Ballekes means meatballs in Belgium and it’s a traditional Belgian dish. Right next to the Grand-Place and in front of the Hard Rock Cafe, there is a restaurant, created in 2016, that serves this typical meatball dish called Ballekes. When the two founders, originally from Antwerp and Brussels, were kids they really enjoyed the “ballekes” that his parents and grandparents cooked. They were inspired by the tradition inherited from their grandparents and decided to open a restaurant to show the authenticity of this famous Belgian dish.
Ballekes is a small modern restaurant in the city center of Brussels. There are no waiters and we have to place the orders at the counter. The restaurant has two floors: the first (the entrance) has the counter/kitchen and a few tables and the second has a few more tables and the bathrooms. On the walls there are lots of posters or frames saying that the ingredients they use to make the dishes are always fresh with source certified and that the meatballs are made of 100% beef, pork or chicken.
My experience
When we arrived at the restaurant it was already 14.00h (a late lunch) and there were some people eating but some free places to sit. In the menu there were two options: 1 meatball with sauce + fries + drink (10,00€) and 2 meatballs with sauce + fries (13,50€). We asked for one of each. Then the waiter asked us to choose the type of meatball: pork/beef, chicken or vegetarian and the sauce. There were about 5/6: the original tomato 🍅, Belgian cheese 🧀, mushrooms 🍄, and others that I no longer remember but they looked good. Finally, we also chose the side we wanted from a long list too. The food preparation is all done at the moment. The meatballs are ready but then they are cooked with the sauce we choose.
I ate 1 meatball with the traditional tomato sauce, onion and spices with cheese fries and my boyfriend 2 meatballs (one with tomato sauce and other with mushrooms sauce) and Belgian fries. The food was excellent and the tomato sauce was really tasty and divine!
For me, only one meatball was enough, because they are big but for those who eat well, it’s better to ask for two!
The prices are a little expensive but not ridiculous considering that the restaurant is in the center of Brussels. Even so I really loved this restaurant to have a quick lunch or dinner because the meatballs and the homemade sauces are ridiculously good .
If you want to know more details about the trip I made to Brussels you can see here.
