The Belgian Cafe is usually louder than I expect it to be when I arrive at 9 for a weekday late dinner. However its much more relaxed than Monk’s, another favorite of mine that is operated in Center City. I have been here on numerous occasions because it seems to be a go to bar/restaurant for the neighborhood scene (aka I have friends in Fairmount who are obsessed with it, but I probably can’t blame them). During the spring and summer months, the Belgian Cafe can be a relaxing place to partake in brunch due to their outside sidewalk seating.
The Belgian Cafe is probably most well known for their extensive beer list and their offering of mussels and burgers. Out of the burger places that I have tried, I think that Belgian Cafe might be the best. The Monk’s burger which has caramelized leeks and blue cheese is making my mouth water as we speak- or as I type. I have tried both the monks mussels and the DeKonick mussels. The monk’s mussels were so boring that I refuse to try anything else besides the DeKonick mussels in order to avoid the waste of mussel space on something less than amazing. The DeKonick mussels have apples, cheese, some kind of ale and leeks (I just learned that I like leeks?). Luckily for the mussel orderers, this dish comes served with frites and this to-die-for dip which is bourbon mayonnaise. I don’t know what kind of addicting drug they put int this dip, but sometimes—alright a lot of times— I just crave the mayo.