Flemish beef stew slow-cooked in dark Belgian beer with onions, mustard and a slice of bread. Sweet, malty, deeply savoury, served with mash, frites or buttered noodles.
Carbonnade flamande traces to medieval Flanders, when farmhouse cooks stewed tough beef cuts in the local dark abbey beers. By the 19th century it had become a brasserie staple across Brussels and the Walloon north. The technique relies on a slice of bread covered in mustard pressed into the stew to thicken the sauce and balance the beer's malt sweetness; the dish keeps and reheats better the next day.
4 editor picks for Carbonnade flamande in Brussels, ranked by editorial score. All Brussels signature dishes · Carbonnade flamande across every city.
Les Brigittines ★ 4.3
marolles · Place de la Chapelle 5, 1000 Brussels
Les Brigittines in Brussels sits on Place de la Chapelle in the Marolles in an Art Nouveau dining room. The kitchen runs creative Belgian bistro built on local meats, with a deep cellar list.
Brasserie Ploegmans ★ 4.1
marolles · Rue Haute 148, 1000 Brussels
Brasserie Ploegmans in Brussels' Marolles is the wood-panelled local that runs Belgian standards: meatballs, shrimp croquettes, choucroute garnie. Half a block from Place du Jeu de Balle.
Chez Leon ★ 4.0
sainte-catherine · Rue des Bouchers 18, 1000 Brussels
Chez Leon in Brussels has run on Rue des Bouchers since 1893, when Leon Vanlancker opened five tables. Five generations later the family still serves moules-frites from the same kitchen.
Au Stekerlapatte ★ 4.0
marolles · Rue des Prêtres 4, 1000 Brussels
Au Stekerlapatte in Brussels' Marolles is the wood-panelled bistro on Rue des Pretres. Boudin noir with caramelised apples, shrimp croquettes, the chalkboard runs Brussels classics.