Rue du Marché aux Poulets, 32
What’s good? Sharing is caring at Le Conteur, which takes you on a gastronomical tour of Tel Aviv, Rabat and Beirut. If you’re with a group and not in the mood for tough choices, the €35 set menu is a no-brainer. But while the food is delicious — think golden challah bread, delicious homemade dips and a Moorish three-hour roasted cabbage with sheep’s feta cream, raw tahini and candied walnuts — the real star of the show is the cocktail list. The Garden Smash is sour and exciting on the palate, with a fig liquor infused with basil and a healthy splash of gin and lemon juice. Meanwhile, the definitely not-standard Negroni Lavan features Panda gin, Dolin dry vermouth and Starlino elderflower aperitivo. Lehaim!
What’s not? Monday’s menu is a reduced one, and feels less sharable. There are some hits, but also a big miss — the 21st Century Couscous is essentially a watery soup with a hard lump of semolina curdling sadly in the middle.
Vibe: If you want to hear your dining companion, you’ll want to book in for the first service — “The Quiet One” — from 6-8 p.m. But if you’re in a party mood and want to dance on the tables and do shots with the achingly cool bar staff, the second service — “The Festive One” — from 8 p.m. isn’t to be missed.
Who’s picking up the check? The sharing menu is good value at €35 per head. À la carte, the dips are under €5, the smaller dishes range between €9-€15, and the larger ones are around €20-€25. The cocktails, at €10-€13, are worth every dime.
Spotted: The folks who come to Le Conteur are here to loosen up and have a good time — not the sort of place for gray suits and stuffed shirts.
Insider tip: Mondays are “Berber Nights,” with a Moroccan menu and a belly dancer who gets things shaking after the second service. Be prepared for audience participation.
How to get there: It’s a few minutes’ walk from De Brouckère metro stop. Open Monday to Saturday for dinner.
— Review published on February 23, 2023. Illustration by Dato Parulava/POLITICO.