Restaurant Les Crustacés
8 Quai aux Briques
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Tél. : 02.511.56.44

Reviewed on Saturday 6 June 2009

Les Crustacés (crustaceans) is a restaurant specialised since 1963 into fish dishes, mussels, seafood platters and lobsters. It is still possible to eat meat but then why would you go there? The place is in an old house made in bricks and inside the design is cosy. The little dining rooms are quite pleasant. It is located near Ste Catherine Church and in the former Marché aux poissons (fish market) area, a place well known for its seafood. We chose this restaurant as it looked a bit less touristic than some of its neighbours.
Their menu is quite large with many set menus: a €23  3 course menu with fish or meat, a 3 course lobster menu starting at €33, a tasting menu at €38 with aperitif and coffee included and a €47 menu with aperitif, vines and coffee included. There is an excellent 3 course lunch deal at €12 and of course you can choose à la carte as well. 
There were three of us for dinner: I took a menu, offering 3 courses for €33. The others chose entrée and main course a la carte. Our starters were Moules gratinees (€12), cocktail crevette (€15), and Coquille St Jacques gratinée (included in menu price). The Coquille St Jacques was exactly as expected, and very good – it just could have been a little larger (only two scallops in there!). The moules gratinees was likewise reported to be very good and well cooked. The cocktail crevette was not really as expected – it was a salad with crevettes (small shrimps) but reported to be surprisingly good.
As main courses we had a half lobster (homard) in butter sauce (included in menu), and two soles meunières (butter fried sole, €25 each). All were very tasty, though perhaps the lobster just a touch overcooked. This was all washed down with a very pleasant bottle of blanc de blanc (white wine, €20), and a bottle of mineral water (€7!!).
Having taken a menu, I was the only one with dessert. I chose vanilla icecream with red fruit coulis. This turned out to be a mix of strawberries, plums and actually a passionfruit sauce – fine, since I like passionfruit and it was very good (but again, not exactly what I was expecting).
We ended the meal with two double espressos and a thé infusion (€4 each). All very good – no weak or burnt coffee here.
Since it was a business dinner I did not take photos of everyone’s dish – as you can understand  😉

Coquille St-Jacques gratinée au fromage

Moules gratinées au fromage

½ Homard Grillé beurre

Glace Vanille et son Coulis de Fruits Rouges

Cost and conclusion:  the full bill was €149 service charge included in the price meals. The itemised bill is 2 double espresso (€4 each), 1 infusion (thé – €4 ), 1 bottle of blanc de blanc (€20),  1 litre of mineral still water (€7 !), 1 moules gratinees (€12), 1 cocktail crevette (€15), 2 sole meuniere (€25 each) and the €33 menu. Not too bad for three people in Brussels, including wine! The price for the bottle of water was outrageous though!