The Michelin Guide for Belgium and Luxembourg will add 15 new restaurants this year, of which six are located in Brussels, to its guide which puts eateries that combine quality cuisine with competitive prices in the spotlight.
Two weeks before the highly-anticipated Michelin Guide for 2024 is unveiled – the number of stars that are given or taken from restaurants in this guide books published by the French tyre company Michelin can make or break eateries – the 15 new "Bib Gourmand" restaurants that will feature in the guide have been revealed.
The category was created in 1997 and offers a distinction awarded to restaurants in the Guide for their excellent value for money, offering complete meals at reasonable prices. "Whether it's a mezze restaurant, a tapas restaurant or a classic brasserie with a carefully prepared starter-main course-dessert menu, the selection stands out for the wide variety of concepts and types of cuisine listed," the company noted.
This year, 15 new addresses have been awarded the Bib Gourmand in Belgium. Werner Loens, director of selection for the Michelin Guides in the Benelux, said the new batch of "Bib Gourmand" awards is "diverse and eclectic".
Brussels
Six newcomers based in Brussels have been added to the 2024 "Bib Gourmand". A statement from the Michelin Guide noted that "inspectors were impressed by the commitment shown by the capital's restaurateurs in offering formulas that combine moderate prices, pleasure and quality".
The inspectors specifically highlighted the original creations of the hip, zero-waste, sustainable establishment Kline in the City of Brussels, bringing to the table unpretentious recipes, and St Kilda in Uccle, with a menu stuffed with unusual recipes.
Credit: Yoka Tomo in Schaerbeek
The list also includes the traditional brasserie cuisine of Le Variétés in Ixelles, located in the extension of Café Belga in Flagey, serving reinvented house specialities that include spit-roasted chicken, served with a Sambre et Meuse sauce, and the carbonara with squid, pork belly and smoked eel.
Asian food continues to enjoy high levels of success, with fresh Korean flavours of ANJU in Saint-Gilles and the South Japanese refinement of Yoka Tomo in Schaerbeek also put in the spotlight. The world cuisine of L'épicerie Nomad in Ixelles is also on the list offering sea bass ceviches with mango and passion fruit to Spanish seafood classics like zarzuela.
Wallonia and Flanders
In Wallonia too, six establishments were included in the "Bib Gourmand" with most of the new entries located in the province of Namur: Au Phil des Saveurs in Bois-de-Villers, Mona Lisa in Yvoir, loved for its bold Mediterranean offerings, and Le Confessionnal in Dinant and Garde manger in Gesves, which opt for the charm of traditional cuisine. The other two Walloon addresses, Enoteca and Magma, can be found in Liège.
In Flanders, three restaurants have been included in the list. The city of Bruges stands out with two new entries, Onslow and Quatre Vins, which are both presented in the guide as international addresses offering straightforward, no-frills dishes. The same goes for Furbetto in Heverlee, paying tribute to the generosity aspect of Italian cuisine.
The full list, which will reveal what restaurants have been given Michelin stars, will be presented on 26 February. Several of the Brussels restaurants included in the "Bib Gourmand" (St. Kilda, Le Variétés, L'épicerie Nomad and Yoka Tomo) are poised to be among the ten new entries in this year's general guide.
