Restaurants to avoid in Brussels

Clef des champs

Quite unbelievably, this is the top-ranking resto in Brussels according to our highly-trusted toptable.com. We took our Groningen friends here in the hope of impressing, but were left with waffle on our faces. Interior is so painfully twee that it wouldn't be out of place in Disney Land, and the not-cheap food was poorly cooked. Toptable, get your facts right.

L'arrière pays

Handily located 30 seconds down the road from our flat, this place seems to draw large crowds – notably after Sunday service in the adjacent church. When we went, I ordered Cassoulet. I received a dish of cold baked beans with a couple of cocktail sausages thrown in, artistically sprinkled with parmesan. No.

Délire Parisien

Everything about this place screams tourist restaurant: unimaginative menu, so-so food, soulless interior, braying Americans. Not worth the bother.

Le Marmiton, Galleries St. Hubert

We ate here once out of desperation, knowing that the location of this place on the corner of the über-touristy rue des bouchers made eating there a highly dangerous move. Food wasn't entirely horrible, but this place is definitely best left to the tourists.

Anarkali

Brussels, much to our dismay, sorely lacks good Indian restaurants. Anarkali does very little to address that lack. The concept – self-service buffet – is certainly appealing, but the food was bland and watery and barely warranted a second fill of the plate, not something I would often say.

Easy Tempo, rue haute

Lured in by the smart interior and appetizing antipasti presented on the counter, we were sorely disappointed with our boring, stodgy pizzas. Another not.

H2O

Restaurant right in the heart of Brussels's gay scene, this place was pretty forgettable. Brussels has better to offer.

Magic Rubens

Another place we visited when desperate for somewhere to take guests (Yann's parents in this case), the food was second rate.