HOTELS
Efficiency
Rennaissance Brussels
To set itself apart from the other establishments in the European quarter, the Renaissance plays the service and human touch card. From reception to the club lounge, not forgetting the Navigator, a concierge who is not stingy with advice when it comes to recommending the best addresses, the staff welcome every traveller like a Member of the European Parliament. In addition to its 260 rooms, renovated in 2010, the hotel is one of the few in the area to offer a swimming pool, integrated into its fitness centre. When it comes to meetings, the hotel has recently adopted the Meetings Imagined solution, launched in 2014 by the hotel group. Organisers can choose from different room configurations in advance, depending on the purpose of each meeting. In addition, the Red Coat Direct app enables them to communicate via smartphone with dedicated staff, for example to adjust the air conditioning. A combination of great innovations and little touches that make the Renaissance a benchmark address in the European quarter.
Rue du Parnasse, 19 - Phone: +32 2 505 29 29 - Internet : www.marriott.fr
Aurélie K., European Union official, expatriate in Brussels for eight years.
Modern
Aloft Brussels Schuman
Opened five years ago, the hotel marked the arrival of the Aloft brand on the European market and jealously maintains its pioneering status by focusing on new technologies. A traveller's smartphone can be used to access any of the 150 rooms. The hotel's design atmosphere, with decor inspired by street art and the Belgian school of comics, extends to the meeting rooms.
Place Jean Rey - Tel: +32 2 800 08 88 - Email: AloftBrusselsSchuman@reservestarwood.com Internet: www.aloftbruxelles.com
Tranquillity
Sofitel Brussels Europe
The Accor group's Brussels showcase dominates the Place Jourdan. With its eleven meeting rooms and 149 bedrooms, the hotel is a firm favourite with business travellers. Little extras: works by local artists regularly exhibited in the lobby and the restaurant's "45 lunch break" formula for quick lunches.
Place Jourdan - Tel : +32 2 235 51 00 - Email : H5282@softel.com - Internet : www.sofitel.com
Brightness
Radisson Blu EU
The 149 rooms are divided into three concepts: 'chic', 'fresh' and 'fashion'. The result is three very distinct atmospheres, but all united by the standards of the four-star brand. Just a stone's throw from the Houses of Parliament, the hotel offers six meeting rooms, including one with video conferencing facilities. Smaller than the Royal, the brand's other Brussels address, the Radisson Blu EU is also more intimate.
Rue d'Idalie, 35 - Tel: +32 2 626 81 11 Email: info.brusselseu@radissonblu.com Internet: www.radissonblu.com/euhotel-brussels
Timelessness
Stanhope
Different times, different customs. The first establishment in Brussels to be awarded a fifth star, this hotel is based on the values of 'old-fashioned' hospitality, with its neo-classical lobby, interior garden and cosy Library Bar. Its 125 rooms also exude the luxury of yesteryear.
Rue du Commerce, 9 - Phone: +32 2 506 91 11 Email: info@stanhope.be Internet : www.thonhotels.com
And also...
Tuna hotel EUrue de la Loi, 75 - Phone : +32 2 204 39 11 - Email : eu@thonhotels.be - Internet : www.thonhotels.com
Steigenberger Wiltcher'sAvenue Louise, 71 - Tel. +32 2 542 42 42 - Internet : www.wiltchers.com
The Hotelboulevard de Waterloo 38 - Phone: +32 2 504 11 11 - Email: book@thehotel.be or meet@thehotel.be (meetings) Internet: www.thehotel-brussels.be
RESTAURANTS
Institution
Il Pasticcio
The reputation of this 'little' Italian restaurant is well established. Crowds flock here every lunchtime, waiting patiently for a table. So make sure you book ahead to get into this other local institution. The service here combines efficiency and southern warmth, and you can enjoy fresh pasta in a sauce that you can try your hand at combining flavours. Special mention should go to the orecchiette con salsiccia.
Rue Marie de Bourgogne, 3 Tel: +32 2 512 62 52
Bistro spirit
Le bistrot du Luxembourg
The little brother of the Maison du Luxembourg offers a carefully-crafted, gourmet menu that gives bistronomy its letters of nobility: fillet of red mullet with grey shrimp sauce, medallion of veal with shallot mustard sauce. Ideal for a business lunch, with the added bonus of a pleasant courtyard in fine weather.
Rue du Luxembourg, 43 - Tel: +32 2 503 61 70 - Internet: bistrotduluxembourg.be
In business
Park Side
The business brasserie in Brussels, on the edge of the Parc du Cinquantenaire, focuses on products from here and abroad, from croquettes with grey shrimp to Scottish beef onglet "as at La Villette". The flavours are all there, like the poached cod with bay leaf and lemon. Business customers will also have access to one of the private, modular areas.
Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée, 24 - Tel. +32 2 238 08 08 - Internet : www.restoparkside.be
Home port
De Noordzee - North Sea
In the 'on the go' category, the aptly named De Noordzee offers a menu straight from the sea. Standing in front of the barrels that serve as tables, businessmen forget etiquette and their badges for an informal lunch, and devour the glistening fish that is also part of our national heritage.
Rue de Luxembourg, 62-64 - Tel: +32 2 280 05 00 - Internet: vishandelnoordzee.be
And also...
Salt & Pepperrue du Parnasse, 2, 1050 Ixelles Belgium - Tel : +(32) 2 503 46 93 - Fax : +(32) 2 503 36 53 - www.poivre-et-sel.be - Email : info@poivre-et-sel.be
Alex's cellarsrue Caroly 37 - 1050 Brussels - Tel: 02 540 89 37 - alexcardosoresto@ gmail.com
The Old Fishmonger's, rue du Trône 65 - 1050 Brussels - Tel.: 02 502 75 05 - anciennepoissonnerie@gmail.com
Cabbage, 4, Place de Londres, 1050 Brussels - Tel.: 02 511 92 38 - www.restaurantchou.eu/info@restaurantchou.eu
StirwenChaussée Saint-Pierre 15-17 - 1040 Etterbeek
