Chez Gudule

Chez Gudule hasn’t gone unnoticed since its opening in November 2018. This centrally-located restaurant has specialized in a very unique cuisine described as Belgo-Vietnamese food. Sounds particular, right? In this article, we'll explain what it is exactly.

A Belgo-Vietnamese restaurant

Being avid travelers, the owners brought back culinary experiences from their travels in Asia, and combined them with traditional Belgian recipes. As a result, you can order cheese or shrimp croquettes as well as Vietnamese pho. Chez Gudule adds an exotic touch to our Belgian waterzooi by preparing it with coconut milk. The fusion is also present in the nems, which have been prepared using Belgian beer.

Although the cuisine is described as Belgo-Vietnamese, it is actually way more than that. Chez Gudule also serves Japanese specialties such as miso, ramen, teriyaki… Chinese dishes include wan tan or Peking duck, and the curries generally come from Thailand.

With all those cultural fusions, one could get confused whether he should use chopsticks or a fork and a knife. Both are available, so it’s up to you if you’re up for the challenge :-)

We ordered various starters to share. We had a cheese croquette, a shrimp croquette, vegetarian loempias and nems with chicken. As a main dish, we had the teriyaki with salmon and the Gudule bowl. The food was fresh and tasty, and beautifully presented. A special mention also goes to the salad as a side-dish, which contained slightly fried seaweed and was perfectly seasoned.

Two Vietnamese chefs man the kitchen. They work hard, which results in an extremely quick service. Apparently, they’ve been trained to prepare up to 60 dishes per hour.

At Chez Gudule you can expect quality food for a correct price. The starters come between 8 and 15 EUR, whereas the main dishes average between 13 and 21 EUR.

The setting: vintage meets industrial

Chez Gudule is conveniently situated on Place Gudule, close to the Brussels Central station. Apart from its outdoor seating area, the restaurant offers quite some seating inside as well. To give it a Belgian touch, the entrance area of Chez Gudule serves as a bar, while the back area and the first floor are the actual restaurant.

The place is beautifully decorated in a modern vintage style, which makes it feel very intimate. The rooms feature souvenirs brought back from their travels, along with vintage treasures gathered at the Brussels flea markets. I especially love the design of the first floor, which features old travel suitcases, original cubic side tables, a piano and antique swivel chairs. The large windows also offer a nice view over the scenery outside.

Their occasional café-concerts

Chez Gudule is a nice place for after-work drinks, especially when they host their café-concerts. Occasionally, artists from Brussels are invited to perform in the restaurant. We happened to visit on a Friday evening when John Dumont was playing. The place was packed, so make sure to book beforehand if you’d like to dine out at Chez Gudule during those events.

Practical information

• Chez Gudule is situated on Treurenberg 9, 1000 Bruxelles
• More information on the Chez Gudule website
• Also check out their Instagram page for some amazing photos of the food

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