Restaurant Vimar
70 Place Jourdan 
Etterbeek 1040 Brussels
Tél. : 02.231.09.49

Reviewed on Monday 8 June 2009

Restaurant Vimar

The restaurant Vimar, which specialises in fish, is located Place Jourdan not far from the European Commission. Inside the atmosphere is quite nice with a high ceilling and salmon pastel coloured walls with a touch of green. It feels cosy.

Inside the Vimar

Another view

They do have a carte, but the weekly updated blackboard is where they list specials and their menu. I took 2 courses plus coffee for 32 euros (not cheap – but nothing close to the Commission is cheap). On top of that, I had some wine and a dessert.

The blackboard with the suggestions

I chose les asperges (asparagus) à la flamande as first course followed by le filet de plie (plaice) meunière beurre aux herbes fraîches. As dessert I had a strawberries/white cheese that wasn’t on the carte (but that the waiter suggested). The asparagus was pretty good nice and tender, not at all stringy – very well cooked, and arrived piping hot. It was nicely seasoned too, nothing too overpowering. The plaice was OK… It was nicely cooked and seasoned. But it is a difficult fish that has a tendancy to be quite soft – and so it was in this case. I’m not sure if cooking it just a little longer would have helped to make it a bit more firm, but if it is the case, I with they had! With that small improvement, it would have been excellent. The house wine was a pleasant red.
The dessert was fantastic! The strawberries were beautifully ripe and firm, very sweet, and perfectly accompanied by the white cheese. Nothing stingy about the portion either. Coffee was good – no complaints there. They did provide cream, but the coffee was neither burnt nor bitter, so it wasn’t needed.

Les asperges à la flamande

Filet de plie meunière beurre aux herbes fraîches

The strawberries dessert

Cost and conclusion: it was 44.10 euros, with service charge included in price so nothing else added which is nice. 32 euros for the starter, main course and coffee, 6.50 euros for the dessert and 5.60 euros for the wine. The meal was very good. At 44.10 for one, it is not exactly cheap but its not outrageous by Brussels standards either. As I’ve found on previous occassions, this restaurant is not fast so it is perhaps not the best place when you only have a limited amount of time for lunch. But if you are able to take your time, it is a step above others in this vicinity.

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!