Brussels sleeps, except here.

Late at the table: Four addresses in Brussels that are still serving after midnight

After eleven o’clock, dinner conversations in Brussels seem to die down almost everywhere. Fortunately, some places keep the stove on until midnight and sometimes a little longer. Note these four places in your agenda – from an age-old estaminet to a casino restaurant – as the place to be when late-night hunger strikes.

From Angel to Devil

Au Vieux Spijtigen Duivel — Uccle

Located on the Alsembergsesteenweg, a stone’s throw from the old center of Uccle, stands a building that its customers affectionately call "de Vieux Spijt." Legend has it that the business was likely active around 1500, under the name "À l’Ange." Until Emperor Charles V—dissatisfied with the welcome from the then-proprietress—rechristened the building "Au Vieux Spijtigen Duivel."

The first written record, however, dates from 1771, with the name "Spytighen Duyvel."

Little has changed since then. The Pauwels family ran the business for nearly a century, until Sylvie and Christos took over the torch in 2005. The wooden bar and furniture, the old tableware above the monumental fireplace, the enameled beer signs, the chalkboard menus, and the wintery Godin coal stove still breathe the nineteenth century. Victor Hugo is said to have sat here during his Brussels exile, and Charles Baudelaire wrote some of his scathing verses about the city within these walls.

On the menu today: ballekes (meatballs) in tomato sauce, stoemp (traditional mashed potatoes with vegetables), Flemish stew, and Zeeland mussels—honest, uncomplicated food for those who are still hungry after a night out.

• Founded: around 1726–1741 (according to legend, since 1500)
• Kitchen open until: midnight, 7 days a week
• Fun fact: According to them and many others, this is the oldest still-active estaminet in Brussels, in a protected building since 2010.

Mediterranean feast

Le Conteur — Brussels-center

In 2019, brothers Roi and Ronnie opened a restaurant at the Vismarkt, near the Grand Place and the Bourse, aiming to bring the festive, generous table culture of the Middle East to Brussels. The name is no coincidence: at "Le Conteur," everything revolves around stories that are passed on through the plate. Mezzes to share, baba ghanoush with roasted almonds, fresh salmon with beetroot and pomegranate, and dishes that aim just as much for flavor as for sitting together at the table.

In Summer, the terrace changes into one of the most beloved places in the city for long, lively evenings, while music and a festive ambiance set the tone inside. Because what starts as a restaurant visit slowly grows here into an evening that moves along with the music, the atmosphere, and the company.

This is exactly the kind of address where an evening stretches out: a place to pull up a chair after the theater or for a late dinner after a meeting, without the kitchen closing its doors at ten o’clock. From Tuesday to Thursday, you can eat until midnight, and on weekends, the clock doesn't turn back until one in the morning.

• Founded: 2019, by brothers Roi and Ronnie
• Kitchen open until: midnight Tuesday to Thursday, until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday; closed Monday and Sunday.
• Fun fact: At the end of the second service (starting at 8:00 PM), the house treats the whole room to a communal shot.

The time capsule of the Louise district

Al Piccolo Mondo - Saint-Gilles

Not far from Avenue Louise, on Rue Jourdan, Leo Spagnuolo started a restaurant in 1979 that has since developed into a true Brussels institution. Today, sons Olivier and Valerio—with mom and dad never far from sight—run the family business with that same old-fashioned, flawless level of service. The Venetian decor has hardly changed in all those years: warm, somewhat formal, and precisely because of that, timeless. The pizza oven is still there, visible from the street.

The menu is as timeless as the decor: an eclectic mix of Italian, French, and Belgian classics, from eggs Florentine to a gratinated lobster and grilled scampi.

No "last order" at half-past ten here, but a kitchen that simply stays open until the end of the evening, every night of the week until midnight.

• Founded: 1979, by Leo Spagnuolo
• Kitchen open until: midnight, every day of the week (closed in August)
• Fun fact: The walls are covered with photos of celebrities who settled down at one of the tables over the years.

Steak and fries until 2 a.m.

VIAGE Grill - Brussels-center

On the first floor of the Grand Casino Brussels VIAGE, on Boulevard Anspach, lies a special steakhouse that opened following a renovation in October 2019. Rough floors, leather, and wood, and a general warmth that feels more like a living room than a casino. VIAGE Grill works with the best butchers in Belgium and beyond, and dry-ages its meat in-house. A process that makes the meat more tender and intensifies the flavor before it is seared on an authentic 360-degree Australian grill.

The limited menu offers not only a delicious steak but also fish and salad. In the curved booths, away from the noise of the gaming tables but still just one floor away, a dinner here feels like a scene from a Bond film. And that deep into the night: those coming out of a late theater performance or an evening at the roulette table on Friday and Saturday nights can order a tasty bite until 2:00 a.m. If you have a late craving during the week, you can order a selection of Grill favorites in the adjacent CINNA Bar.

• Founded: reopened in October 2019 as part of Grand Casino Brussels VIAGE.
• Kitchen open until: 2:00 a.m., only on Friday and Saturday (18:00–02:00); the rest of the week features a limited menu at CINNA Bar.
• Fun fact: The grill, a 360-degree Australian model, is known internally as the "rockstar" among grills.

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