Newspaper Article

Travel: City breaks: Brussels: Soft centre: Suzanne Duckett bucks the New Year trend for detox in the capital of beer, chocolate, pastries and frites

Duckett, Suzanne

2003

Overview

Authentic Belgian restaurants tend to have wood-panelled walls, rickety furniture and stone and tiled floors. De Heof (218, Rue Edith Cavell, +00 32 2 374 34 17) is a superb steak house in in Uccle, south Brussels, with red-and-white checked tablecloths and an open fire. The steak with bearnaise sauce and frites is to die for, and their three-course fixed price menu works out at just over pounds 40 a head, which for the taste, quality and service, is a bargain. Marcolini (39 place du Grand Sablon, [phone]) is one of the most famous chocolate shops in Belgium, and even has a chocolate fountain in the window - a sophisticated small-scale version of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory that looks like it's drilling pure chocolate from the core of the earth. The pralines with different centres and the truffles are also good. Located at the heart of the city on fashionable Avenue Louise, where you can shop to your heart's content, the Conrad Brussels ([phone], conradhotels.com, or via the Hilton Reservations worldwide office on 08705 909090) is a grand hotel oozing traditional charm. The deluxe rooms are huge (euros 555) and guests have access to the Champneys Brussels health and fitness club.

• Publisher: Guardian News & Media Limited
• Subject: Brussels Belgium / New year / Social life & customs / Tourism