l'art de vivre

Short note: Because we received some requests in the past we are happy to present you our first article in english. Thanks to my hubby for this great work! daniela

Dining in a restaurant that was opened at the time one was born might not be special. But having the same person still nearly every day in the kitchen is definitively special!
I am talking about Jean-Pierre Bruneau. He opened the restaurant Bruneau in 1975, receiving over the years up to 3 michelin stars.

Having a reservation in these kind of restaurants, I have to admit that I get quite squirrelly the hours before going. The different critical comments I did read about Bruneau in the last few months gave me a different nervous feeling this time. It was more like: Was it the right decision to go there?

The first impression when reaching the restaurant by cab was very good. Of course one can see that this is none of the modern gourmet temples coming up in this century.
Guiding us to our table through the restaurant, I noticed that only two other persons had dinner here. On a saturday at 8 p.m.! Oh my god, will this be an evening of big dissapointments, I thought.

To further challenge us, we ordered the menu surprise in five courses.

First thing we got was the amuse. It could have been the first course only looking at the size of it. The taste was wonderful. It combined a fish dish, a vegetarian role and a kind of tart.
So this in combination with a glass of Duval Leroy Rose Champagne gave me now finally confidence in our choice of the evening. :)

Crab meat packed in artichoke and tomato sorbet was next and tasted really good. That was the moment when I found out that Mister Bruneau is not just an old fashioned style cook, but he is creative in combining different seasonal ingredients.

He really did win two new fans when the scallops, stuffed with brocolli, meat and eggdrop in a parshnip espuma was served. Beside the amazing quality of the scallops and all other elements, the combination was one that blew my mind!

At that point of time we knew that bold combinations are the passion of the chef. And boldness was it, that made me taste the sorrel-oyster creamsoup.
I have to admit two years ago I would not even have tried it because I was no “fish-eater”. Although I would always prefer meat over it I like seafood by now. But this soup was a big challenge for me. Taking a sip out of the indian ocean could not taste that intensive of sea as this soup! This will never be my favourite dish of course but technically I could not complain about it.

Accompanied with a Château Prieuré Lichine, the filet of venison with potato mash and mushrooms was delightful. The jus was so perfect, that we asked for some more.

The surprise menu was completed with burned slices of mango, its sorbet and a chocolate cake. The mango was of excellent quality, the chocolate cake was ok. Overall the dessert was not something I would have expected in a 2 stars restaurant but at least my wife was very happy with the fruity and tasty mango.

The staff was over the whole evening very friendly and attentive. And though soon after taking a seat luckily more guests arrived there was a quiet hushed atmosphere. But altogether we had a really good evening and were happy to have choosen Bruneau for that night.
If the restaurant deserves 2 stars might be questioned if we look back to it. Nevertheless it is definetly worth spending a nice evening there. Of course, do not expect a fancy scenery or molecullary menus when you go there. But you will be surprised by the one or other course that Jean-Pierre Bruneau creates for you.

By the way: a cultur-tip if you plan to go there is the closly situated Basilica of Koekelberg. The Basilica is the largest art-deco building and the 5th largest church of the world, so for sure a “must-see” in Brussels!

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