Every day this week, our foreign correspondents will accept the challenge of finding the best meal possible in their city for the equivalent of €120. Today, Jack Power chooses a brasserie in Brussels.
I had liked the look of a local vegan restaurant in Brussels so much that I’d taken to recommending it to people before I’d even eaten there myself.
After a while I thought that I better try the place, in case the food tasted like dried leaves and I picked up a reputation for giving out dodgy recommendations.
Verdō, in the suburb of Flagey, describes itself as the first “entirely plant-based brasserie in Brussels”.
On the evenings where I opt for the 40-or-so minute stroll home from work in the EU institutions, my walk usually takes me past the restaurant. It was on one of these walks back to my apartment in the neighbouring suburb of Ixelles that my partner and I stopped for dinner.
I’m not a vegan or vegetarian, bar a six-month period when I was 13 and listening to too much of The Smiths, but I have been happily surprised by plant-based restaurants in the past. Verdō is the best I have yet tried.
Traditional belge dishes tend to be centred around meat and carbs, which would be up my typical culinary street. The Belgians have got better at offering veggie and vegan options on menus in recent years, and you will get a choice in pretty much any restaurant now.
In Verdō I went for a zucchini risotto with vegetable parmesan and basil cream. On at least two occasions during the meal I remarked that it tasted so good I couldn’t believe it was vegan (sorry, vegans).
My partner went for a pressed aubergine steak glazed in a teriyaki sauce, with a potato and courgette mille-feuille, which was also delicious.
Verdō changes its menu every month or two and most of the wines are in the mid-€30s range for a bottle. The menu offers a two-course meal with organic or natural wine pairing for €55 per person, or a similar three-course option for €66.
Verdō advertises itself as more than just dog-friendly; its menu offers a dish “for our four-legged friends”.
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Verdō Brussels: Salade d’Asperges. Photograph: Michael Binkin/YourStory Agency
I spotted at least two dogs accompanying owners during our visit. One was calmly lying under a table of four friends outside, across from us; another was sitting by a table inside.
This is the kind of restaurant that has a section on its website explaining the “concept”, beside tabs to have a look at the menu or book a table.
“We offer you gourmand dishes, inspired by Belgian gastronomy and concocted without any animal products,” it says. “From Wednesday to Friday evening, we bring together vegans and omnivores,” it goes on.
The vibe doesn’t feel holier-than-thou at all, although the lovely woman serving us was wearing those shoes that are actually more like socks. We had a table out on the street – this was still during the warmer evenings – so I’d say the shoes needed a decent wash at the end of a shift. Staff footwear aside, I’d very much recommend.
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