A first example can be found in Sterrebeek, on the edge of Brussels, where Julie and Olivier opened Balthazar, in August 2023, transforming an old brewery into bankruptcy. “”We are very epicureans, we go a lot to restaurants in Brussels and everywhere and we travel a lot. When we bought the building, we wondered which restaurant we would like to see in our neighborhood“Explains the co -founder.
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The same ambition is found at Thomas Fischer, entrepreneur in the Horeca Art White group and owner of the small onions, in the heart of Brussels, close to the Sablon district. “”We have always been perceived as a chic brewery. It is true that we do classic, but in a neat setting, with a real concern for the product and the service“. It must be said that the establishment is an emblematic Brussels brasserie, opened in 1986. It the owner wanted to keep this basic spirit.”I bought, in addition to the premises, the book of recipes of the chief and the founder, Khaled Zoughlami. Our chief brings above all a touch of modernity by reworking the dressings“He explains.
The return of a reassured kitchen
At Balthazar as well as small onions, the heart of the offer is timeless dishes. We find, for example, dumplings, a flight-avenue, gratin, mussels, so many recipes that speak to everyone, right in the Belgian tradition. “”Brasserie cuisine is everyday cooking, but with good products“Explains Thomas.”It is not the kitchen of the waouh effect, but the one that reassures, which anchors. It’s almost emotional, you have to maintain this brasserie soul so as not to get lost“.
Julie also shares this analysis. “”Brasserie cuisine, if prepared with good products, well done and homemade, it is a kitchen that will always be up to date and comforting“, She says.
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Some single dishes also seem to be a cardboard. “”We had for example in suggestion a few weeks ago, the Liégeoise dumplings. We sold tons “, she explains. “”I think we can really do something nice and quality even with simple cooking. Today, a real good gratin, who does not bathe in the water, with a quality ham … We don’t find that on every street corner“, insists Julie.
Assume to be against trends
In a Horeca landscape dominated by the concepts of Sharing Food and Fusion Cuisine, the two restaurateurs take another path. Julie assumes this position. “”We essentially wanted the regularity of the customer. When you do sharing food or fusion, you don’t create regularity. It’s no longer an event “. Thomas observes the same phenomenon. “”People get a constant, a landmark. We have a faithful clientele who returns for the truffle or tartare crockeier. They know it will not change“.
For the owner of the small onions, the breweries are warm places. “”The traditional Belgian breweries are a little bit a Madeleine de Proust. People of course have the desire to be able to discover new concepts, but it will never replace very comforting traditional cuisine, the cuisine that we used to have eaten with our parents, with our grandparents“He develops.
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Young people less present
The brewery is also thought of as a living space, in the Belgian tradition. “”You can come with your children to eat a tomato sauce, or with friends drink a good wine and eat ribs in the bone“Summarizes Julie.”It’s quite accessible, a little for everyone and depending on what we want“, With a form of conviviality linked to the very concept of brewery.
The philosophy is similar in the small onions, explains Thomas Fischer. “”You can come for a quick lunch pro, a birthday dinner or a romantic meal. Everyone has to feel comfortable“.
Customers is more present from around thirty years. “”I have the impression that there is a kind of course in terms of age. When we arrive in the era of young adults, we say that in the end, being able to eat a traditional flat owl, it’s worth it, even if it is not a conceptual restaurant that has a strong image on Instagram“He says.
But he notices it, “The brewery, today, continues to work, where there can be a shortness of breath for the a little more conceptual restaurants“. Faced with trend restaurants, the brewery would still remain a safe bet for Belgians.
