I’m normally a shocking slattern on a weekend, but last Sunday I dragged a comb through my luscious auburn tresses, threw on an old Armani peignoir, and schlepped out to St Gilles for brunch at Britxos, the recently opened outlet of catering supremos La Britannique, with the editor, who presumably wanted to offer me a pay rise.
I wouldn’t say it’s in a prime location - a bit off the beaten track to tell the truth. However, it did afford me the opportunity to see that bit of St Gilles just past Ixelles, which is an up and coming area with a lot to offer - Art Deco houses, including the Horta museum, walking distance from the trendy Rue du Bailli, and a mere 15 minutes by tram from Mérode. So you could kick off an afternoon’s cultural learnings with a visit to the market followed by a copious brunch at Britxos, which styles itself as a café-deli, serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, cocktails and snacks to eat in or take out. The menu changes weekly, so it’s worth checking out their website to see if the weekend brunch is going to be Asian, English, Irish, Mexican, or something else. The nice people at Britxos are open to suggestions, if you’d like to surprise a visiting Albanian delegation (for example) with a taste of the old country.
The
cocktail list is on the blackboard above the bar and I sipped a Bloody
Mary whilst perusing the top shelf of drinks which boasted some
impressive beverages - top hole gins The Botanist and Hendrick’s (voted
best gin in the world), and no less a rum than Nicaragua’s finest Flor
de Cana. I made a mental note to come back at cocktail hour, from 5
p.m. to 7 p.m. and try a Glasgow Slag (Irn-Bru and peach liqueur if you
must know).
Photo: Alison Cornford-Matheson
The brunch concept is based on Spanish style tapas, or pintxos
as they are called in the Basque country. British pintxos = Britxos.
Geddit? Oh suit yourself. We had the Mexican brunch, which comprises
four courses and a bottle of wine for 27 euros. The entree was a
Guadalajara chicken quesadilla, rather like a flattened chorizo,
guacamole, potato, onion and cheese pie, drizzled with the chef’s own
recipe sweet chutney; this was followed by Huevos rancheros - two fried
eggs with a cold Mexican spicy ratatouille, and tasty jalapeno
cornbread. Then came beer-battered white fish with Mexican sweetcorn
salad, and to finish, vanilla ice cream with Mexican ganache and a
raspberry macaroon. All washed down with a very pleasant Spanish
cabernet sauvignon.
Photo: Alison Cornford-Matheson
The
place only seats 14, plus four seats at the bar - brunch is served in
two sittings at 11.30 and 1.30 on weekends, so it’s advisable to phone
ahead and book. If you like improbable multicultural combinations, this
is the place for you - a Mexican brunch cooked by a Latvian in a Basque
inspired British tapas bar with Spanish wine - Brussels in a nutshell.
The craic was uniquely Brusseleir however - relaxed and friendly, and
if you’re on your own, it’s quite likely you’ll end up chatting to your
neighbours, as I did to a shy young gentleman from South London who was
lunching at the bar. I was born in Knightbridge moiself,
but I will share with you now a little known fact, I was brung up in
Sarf London, and it only takes the dulcet tones of the Old Kent Road and
a couple of Bloody Marys and my carefully contrived veneer flakes away
quicker than Kat Moon’s nail varnish. By the time we’d finished the
four course brunch and were on our second bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, I
was singing “Maybe it’s becorze I’m a Londoner” and the place was
starting to resemble the Queen Vic on a Sunday lunchtime.
Your writer doing a Christine Keeler with a couple of British pouffes I found in Britxos
Photo: Tony Mallett
Photo: Tony Mallett
Needless to say, no pay rise was mentioned.
On second thoughts, perhaps you ought to get your cultural learnings out of the way first before brunching at Britxos. If you're more interested in the Glasgow Slag than the huevos rancheros, you might prefer to go on a Monday evening when they have live jazz.
Britxos
13 rue de Savoie
1060 St Gilles
Tel: 02 613 48 90
www.facebook.com/britxos
http://www.labritannique.com/contact-britxos
