Tero

Not far from the famous shopping street Avenue Louise in Brussels, you will find one of the most amazing restaurants, Tero. I would even go as far as to call it my favorite restaurant. Not only do they serve incredible food in a beautiful space but the concept and philosophy behind this restaurant is simply amazing and I would hope that they will inspire more restaurants to follow suit.

Tero serves a range of fresh, organic and seasonal small dishes with a focus on healthy yet flavorful food and it is recommended to choose 2 to 3 small plates per person from the menu. When you are in a group, it is advised to share several plates with the whole table, in order to taste as many dishes as possible. It is a very social form of eating together. On the menu there is a cold, warm as well as a dessert section. Usually the cold and warm plates all arrive at the table at the same time, but you can also request to have the cold and the warm dishes successively. I prefer it this way as it draws out the food experience a bit more and lets you concentrate on a smaller number of dishes. For lunch, they also offer a meat as well as a veggie dish of the day. The restaurant is often fully booked, so I recommend you to book your table ahead of time via their very convenient booking tool.

Their restaurant in Brussels is actually their second restaurant. The first one is located in Bierges, half an hour outside of Brussels, where they are running and cultivating a farm at the same time. This farm is a primary source of produce for the restaurants, including vegetables, fruits and herbs but also meat. Plus, they have build up a whole network of quality Belgian producers. Tero promises that the animals on the farm are raised with respect for animal welfare as well as the environment. This show of respect for the animals, the focus on local, homegrown produce as well as the transparency regarding the origin of their ingredients can only be worthy of support and commendation. On their Instagram stories they actually sometimes show the everyday life on the farm, including how the produce is planted and harvested.

I usually go for a cold plate as starter, warm dish as a main and of course to finish off, dessert. Afterwards I always feel satisfied but never overeaten. Their menu changes regularly with the seasons and you can always check out their current menu on their website. Prices for a plate usually range between 8 and 16 Euros, with meat and fish dishes coming in at the higher end of the price spectrum. They also serve a changing selection of aperitifs and their small but selective wine menu also has a nice variety of open wines by the glass. With 3 (veggie) plates of food, an aperitif, a glass or two of wine, some water and coffee I usually come out at around 50 Euros. Considering the food, the setting and the service, this is a great price.

The service is actually exceptional. Only on very rare occasions have I experienced this kind of professional, calm, friendly and forthcoming service. The people are extremely knowledgeable and are more than happy to help you with your selection. Also, they employ and train a number of younger staff members, and I am always impressed by their quality service and politeness. It is great to see people working so well together in a team and actively supporting each other.

There are some items which figure on their menus quite regularly, albeit in a slightly altered form, such as their homemade hummus or their burrata. Both are absolutely delicious and I especially enjoy their burrata, which is a hundred times better than those which have begun popping up in supermarkets. You can really taste the fresh mozzarella and the inside is nice and creamy. This time around it was served with a fresh pea puree as well as some bread. You also always get a little plate of their olive oil with some za'atar, a spice mixture which is mixed with the olive oil and perfect for dipping bread.

Instead of a detailed description, the menu only lists the ingredients used in a dish, so it is always a little bit of a surprise what you will end up with. Also, their dishes are very creative and often highlight products which most of the time only play a supporting role in other dishes, such as a cabbage stir-fry with green curry and coconut milk. Despite being very nutritious, cabbage is often overlooked and does not have the best reputation, but it was the star of the show in this dish. Together with a light green curry coconut sauce and some cashew nuts for crunch, this was a delightful and light dish and actually reminded me of being more creative with my cooking.

The olive oil and the za'atar mentioned above, as well as other amazing, homemade products are available for purchase at their little counter at the entrance of the restaurant. You will actually receive a little discount when you eat at the restaurant and then purchase their products. This time around they were selling honey straight from the farm. I can also highly recommend the granola. These are some amazing products with origin transparency at a fair price, so do check them out.

The cold and warm dishes are amazing, always fresh and tasty, but they honestly can't hold a candle to their desserts. I do enjoy desserts but often times they are just too sweet or too heavy. At Tero's they have found the perfect balance for the sweetness as well as the portion size and I never get this dreaded sugar high after one of their desserts. Their pastry chef in charge of desserts is simply amazing and some of his dishes are actually some of the best things that I have ever eaten at a restaurant.

Just take this "pain perdu", a sort of French toast, made with homemade brioche bread, fried up and served with some powdered sugar as well as a scoop of ice-cream with buckwheat. It is a perfect combination of flavors and textures: the buttery, crispy crust, the sweet, fluffy inside of the bread, the lightness of the powdered sugar, the creamy and the melting ice-cream with a hint of bitterness from the crunchy buckwheat. Another one of my favorites was one of their desserts from last winter, rice pudding made with almond milk, topped with their crispy homemade granola (the one you can buy) and served alongside some hibiscus poached pears. Creamy, sweet, crunchy, tangy, all in one dish, the balance was simply perfect and I would absolutely recommend you going for one of their desserts to round off the experience!

So, I do not think it will come as a surprise that I can't recommend this place highly enough; it really is something special. I really hope, that if you have the opportunity you will visit Tero and experience outstanding food in a beautiful space, with its clean Scandic decor and heavy wooden tables. I honestly would not want to change a thing about this place and it shows once again that when you use great quality, responsibly sourced produce and have a great team that you can really create something truly amazing.