Neighborhood Eats: Belga Cafe

Reviewed by Cynthia Hacinli , Ann Limpert , Sara Levine

Belga Cafe

514 8th Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Phone: 202-544-0100

Cuisines:
Belgian

Opening Hours:

Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

Nearby Metro Stops:
Eastern Market

Price Range:
Moderate

Dress:
Informal

Crowd:
Hill staffers, neighborhood dwellers, and beer connoisseurs.

Noise Level:
Chatty

Reservations:
Recommended

Special Features:
Weekend Brunch

Website:
Click here to open in new window.

Best Dishes
Pastry "cigars" stuffed with chicken and crab; duck liver with tutti-frutti; chicken Waterzooi; beef stew; cod with Brussels sprouts and brandade; fried veal sweetbreads; pommes frites; asparagus fritters with asparagus ice cream; endive tarte Tatin.

Price Details:
Dinner entrees, $16 to $22.

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The menu at this brick-walled cafe is divided between Euro-fusion—chef Bart Vandaele’s spins on his native Belgian cuisine—and classic Flemish dishes. The latter are better: mustardy potato croquettes, sweet-sour beef stew with braised cabbage, and mussels steamed in ale. The list of draft and bottled beers is long and well considered—one interesting choice is Kasteel Rouge, a cherry-flavored beer that’s not so sweet that you’d mistake it for dessert.

-March, 2008