The story
La Bonne Chère is a Brussels bistro at Rue Notre-Seigneur 19, in the Marollen quarter, where Gault&Millau gave the kitchen 14.5 points in 2026.
Alexandru Sapco leads the kitchen, and Gault&Millau describes his cooking as elegant and dynamic. The guide says he approaches ingredients creatively and with precision. Le Fooding names Jean-Jacques Francès as his partner in the kitchen, with Lorah Sutac and Jérémie Stoecklin running the dining room. The two cooks first crossed paths while working at Le Wine Bar des Marolles and Odette.
The menu changes, but a recent lunch reviewed by Le Fooding included roast octopus tentacle with homemade blood pudding, seasoned with chimichurri, mango and pineapple. Veal sweetbreads and gray shrimp came in a bisque that the critic found slightly too powerful. The dessert is a cheesecake made with goat's and Herve cheese, topped with verjus jelly on buttery shortbread. The grand menu is listed at 95 €, and the midday menu is four services at 54 €, renewed weekly.
The bistro has kept its original character, with red brickwork, heavy velvet curtains, timeworn mirrors and dim lighting. Gault&Millau calls it cozy and intimate, with brick walls and wooden paneling that set the mood for the cooking.
Recognition
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History
Two Moldavians, a Frenchman and a Venezuelan enter a (wine) bar… What do they order? The whole map! After crossing paths while chefs at Le Wine Bar des Marolles and Odette, Alexandru Sapco and Jean-Jacques Francès (in the kitchen), along with Lorah Sutac and Jérémie Stoecklin (in the dining room) are now feeding foodies at La Bonne Chère, a Marollen bistro that has remained mostly in its original state (red brickwork, heavy velvet curtains, timeworn mirrors, dim lighting). That day at lunch, their heavy-hitting surf ‘n’ turf menu (and prices) sure matched their ambitions: a beautiful roast octopus tentacle, arm in arm with homemade blood pudding, exotically seasoned with chimichurri, mango and pineapple; veal sweetbreads and cooked gray shrimp in (a slightly too powerful) bisque; before a cult-favorite cheesecake made with goat’s and Herve cheese, crowned with verjus jelly and enthroned on a beautiful buttery shortbread. // Molly Kale
A cozy and intimate restaurant in the Marollen with brick walls, wooden paneling, and subdued lighting, the setting for Alexandru Sapco's kitchen. His cooking style is elegant and dynamic, as he consistently approaches ingredients creatively and with precision...
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