On a somewhat dreary stone road from Leuven to Brussels, Bistro R is located just outside the centre of Kortenberg. Many will remember this restaurant as the catchy ‘Orange’ restaurant with ditto colours in the interior. Also a concept sprung from the dynamic mind of the former star chef. Roland, however, gave ‘Orange’ a kick and transformed it into the atmospheric Bistro R.
It must be said, the place was decorated with much taste. The velour blue chairs smile at us when we walk into the restaurant. In this warm glow, however, the installation of an unmanned DJ booth including a light set looks a bit strange. Or it must be that a bus of pensioners passing through on a Sunday afternoon is chatting away here.
But we leave this musical intervention, which fortunately does not disturb the ambiance, for what it is and concentrate on the menu. Our hungry eyes already wander between so many goodies. Roland provides besides a changing 3 or 4 course menu, a nice selection on the menu. But first things first and so we start with some ‘shareable finger food’ with a mix of cheese and shrimp croquettes. Nothing to complain about.
A sprightly lady arrives with the chosen appetizers, which the kiddos skip for a while. We both chose the marinated salmon with beetroot and sour cream. The salmon was of a wonderful quality and the marinade had the right acidity against the beetroot. A nice starter which opened up the flavour palette even more.
In the main course we chose to respect the season. The evergreen boar with pepper cream sauce and its winter trimmings was not a big taste surprise but it was prepared to perfection and thus very tasty. Also the seetongue my partner served was perfectly fried in butter and deliciously perfumed. The kids could enjoy a nice portion of ribeye with fries. To end the meal, we opted for a dame blanche. Faithful readers know that we make this the litmus test. Unfortunately, this version did not quite pass the test. It was delicious, but we have had better ice cream.
This Bistro R is definitely worth a visit. Roland Debuyst has once again succeeded in creating a high-quality concept where you can feel free to drop in with your kids. And where we, as foodie parents, can also find our pleasures. Well done!
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