Brussels · Open Monday
Best Restaurants Open on Monday in Brussels 2026
Brussels does the European thing and rests its tasting-menu kitchens on a Monday. What it does not rest is its brasseries, and in this city that is no compromise. The grand Belle Epoque and Art Nouveau rooms trade seven days a week. Here are six worth a Monday booking, with hours confirmed.
Brussels rewards a Monday diner who understands the local rhythm. The small, chef-driven rooms with their menus dejeuner and their tasting formats mostly close Sunday and Monday, the same pattern you find across much of Europe. But the city's brasserie tradition is one of the strongest on the continent, and those rooms are destinations in their own right: stained glass, polished brass, oyster counters and mussels by the kilo, open every day of the week. The six below were each checked against their current Monday hours, and the list leans on the grand rooms that make a Brussels Monday a pleasure rather than a problem.
Belga Queen
Monday: 12:00pm – 10:00pm (continuous)
The most theatrical Monday room in the city, set inside a former bank on Wolvengracht with a stained-glass ceiling, marble columns and the old vaults turned into a cocktail bar downstairs. Belga Queen runs an all-Belgian brasserie menu, a proper oyster bar, grey shrimp croquettes and waterzooi, continuous from noon so you can arrive at any hour on a Monday. It is grand without being stuffy, equally suited to a business lunch and a celebratory dinner under the glass roof. Reserve ahead for a table on the main floor, and visit the vault bar for a drink after.
Aux Armes de Bruxelles
Monday: 12:00pm – 2:30pm and 6:00pm – 10:30pm
The Belgian institution on the restaurant-packed Rue des Bouchers, serving since 1921 and still the benchmark for the classics done properly. Aux Armes de Bruxelles is where to eat moules-frites without apology, alongside sole meunière, shrimp croquettes and a vol-au-vent, in a white-tablecloth room that has fed kings and Brel alike. It keeps a full Monday lunch and dinner when much of the street is a tourist trap, which is exactly why locals still send visitors here. Book the dinner service and order the mussels in season.
Scheltema
Monday: 12:00pm – 3:00pm and 6:00pm – 11:30pm
The seafood specialist of the Ilot Sacre, a step off Rue des Bouchers and trading since 1972 behind a glorious 1900 brasserie front of wood, mirrors and brass. Scheltema runs the shellfish platters, the lobster, the bouillabaisse and the Zeeland oysters that the district is built on, with a Monday service that goes late, to 11:30pm. It is the choice for a long Monday dinner that centres on the sea rather than the steak, in a room that feels like old Brussels without being a museum piece. Reserve a banquette and work through the plateau de fruits de mer.
La Quincaillerie
Monday: 12:00pm – 2:00pm and 7:00pm – 11:00pm
The most beautiful room on the list, an Art Nouveau former hardware store in Ixelles with a wrought-iron mezzanine, a station clock and the old wooden drawer-cabinets kept on the walls. La Quincaillerie cooks a French-Belgian menu with a strong seafood and oyster bar, away from the centre in a residential quarter that the tourist crowds rarely reach. It keeps a Monday lunch and dinner, which makes it the pick for a Monday that wants design and a quieter neighbourhood over the Grand Place bustle. Book the mezzanine for the full view of the room.
Au Vieux Saint-Martin
Monday: 10:00am – 11:00pm (continuous)
The all-day Sablon room, open continuously from 10am to 11pm on a Monday, so it covers a mid-morning coffee, a long lunch between the antique shops and a late dinner without ever closing the kitchen. Au Vieux Saint-Martin is the brasserie often credited with inventing filet americain, the Belgian steak tartare, and it still does it as well as anyone, in a bright room hung with contemporary art on the prettiest square in the city. For a flexible Monday with no time pressure, this is the booking. Sit on the terrace when the Sablon is in the sun.
Taverne du Passage
Monday: 12:00pm – 3:00pm and 6:00pm – 10:30pm
The Art Deco brasserie tucked inside the glass-roofed Royal Galleries of Saint-Hubert, opened in 1928 and barely changed since, with white-jacketed waiters and a menu of Belgian classics that the Michelin Guide still keeps on its list. Taverne du Passage runs the shrimp croquettes, the eel in green sauce and the steak tartare prepared at the table, with a Monday lunch and dinner under the gallery's arcade. It is the most atmospheric covered-passage meal in Brussels, sheltered from the weather and steeped in Belle Epoque. Reserve a table along the gallery for the full effect.
Brussels Monday dining FAQ
Which good restaurants are open on Monday in Brussels?
Six are confirmed open: Belga Queen near the Grand Place serves from noon, Aux Armes de Bruxelles on Rue des Bouchers runs lunch and dinner, Scheltema does seafood from noon, La Quincaillerie in Ixelles opens for lunch and dinner, Au Vieux Saint-Martin on the Sablon runs all day from 10am, and Taverne du Passage in the Royal Galleries serves both services. Brussels keeps a strong brasserie tradition, so its grand rooms stay open Monday even when the tasting-menu kitchens rest.
Is Belga Queen open on Monday in Brussels?
Yes. Belga Queen at Wolvengracht 32 is open Monday from noon to 10pm, continuous through the afternoon. Set inside a former bank with a stained-glass ceiling and marble columns, it is the city's grandest brasserie, with an oyster bar, Belgian classics and a downstairs cocktail bar in the old vaults. The Monday service covers both lunch and dinner, which makes it the easy answer for an off-day meal in the centre. Reserve ahead for a table under the glass roof.
Why do so many Brussels fine-dining restaurants close on Monday?
Brussels follows the European pattern where the ambitious, small tasting-menu kitchens close Sunday and Monday to rest their teams and reset their menus. The difference is that Brussels has an unusually strong brasserie culture, and those grand rooms, many of them Belle Epoque or Art Nouveau landmarks, trade seven days a week on the tourist and business crowd. So a Monday here means brasserie cooking rather than a tasting menu, which in this city is no compromise at all.
Where can I eat moules-frites on a Monday in Brussels?
Aux Armes de Bruxelles on Rue des Bouchers is the Monday moules-frites pick, a Belgian institution since 1921 serving mussels, sole meunière and shrimp croquettes in a classic white-tablecloth room. Scheltema, a few steps away on Rue des Dominicains, is the seafood-forward alternative with a 1900 brasserie interior, open Monday from noon. Both sit in the Ilot Sacre near the Grand Place and both keep a full Monday lunch and dinner.
What is the best Monday lunch in Brussels?
Au Vieux Saint-Martin on the Place du Grand Sablon is the standout Monday lunch, open continuously from 10am to 11pm, so you can arrive at any hour. The art-filled room is said to be where filet americain, the Belgian steak tartare, was invented, and the all-day service suits a long Sablon lunch between the antique shops. Belga Queen and Taverne du Passage are the other strong midday options, both open from noon on a Monday.
Hours and prices were verified at publication and can change for holidays and private events; confirm directly with the restaurant before you travel. Restaurants for Kings may earn a commission on reservations booked through partner links, at no cost to you. This never affects which restaurants we include or how we rank them.