Head-to-Head · Brussels
Café des Spores vs La Buvette
Two Saint-Gilles siblings one street apart: Cafe des Spores is the fungi table, La Buvette the surprise tasting. Book Spores for mushrooms.
The Verdict
Cafe des Spores is the single-obsession table. Every menu at the Chaussee d'Alsemberg room is built around fungi in all their forms, from oyster mushroom to truffle, chanterelle and porcini, with the chef cooking behind a counter at the far end of the narrow room. The format runs two to five courses, the garlic-stuffed mushrooms are the dish that converts the unconvinced, and you spend roughly forty-five to seventy euros a head with wine. It is a concept restaurant that has turned one ingredient into a credible philosophy. It scores 8 for food, 8 for the room and 8 for value.
La Buvette is the surprise tasting. A few doors up the same Saint-Gilles street, chef Nicolas Scheidt, from Alsace, runs a single no-choices set menu in a converted Art Deco butcher's shop, the original tiled walls and steel hooks left in place rather than hidden. There is no a la carte: six courses for about forty-nine euros or nine for about sixty-four, changing with the season and built on local, organic produce. La Buvette sits in the Michelin Guide and reads as bistronomy at its most personal. It scores 8 for food, 8 for the room and 8 for value.
The split is one ingredient versus one set menu. Cafe des Spores is the fungi obsession, the table for a diner curious about a single product taken to its limit; La Buvette is the surprise tasting, the table for someone who wants to hand the kitchen the keys. Same street, same spirit, two different ways to give up control.
Scores, Side by Side
| Score | Café des Spores | La Buvette |
|---|---|---|
| Food | 8 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Atmosphere | 8 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Value | 8 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
Which One for Which Occasion
| Occasion | Editorial Pick |
|---|---|
| A curiosity-led dinner | Cafe des SporesA whole menu built on mushrooms rewards the diner who wants a single ingredient pushed to its limit. |
| A no-choices tasting | La BuvetteNicolas Scheidt's surprise set menu suits a diner happy to hand the kitchen full control of the night. |
| An intimate date | La BuvetteThe tiny converted butcher's shop and the single set menu make for a close, conversation-easy evening for two. |
| Best value tasting | Cafe des SporesRoughly forty-five to seventy euros with wine for a full fungi menu is strong value for the ambition on the plate. |
| A vegetable-forward meal | Cafe des SporesWith fungi on every plate from start to finish, it is the obvious Brussels table for a produce-led dinner. |
Price and How to Book
The split is one ingredient versus one set menu. Cafe des Spores builds every plate on fungi from a counter on the Chaussee d'Alsemberg; the full read is in the Cafe des Spores review. La Buvette, a few doors up the same street, runs Nicolas Scheidt's surprise tasting in a former butcher's shop; the detail is in the La Buvette review. Both anchor our Brussels dining guide.
For cuisine context, weigh both against the world's best modern European restaurants. For occasion fit, see our picks for a first date and solo dining. More match-ups sit on the compare index, including Providence vs Melisse and Greetje vs Rijks.