Le Mer du Nord

Finally made it here! Expat and local friends have raved about this place for years and it’s been on my To-​Go list pretty early on from when I moved to Brussels, but since this place closes earlier in the evenings, I would always find it hard to get here before closing time, on those weeknights I ventured into the city.
It’s a bit of push and shove to be honest to get to the counter (no proper lines) but that adds to the sense of accomplishment when you finally get your order in. It’s all strictly seafood and I ended up ordering the fish soup (€ 5 for a really good size) and an order of North Sea shrimp croquettes (€ 9 for 2, accompanied by salad, lemon and gorgeous Tatar sauce). Oh also don’t forget to get your bread if they forget to offer it to you!
My brother loved the soup and gulped it down — the tomato stock base was incredibly flavourful but it wasnt too fishy at all! Just hints of that salty sea tang and really good tender pieces of white fish mixed in with veges. Accompanying the soup was a bread with some sort of a mustard sauce and grated cheese, which really complimented the soup. But OMG — those shrimp croquettes!!! Hands down the best I have had in Brussels! The cheese filling was just marvelous and a proper amount of North Sea gray shrimp mix was in there which added a beautiful texture. I savored every bite and while the croquettes look small, the goodness in them is so much that my tummy was absolute full and I didn’t feel the need to order anything else afterwards.
It sucks took me so long to finally eat here but hey, on the bright side _​I_​finally did get to eat here! Totally recommend!

I give it 5 stars for many reasons. First off, the food is great. We had the escargot soup and a plate of mussels, both of which were fantastic. The mussels especially were very well seasoned and whatever oil they used is also worth dipping your bread in. Secondly, the price is on point. The soup was € 5 and the mussels were € 7. If eaten by 1 person, this would have been more than enough to fill you. Third, the atmosphere. I’m not at all a fan of stuffy restaurants, and I really enjoyed being able to order from the counter and just take my meal to a table and just stand there and eat outdoors and people watch. Though it’s December, it really does not deter people from eating outdoors. Everywhere you go, people are still sitting outside enjoying their dinner and drinks all throughout the evening. Would recommend this place for anyone in need of a casual atmosphere to have a quality small meal to hold you over until dinner time.

Delicious food, great atmosphere for a weekday lunch break from the office. Kibbeling was battered so deliciously! A burger and a side was a perfect amount of food. Was tough to figure out the queue system, so ask around when you arrive and you’ll be fine :)

When I heard Mer du Nord had open close to Place Lux I was a bit disappointed. The establishment in the centre is one of my favourite places in Brussels and I was afraid opening in the EU quarter would make it too commercial.
Well, I was wrong! Now it is one of my weekly lunch places for comfort food!
The place is really unpretentious (although the upper floor is now more decent than when they opened). Service is friendly and pretty quick, but try not to come at 1 sharp or you’ll find a queue.
The tuna steak is great as always and the kibblings are so tender they melt in your mouth. The soup here is better than in the centre because there is more fish in it ;)
It also has small sandwiches, burgers and a salad bar.
Get a glass of white wine and forget for a moment that you need to go back to the office!

Mer du Nord, c’est bon, c’est frais et c’est surtout parfait pour manger sur le pouce!
C’est le petit frère de celui qui se trouve à la place Sainte-​Catherine. Le poisson et les fruits de mer sont déclinés sous toutes les formes (tartares, salades, burgers, fritures, sandwichs etc). L’ambiance est conviviale et décontractée, mais j’avoue qu’au mois de novembre je préfère prendre à emporter que manger sous la tente qu’ils placent sur la devanture (Brrrr froid). J’ai testé dernièrement le tartare de saumon (parfaitement assaisonné et fondant) accompagné de quelques légumes grillés. L’endroit n’est pas vraiment bon marché, mais ça reste du poisson donc c’est assez logique. Si possible, il faut arriver tôt pour éviter le rush car ils ont beaucoup de succès…
Adresse à conserver pour un lunch dans le quartier de la place du Luxembourg!

C’est une leur deuxième endroit pour ceux qui connaissent celui place sainte Catherine, je n’y ai jamais été, j’ai donc été logiquement voir ce qu’il présentait dans le coin.
A vrai dire, j’ai été fortement surpris car c’est très très très bon! bien entendu tout à base de poisson, mais il y a des plats frits comme scampis, croquettes aux crevettes etc… J’ai tester un hamburger de poisson qui né ressemble pas vraiment à un hamburger, mais dont le gout est délicieux, filet de poison sur tartine avec cressonnette, sauce bisque de homard et persil, c’est un délice.
Allez avant ou vers 12.00 pile, il y a moins de monde!