In the vicinity of the Brussels ring road, where in Belgium one sometimes dares to linger during ‘office hours’, it is often a case of searching with a magnifying glass for a tasty and classy restaurant for a good business lunch. A stone’s throw from the ring road, we recently discovered ‘Restaurant Michel’. An establishment that has developed into an established culinary value over the past 20 years. It was a very fine discovery…
Our car is neatly parked in the spacious and free parking opposite the restaurant. In itself a rarity in the Brussels area. But an advantage for the sometimes hurried businessman or the circle of friends who don’t want any stress. With a wide bow the door swings open of this beautiful classic villa. We are immediately warmly welcomed by Lily, the wife of chef Robert Van Landeghem. Here you immediately feel at home and that feeling is also created when you enter the restaurant area. The decor is classy but also warm. Chef Robert gives us an enthusiastic explanation about the architectural changes and finesses of the building.
Perfect symbiosis of experience and young force
As soon as we start the meal, we discover that these feelings are carried through into the menu. The chef has been helped in the kitchen by his son, and the symbiosis of this duo results in a wonderful kitchen: all the classical dishes are mastered to perfection, but at the same time, under the son’s influence, the kitchen has been given a modern twist!
We started the lunch with a series of delicious bites, each of which had been prepared with great care: lobster flan with chilli crisp, wild mushroom espresso, Limousin beef tartare and tripe the old way with spicy pineapple. Brilliant! This set the tone for a wonderful continuation.
Controlling the dishes with beautiful winepairings
In the starter we served a delicious combination of seet sole with langoustines with matelote vegetables, bottarga, chives. A delicious dish that was accompanied by a nice white wine from Macon-Uchizy. This wine from Burgundy comes from the Talmard family but is a signature of the daughter who, together with her husband, put this cuvée on the market. The wine shows enough fatness but at the same time nicely on the fruit with a striking long finish. A top pairing for which kudos!
We were eager to start the main course after this delicious appetiser. The dupo chefs had put calf sweetbreads ‘minute’ – edamame, endive, ponzu in store for us. The sweetbreads were fried very nicely and the vegetables were present in a generous portion. Wonderful in its simplicity.
In any case, it was a sublime ending to a very tasty lunch at this top restaurant which, by the way, was recently rightly awarded 15.5/20 (half a point more than last year) in Gault Millau!
Practical:
Adres: Alfons Gossetlaan 31, 1702 Dilbeek
Website: https://restaurant-michel.business.site/
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