The story
Menssa, at Avenue de Tervueren 453 in Brussels, is a counter restaurant where chef Christophe Hardiquest cooks a seasonal, contemporary Belgian menu. The Michelin Guide awarded it one star in 2026.
Christophe Hardiquest was born in Waremme in 1975 and trained at the hotel school in Namur before working in kitchens in Belgium, France and the United States. He opened his first restaurant, Bon Bon, in Brussels in 2001. At Menssa he cooks from childhood tastes, family dishes and old recipes, and he says there is no ranking between ingredients. One evening it might be a caviar dish, the next a leek vinaigrette.
Guests sit face to face at a walnut counter with 26 places, where they can watch the brigade at the stove and see how long each plate takes. The name combines "mens" and "mensa", a nod to mind and table. Groups can book a round table for 6 to 8 or a rectangular one for 8 to 10. Gault&Millau gave the restaurant 17 points in 2026.
Dinner is served as four courses for 190 euros or six courses for 245 euros, with wine pairings from 75 euros. Vegetarian dishes receive the same care as those built on meat or fish, so the level stays the same whatever a guest chooses. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday lunch, a 45-minute format of three courses costs 90 euros.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
High quality cooking
On the edge of the Sonian Forest, where stately villas and embassies rise, Chef Christophe Hardiquest has long held court. At Menssa, the threshold is slightly lower. At an undulating walnut dining counter, beneath stylized branches...
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