La Fonda 🇨🇴 — Restaurant in Brussels

La Fonda is located down a slight obscure alley, not far from the Opera House. The space is compact, but holds a number of tables. Go early as it did fill up on a Sunday for dinner. We arrived at 6:30pm.

I’d have given this five stars had there been more entree options available on the menu. But out of eight main dishes, five were unavailable. However, what we did end up having was delicious.

Starter: Beef empanadas, two small but delicious empanadas with lots of flavor, served with a spicy salsa.

Mains: Bandeja paisa - if you love pork belly, this is a deep fried strip of pork belly, served with rice that has a fried egg on top, half a plantain, a tostone, shredded beef, half an avocado, and what I’ll assume is a Colombian coleslaw (on the vinegary side). The soup, Sancocho, was a delicious concoction of beef and pork ribs, with potatoes, plantains and yucca. Comes with rice, half the avo, and the same coleslaw.

Service was straightforward and friendly. Their English was limited, as was our French and Spanish, but the order sheet and picture menu were helpful.

Give it a go. Family run, unpretentious, no loud dance music playing, and there didn’t seem to be a ton of tourists. Our meal as noted above with three waters ran us...

We very much enjoyed the experience at La Fonda. We had a couple of delicious arepas as a starter, accompanied by Colombian soda (Postobon). As a main course, we both got a huge serving of Bandeja Paisa, with red beans, pork, white rice, chicharrón, fried egg, plantain, chorizo, and avocado. One order would have probably been enough to split, but we were able to polish off most of our plates because the food was so delicious.

Our waiter (the co-owner) was very pleasant, and through pictures and a combination of English and Spanish, we were able to get our order in. We didn't have any problem communicating, but be aware that it might be more difficult if you only speak French or Dutch. The place was not too busy, but enough people to have a good atmosphere.

The meal was incredibly cheap (less than 50 euros for starter + 2 huge main courses + 5 drinks), and I think you'll struggle to find a better value meal for that...

Amazing family place. You seem to walk into the living room of a Columbian family. The reception is homely and very friendly, and they have a small menu that may change daily. Customers are mainly hispanic, which to me just proves how authentic this place is. Prices are very democratic, but be aware that this place is cash only! Also, the place is only open Friday through Sunday weekly. Ingredients are fresh and the meals are delicious, including Columbian drinks. Be sure to get some deep fried green plantains with guacamole as an appetizer, they are delicious! Best place to eat in Brussels, it doesn't get...