Restaurant Vismet

I was walking together with some friends of mine around in the centre of Brussels looking for a restaurant without any reservation on a Friday night. My friend and his wife had come down from Copenhagen, it was my friend’s wife birthday and we wanted to find a cosy place to enjoy the evening and celebrate her. We tried many of the restaurants that usually visited but all of them were full, probably because they are good but also because it was the warmest Friday this year so far.

After many tries and no’s we ended up at restaurant Vismet at Place Sainte-Catherine. The waiter was very friendly and he double checked all reservations and finally decided that we could get a table – what a guy, smiling all the time.

We got a table very close to the kitchen, which was great because the kitchen was open and we could follow all the processes there. The lighting in the restaurant was very cosy and we felt welcome straight away. We had for sure gotten the last possible table because a lot of people were turned down after we got our table.

Vismet has a very modern and fresh feel to it. It is considered to be a hip and trendy restaurant, and once you enter, you are not disappointed. The restaurant resembles a canteen, with plenty of wooden chairs and tables and an open kitchen in the back. The whole layout is simple and modern, inviting you to focus on the food rather than the décor.

We started with a tasty glass of pink champagne as an aperitif; there is nothing better than starting a dinner with champagne – good champagne. There is a choice of over 10 starters, same for mains fish, and 3 choices of meat. There are a couple of desserts on offer. Prices for starters vary between 9 euro and 20 euro, mains fish are between 16 euro and 28 euro, main meats between 15 euro and 22 euro and desserts are all 9 euro. There is also an extensive wine list of white and red French wines. Prices for wines range from 19 euro for a house wine and 50 euro for a Chateuneuf du Pape 2003.

My friend and I followed the chef’s suggestion and took a fruit de mere salad while my friend’s wife took a fish soup. The soup was wonderful and she was in seventh heaven during the whole starter. We on the other hand had some of the best fruit de mere dish we both had had in a long time; oysters, crabs, sea snails and scrimps enough for a whole meal.

We had ordered a great white wine from Loire; a Pouilly Fumé from 2006 and it is a wine that you seldom many a wrong choice with. As main course I had taken the sea bars on mashed potatoes and they had each 3 Oostende soles with salad and French fries. We all were looking at each other smiling and enjoying our courses, they were truly great.

We finished the dinner with a nice cup of coffee and I was sure that I would come back again – writing the review makes me long for the entre even more. In all it had been a truly great evening. Service had been efficient, smiling and helpful, with a good knowledge of the menu. The highlight of the dinner was sitting close to the kitchen watching the chef cook up the dishes ordered and the taste of the great food.