Brussels Bistro

OK renditions of Belgian classic foods with an ample selection of beers that will help you enjoy them

Trips to Belgium and France solidified our love for Belgian-style mussels and fries, leading us to Brussels Bistro, a Laguna Beach recreation of the moules-frites bars we once gleefully patronized. (There’s also a San Clemente location.) If you’re planning to drink while you eat, you’ll love the ample but not overwhelming selection of Belgian beers, and appreciate the choice of both Belgian and American dishes. Outdoor seating enables guests to enjoy a cafe-like experience during the restaurant’s happy hour- and dinner-only hours, which expand to include lunches on weekends.

That said, although we were hoping for an experience akin to France’s famed Leon de Bruxelles, that wasn’t to be. After scanning Brussels Bistro’s menu, we excitedly ordered three of their 10 mussel flavors (Provencale, green curry, and yellow curry), and found each to be passable, with fairly small mussels and somewhat muted flavors.

While the restaurant’s fries, croquettes, and bread were all fine, three desserts – chocolate mousse, a lukewarm waffle, and a unflamed orange crepe served with a scoop of ice cream – were universally awful, a word we rarely use, ending an otherwise OK meal on a really bad note. Although there are vague echoes of the Belgian moules and frites experience here, the quality isn’t up to the standards we have previously expected for these items; we’d need to drink a lot of gueuze before we could walk away smiling from a meal like this.

Stats

Price: $$
Service: Table
Open Since: 2004

Addresses

222 Forest Ave.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949.376.7955

218 Avenida Del Mar
San Clemente, CA 92672
949.218.8489

Instagram: @brusselsbistro