffee shop that's usually packed with gossiping, bitching politicos—which is always entertaining to overhear—because it just edges the European district. The bagels are fresh and rightfully celebrated, while the coffee is first-rate.

The main menu is more polished than you'd expect, dishing up soups, burgers, and salads, as the odd cultured surprise, but you come here for the titular croquette (breadcrumbed parcels of potato and various fillings). These come with several wild stuffings, ranging from carbonnade flamande (beef stew) to the classic grey shrimp. Order a few for an indulgent pit stop.

While COVID-19 forced a lot of Brussels restaurants to embrace reservation policies, 203 has gone for the first-come, first-served approach, and recommends turning up at 7 (we'd argue 10 minutes beforehand) to guarantee a spot at dinner. It's certainly worth the effort. Set menus at this charming bistro change every week, according to the whims of the season, and there's a fine selection of natural wines, which are, by now, almost mandatory in all modern Brussels restaurants.

A really solid and reliable Belgian brasserie that rarely lets you down. One thing you are guaranteed: all food will be slathered in creamy, beery, or mustardy sauces and frites will fall from the air like raindrops on the battlefield this restaurant is named after. All the classic Belgian dishes are here, they're cheap, and they're well made. It might not be all that hip, but it's popular, and who needs a cellar of natural wines when you have squeezy sauce and friendly staff.

This family-run restaurant on shopping mecca has won admirers aplenty for its blend of Belgian favorites filtered through a Vietnamese lens. Sticky rice and pork croquettes, beef tai chanh (the Vietnamese take on tartare), and curried mussels hint as to why it's been so successful. The mix of winning sharing plates and a sleek, minimalist interior in one of the hipper parts of the city point to a rising star.

St-Gilles has become a real haven for creative chefs wanting to stamp down on their food miles. The leafy yard and rustic-meets-industrial interior of Smala offers not only a peaceful retreat from the street outside, but a field-to-fork menu fueled largely by the restaurant's own 1.2-hectare (3-acre) market garden in nearby Anderlecht, which opens up to visitors in the summer and autumn. Well-priced prix fixe (€48) and a la carte menus change up every few weeks to meet the seasons and are not short on flair. It's a real breath of fresh air in the heart of the city.

Power food, in all its acai glory. Wild Lab is the kind of place you get chia jam on your chocolate-banana pancakes or can find a "Goodness Bowl" brimming with lentils, roasted parsnip, and za'atar. It's a great spot for brunch, and the juices and smoothies leave you glowing.