Brussels' rustic mashed potatoes blended with vegetables (carrots, kale, celery, leeks) and butter or cream. Served with sausage, bacon or roast meats; deeply seasonal.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Stoemp emerged in 19th-century Brussels as a working-class kitchen-economy dish, mashing whatever vegetables were cheap and to hand into potatoes. The word is Brusseleir slang for 'mash'. The Marolles and Anderlecht canteens preserved the tradition through the post-war decades, and stoemp remains a cold-weather brasserie staple paired with sausage or roast pork.
Common allergens: Dairy
Tip from the editors. Keep the mash rough. Stoemp should never be smooth; the carrot pieces give the dish its character.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
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.
Signature: Carbonnade flamande, Shrimp croquettes
Order: Carbonnade flamande with frites, and a Westvleteren 12 if it is on the board.
Tip: Closed Monday. Book ahead for Sunday lunch when the Jeu de Balle flea market is in full swing.
Why locals love it: Side-street Marolles bistro where locals eat boudin noir with caramelised apples on the same wood-panelled banquettes since 1974.
Tip: Closed Sunday. Open evenings only; the dining room fills with regulars night after night.
Volle Gas in Brussels' Ixelles is a 1924 Art Deco brasserie on Place Fernand Cocq. The kitchen runs nearly 30 mussel preparations and a Belgian carte of meatballs and steak.
Signature: Mussels, Carbonnade flamande
Order: Whichever mussel preparation looks new on the chalkboard, with frites and a Tripel Karmeliet.
Tip: Open seven days, kitchen runs late. The Art Deco interior is the seat; book the corner banquette.
Au Vieux Saint Martin in Brussels' Sablon runs a continuous service from noon to midnight, every day. Filet americain prepared at the table, shrimp croquettes, a long Belgian beer list.
Try: Filet americain
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