10 Best Restaurants in Mons, Western Wallonia

A friendly local favorite with charming service and a Mons classic to devour. The menu is, on the whole, standard brasserie fare, but the addition of porc a l'Berdouille, a dish created in the 1960s that smothers a pork chop (in this case pork fillet) in a white-wine-and-cream sauce flavored with pickled onions and gherkins, is a delight. It's an acquired taste, but one definitely worth developing. 

A fine-dining classic that has been around for nearly 30 years. During that time, Lisa Calcus has shaped the taste buds of the city. The setting, in an 18th-century building, belies its modern interior. It's tastefully done and befits a series of well-constructed set menus (from €50 pp) taking their pick 'n' mix influences from around Europe, and as likely to pair a rustic guinea fowl with chutney as fall back on richer French cooking, with sweetbreads in a thick Madeira sauce. 

From the mind of Belgium Top Chef finalist Jean-Philippe Watteyne (aka Jean-Phi), this diner is an ode to the drunken sandwich. Mitraillettes are typically served at frites stalls: it's a half baguette stuffed with as many Belgian-style fries as it'll hold, and often smothered in sauces, sausage, and others things guaranteed to lessen your life span. It's usually eaten at the end of a long night out; this restaurant aims to turn it into a meal out instead. Here, submarine rolls are filled with frites and a number of ambitious toppings, including and foie-gras and apple sauce, venison stew, raclette cheese and bacon, and even veggies. A pure indulgence that has to be tried at least once. 

If you take your salads seriously, this is the place to go. Despite the countrified café setting, they're not cheap (€18.50!) but come exquisitely prepared, piled high with protein, and are always creative. Desserts are cute, too, and the chocolate fondue (with all manner of biscuits and sweet dip-ables) is adorable. There's also a good choice of natural wines if you wish to indulge.

A really friendly café that's just a few steps from the Beaux-Arts. It's got a good choice of vegan and vegetarian sandwiches, croques, soups, and salads, and the juices are delicious. 

Meat is the order of the day here, rumored to be sourced from the same supplier as the celebrated French chef Joël Robuchon. Pounds of fresh, sweet cuts adorn the menu of this chic brasserie, whose specialty is beef, whether in the form of entrecôte, fillet, boulettes (meatballs), or tartare (raw). The decor is accordingly charming, with a beamed ceiling overhanging dark-wood tables. It's a local favorite for good reason. 

The rather scruffy exterior hides a budget jewel in Mons's dining scene. This is home-cooked Belgian food at its most grandmotherly, with huge portions of sauce-swamped meats ranging from meatballs and rabbit to great mounds of chateaubriand. Service is cheery and the setting café-like in its briskness, but it's great value and always worth a look. 

Think soups, stuffed spianatas (Sardinian-style flatbreads), and tartines (open sandwiches) spilling over with smashed avocado and served on rustic wooden boards. It's friendly, filling, decent value, and there's a terrace for the sunnier days.  

The fine-dining restaurant by acclaimed local chef Jean-Phi is as eclectic as his frites-sandwich joint (see Mitraillette). The menu is defiantly local, with a wide choice of regional beers often accompanying either a sharing-plate (around €15) or main-sized version of the same dishes. The menu is limited in size but delves into every corner of Belgian cooking, from mussels to classic cuts of beef or pigeon, all served with trademark wit and flair.

Just around the corner from the Marché-aux-Herbes bar street lies this haven to all things American and calorific. It's a busy caveat to the city's main student drinking area, but also a rather good burger and hot-dog joint. Heaving brioche buns, mostly named after a Google-scrawl of Americana, spill over with Gallic flourish. Of course, the "Wall Street" burger would have foie gras and truffle mayo. And if you can manage the €30 "Super Bowl" burger, your stomach is as strong as your will.