Restaurant Review: Malesherbes in Bruges

I spent last weekend in Belgium, one day of which I spent in Bruges. The city is charming, known as the Venice of the North, and also now a bit of a gastronomic destination. What better combination than great sights and good food?

I looked up some places to eat online but nothing seemed inspiring, so I decided to leave it to Lady Luck. And just as I passed by the entrance of a tiny little alley off one of the main streets of Bruges, I decided to take a peek. Down the path I wondered, and not long after, my nose caught a waft of something delicious. I followed my nose and found a small little restaurant called Malesherbes. It was charming and simple, and they had room for me to eat lunch. Just my luck!

Not only was I dazzled by the hospitality of the restaurant owners and employees, but I had my best meal in Belgium at this little gem. I started with a green salad topped with melted goat cheese. Most restaurants will give you a few morsels of cheese sitting in a sea of green lettuce. Not Malesherbes.

Boom! My salad came with a huge chunk of hot, melted goat cheese. Texturally the salad hit all the right spots. There was the soft, warm goat's cheese. The cool lettuce, and some crispy tiny little croutons that added the best crunch to the salad. I devoured it immediately. I had been travelling for 3 days by that point, and had hardly managed to find any vegetables. Vegetable quota for the meal: check.

For my main course, I decided on a local specialty: Duck foie gras (fatty liver) flambeed with slices of apples. As soon as the waiter put the dish down in front of me (first picture of this post), I knew it was going to be special. Even the couple at the table next to me instantly regretted not having ordered the same main course. Too late! I had snagged the last of the apples for the lunch serving!

I mentally rubbed my hands together like an excited little kid and plunged into my dish. It was served with pieces of toasted broad, so I placed one layer of foie gras on toast and another layer of the cooked apple slices on top and off it went on an adventure into my stomach. My taste buds were SINGING in amazement. I was so engrossed in my meal that if the world had exploded all around me I would not have noticed. There was the crunchy toast layer, then the hot, soft foie gras and finally the sweet, gooey apple. It was a perfectly choreographed trio of umami. And deliciousness. And amazingness.

And then my heart stopped as I remembered I didn't live in Bruges and was unlikely to be able to find another meal like this back home. I got ready to rejoin the real world with a black coffee, served with pieces of marzipan and belgian chocolate, but my brain was too obsessed with the taste of the foie gras to bother with proper dessert. Or even a cheese course for that matter. And then I gathered my courage and left for the train back to Brussels. [Insert melodramatic sigh here].

Should you ever visit this place, I beg you to take me with you. I do recommend reservations, as the place is quite small:

Stoofstraat 3-5
8000 Brugge, Belgium

+32 477 74 14 13