L’Amour Fou (otherwise known as “Crazy Love”) is a trendy (hipster-ish) spot on Fernand Cocq (almost directly opposite the Ixelles commune buildings).
The restaurant had been recommended to me by a vegetarian colleague who stated that they had the best burgers in Brussels. I raised my eyebrows on this – as what does a veggie know about burgers… right?
WRONG – her man is a food gourmand, running a catering business and they both have some serious food knowledge between them… PLUS she did go into a long description of how everything was homemade at L’Amour Fou (from the buns to the patties)… AND that they had 3 amazing veggie burgers available (not those “veggie patties” that you buy in the frozen food section that look & taste like fake meat… but combinations like POPEYE = Spinach/goat’s cheese/rocket/apple/beetroot/cashew nuts or the Portobello = mushrooms/goat’s cheese/hazelnuts/mayonnaise/rocket/oak leaf lettuce/carrot/balsamic reduction… which is enough to make any meat-eater consider the veggie route!)
Since Angela had just returned from a recent trip to the US and of course being American herself – I really felt that she would be a good foodie partner to discern whether their statement of being the Brussels version of American diner was true, and to help me discover if their burgers were really as good as everyone claimed them to be.
I made a reservation (which I heard was also a MUST because they get so busy)… for which I was grateful as we got there at 7pm to find that the place was half packed already.
Tables are pretty close to each other – but nothing that I couldn’t bear.
The staff were pretty friendly & efficient. Trip Advisor has very mixed reviews of the service offering – and I have to admit that we did not experience any bad service at all… Having said that – we did get served by 2 different guys during the course of a 2hr sitting, which was a little confusing… but both of them were charming and switched between French & English for both of us.
a little nibble while you wait
Angela opted for the SMASH burger (Beef patty, mayonnaise, oak leaf lettuce, mustard, cured ham, rocket, Orval cheese, avocado, cherry tomatoes 15,50€) served new potatoes & carrot salad. This burger was devoured hungrily – but I know that she eyed my frites longingly… and we eventually shared out the potatoes on each of our plates :)
SMASH… now that I look back I don’t see the carrots….??
and I had the BLEU (Beef patty, creamy blue cheese, rocket, apple, walnuts, bacon 15.50€) served with frites & salad. I have to admit that the apple addition was delightful, the bacon was the perfect crispness… but the burger was a little overcooked for me (I like mine pink – but in hindsight – we had never stated how we wanted our burgers to be done)… and the blue cheese was on the thin side. Don’t get me wrong – the burger was great… as were the hand cut chips… but a smidgen more of the blue cheese flavour would have taken this burger from a 8/10 to a 9/10 for me.
GET INTO MY BELLY…..
All in all – this is a place that I would definitely want to head back to… as their entreés sounded very appealing, as did their salads… and of course – there are 2 pages of burgers to try out (from meat to lamb to salmon and of course those decidedly appetizing veggie options)
They quote the following on their menu’s in French & in English, all of which is enough to make you want to smile, nod & return….
We work with fresh and quality products
Our burger buns are homemade
Our burger meat is grounded every morning
Our sauces are natural and without preservatives
Our fries are homemade
We offer the only homemade Banoffee Pie in Brussels
Our finger food is homemade
We have brunches every weekend and bank holiday.
Have you been there? What was your impression?
L’AMOUR FOU
address: 185 Chaussée d’Ixelles, 1050, Brussels, BELGIUM
telephone: +32 2 325 7353
http://www.lamourfou.be/en/
Filed under: Brussels Restaurants