Restaurant Raphael

Not very far from the amazing Gross Markt or Grand Place in Brussels you can find this nice restaurant.

It is situated in one of these traditional Brussel houses where the front looks rather small but when you enter the total space availables just in front of you. The interior is in the traditional Brussel way very cosy and old fashion. The restaurant is kept in dark colors, mostly red or bordeaux, it is full of stairs to different floors, so you have many nice angles and places where you can sit and enjoy your meal.

The food is very good but not outstanding. For starters I can recommend what my girlfriend and I had; the Moules au beurre d'escargots or the Coquilles Saint-Jacques au pastis et safran - these dishes are both wonderful.

As everywhere else in the Belgian and French areas expect your meat to be red or bleu as they say here. Even well-done can be raw to some people, but dont worry the meat is great. I had Le châteaubriand Béarnaise which I really enjoyed - it was truly raw but I love it like that. My girlfriend had the Le filet pur béarnaise but she didnt enjoy it that much because of the estragon which she found too powerfull in the béarnaise.

The desserts are as always something that just finish you off and leave you completely full. We took two diffrent versions of pancakes or crepes, I had the Crêpes Suzette ou comédie française which I again enjoyed, especially the twist of orange. My girlfriend took the Crêpes au chocolat chaud, glace vanille et crème fraîche which had too much chocolate sauce on. But all in all we were ok but not amazed.