Leon de Bruxelle, Cergy

At CDG, we picked up a rental car and drove north toward Giverny. We hit some traffic in Cergy, just 40 minutes north of CDG and decided to have lunch. There were a few restaurants and we chose Leon de Bruxelle. There were a lot of people there and none of them looked like tourists. Just my kind of place.

The Manneken Pis greets you at the entrance. In Brussels, you'll find the same bronze statue. There are many stories about the statue but the one I heard in Brussels was that there was a wealthy merchant who lost his son. When his son was found, he was urinating in a garden. The merchant was so grateful, he had a fountain built featuring his son when he was found.

Anchois Marines--€6.20. My husband thought he was ordering fried anchovies (which we loved in Croatia) but he was actually ordering marinated anchovies. These were good though and not fishy at all.

There was a 2-course menu for €16.90. It's a Belgian restaurant and mussels were the featured item so of course, I chose Moules a la Mariniere--mussels in wine sauce. There was 800g or nearly 2 lbs of it. So good and the sauce was delicious.

My mussels were served with Frites--crispy on the outside. Don't ask for ketchup.

My husband ordered Les Moules "Cote Sud"--mussels over pasta. The pasta was well cooked and al dente.

Dessert was the 2nd course. Gaufre au Sucre--just a plain waffle with powdered sugar.

Creme Brûlée--this was a much better dessert. So creamy.

The restaurant was filled mainly with locals out for a Sunday lunch with family and friends. At the table next to ours, there was a family celebrating their grandmother's birthday. The restaurant staff sang "Joyeux Anniversaire" to her. I love eating with locals. Makes me feel like I'm a part of the local scene. It was a great way to start a vacation.



2017 05 21