The Value King of One Star — Barge

📍 Barge (Brussels) 💰 €€€ Michelin 🌟: 15,50/20 Barge, a Michelin one-star restaurant, offers a 5-course meal for just 95€, truly earning its title as the Value King. The Wine pairing even has an option for a half-glass, which is fantastic! Usually, 4/5 glasses would be too much, but half a glass is just right! The experience is enhanced by the initial menu that only lists the main ingredients of the dishes, but at the end, you’re given the full menu of what you’ve eaten, including Wine and Non-Alcoholic Pairing. The waitstaff provides a detailed introduction to each glass of wine, including its origin, flavor, and how it complements the food. As soon as you’re seated, you’re immediately served a small cocktail and an amuse-bouche. The subsequent appetizers are also quite generous. The 1️⃣st course is oysters and beef tartare topped with crispy fried potato strings. Personally, while the fried potatoes add texture, they seem a bit wasteful considering the high-quality beef and oysters 🦪. The 2️⃣nd course is leek, wrapped in nori to resemble a honeycomb, topped with mustard seeds. The main sauce is a fermented milk-based sauce. Leek dishes at Michelin restaurants are usually quite tasty. The 3️⃣rd course is scallops, pan-seared to be crispy on the outside and tender inside, with miso sauce and hazelnuts. The scallop sauce with coffee oil is a first for me and it’s surprisingly good! The 4️⃣th course is a very tender pigeon dish, with an additional sweet roasted pigeon leg served on a bed of black garlic sauce. After the main course, a sweet and savory choux is served to transition from savory to dessert. The 5️⃣th course, the dessert, has an orange flavor with a hint of black mint. The true measure of a restaurant’s sincerity, besides the amuse-bouche, is the final petits fours. The desserts here are… decent; they could use a pastry chef. For the same price range, I’d recommend experiencing Barge’s one-star cuisine over other Michelin-recommended places. #Brussels #BrusselsFood #Michelin #BrusselsFoodieCheckIn