To me it feels like la Boule d’Oro (‘Golden Ball’) has been around since forever. But to be more precise: it’s since 2012.

This Brussels brasserie is my no. 1 place to go for a drink or to have a meal. Why? The street corner café has everything my nostalgic heart desires I guess.

It’s unpretentious: the interior resembles my primary school cafeteria with its ’60s furniture where I spent countless of my childhood noons. The whole space breathes an air of nostalgic coziness similar to Friture René in Anderlecht (check the Friture René article). La Boule d’Oro provides me with my favorite Belgian Trappist beers and with Brussels’ best brews like the traditional Gueuze or the more recent but already classic Brasserie de la Senne inventions. The Belgian cuisine directly reminds me of my dear mother’s best creations: Flemish stew, Liège meatballs, vol-au-vent, pork cheek, meatloaf, shrimp croquettes and many more. Meals are often prepared in a beer sauce based on for example Kriek or Chimay. The bread, fries and mayonnaise are home-made and I have to admit the latter is more successful than my mother’s attempts. Sorry mom.

Simply put, La Boule d’Oro reflects the golden olden days. It shines its light on times to come, when the brasserie does not exist and I am no longer necessarily born.