Lights, camera, action! Le Variétés keeps the great Brussels machine running smoothly. Housed in Flagey’s iconic modernist “ocean liner” designed by Joseph Diongre, this brasserie-rotisserie taken over by the Litvine family (La Villa Lorraine, Lola), plays the Belgian card with confidence: relaxed enough for drinks, polished enough for dinner. Think honey-toned wood banquettes, warm lighting and a terrace made for peoplewatching the Ixelles crowd roll by. That lunchtime: crispy chicken bitterballen, all gooey in the center; shrimp croquettes with fried parsley and lemon; perfectly roasted free-range chicken with glossy, crisp skin and pan juices worth mopping up to the very last drop, served with impeccable fries; before finishing with an old-school strawberry Melba. A brasserie that knows its classics… and serves them up without a trace of stuffiness. · Tuna Satana

Feeling thirsty? Well-curated wines: Les Galets, a chinon from Domaine Plouzeau (€8 a glass), La Coulée d’Argent, a vouvray from Bourillon Dorléans (€40 a bottle) and a morgon from Marcel Lapierre (€70). Otherwise, there’s an Espresso Martini (€14) or a non-alcoholic Cornet blonde beer (€6 for 330 ml).

Price: €36 menu (lunch), starters €12-29, mains €24-42, desserts €4-14.