Chapeau Blanc Brussels
Anderlecht culinary heritage
All good things come to an end. Unless you refuse.
Brasserie Le Chapeau Blanc is an Anderlecht institute. Yet, it’s one of those Brussels-endangered restaurant species. It went bankrupt in 2023. Until 16 friends saved this emblematic business.
The traditional restaurant Le Chapeau Blanc (‘Witten Hoed’ in Dutch; ‘White Hat’ in English) was founded in 1890. The wooden interior boasted a fin-de-siècle splendour for the common people. At that time, Anderlecht was still just a small village close to the city of Brussels.
When, after World War I, the Anderlecht football club moved to their new stadium nearby (read the Stade Constant Vanden Stock article), Le Chapeau Blanc quickly became a home base for supporters. With Belgian dishes and beers, wins were celebrated, and losses obliterated. The legend goes that in the ‘70s, when Anderlecht won the UEFA Cup, supporters celebrated for two consecutive days, stopping every tram passing by to decorate it in purple and white (listen to the heritage podcast Stadsoren to find out more). Refusing the victory to come to an end.
Anderlecht’s football glories faded. And so seemed Le Chapeau Blanc’s when the restaurant went bankrupt in 2023. But 16 friends came to the rescue. They invested €80.000, took on a loan and organized a grow funding.
The new Chapeau Blanc retained its soul. The classic menu was preserved yet modernized with vegetarian options. The wooden interior was renovated, and the upstairs ballroom was open for festivities again.
Once more, it's a place for bon vivants refusing good things to come to an end.
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