La Hulpe has about twenty restaurants. Lunch spots, evening tables, Italian, Asian, gastronomic. The list changes slowly. One address opens each year, another closes. We work five minutes away in Genval, and we look at La Hulpe from our terrace. This guide tells you what we see.
Lunchtime in La Hulpe: office, colleagues, quick turnaround
Lunch in La Hulpe rests on a handful of regulars. Ernest, tucked behind the Fondation Folon, serves French classics all day at a mid-range price. L'Amarante is more refined and slower, which suits a real conversation more than a rushed team lunch. Le Jardin du Sud runs a rotating brasserie menu at fair prices. Book the day before in spring: all three fill up.
For a change of register, Chanena offers Asian fusion, Le 13 is more intimate with a tight room. Villa Fiore is the town's Italian, elegant, priced closer to a gastronomic restaurant on weekdays.
What none of these tables do: a full menu of classic Belgian cuisine. A dish here or there, never the entire card. That gap is filled five minutes down the road.
Dinner in La Hulpe: choosing your table by the mood you want
Ernest shifts to a longer menu in the evening. L'Amarante becomes its premium self. Le 13 serves its single fixed menu. Villa Fiore turns romantic, Italian to the letter. Chanena stays open in the evening except on Mondays.
For dinner as a couple, choose by atmosphere. Villa Fiore for a well-run Italian, L'Amarante for a polished setting, Le 13 for a small intimate room, Ernest for a generous menu. Each has its regulars and its blind spots. Le 13 turns down groups over six. Villa Fiore refuses the à la carte for tables of two on Saturday nights. L'Amarante has a habit of taking its time with the first drink.
Traditional Belgian food: what La Hulpe does not offer
No La Hulpe restaurant commits fully to the classic Belgian card. Waterzooi, carbonnades, homemade grey shrimp croquettes, endive gratin: you find one dish here and there, never the complete menu. That gap is what we fill in Genval, five minutes from the centre of La Hulpe, where Brasserie Chez Clément has kept the tradition for several generations.
The frites are cut fresh each day and double-fried. The coffee at the end of the meal is a Belgian specialty roast, Masalto, 100 per cent certified Arabica.
Big tables and special occasions
Four addresses to know for parties of thirty or more around La Hulpe.
- Ernest privatises a thirty-seat room on the first floor, on a fixed menu.
- Domaine Solvay, in the grounds of the Château de La Hulpe, seats up to a hundred in an exceptional setting, at a price to match.
- Martin's Château du Lac, in Genval, hosts full weddings with lodging.
- Brasserie Chez Clément has two rooms and takes up to a hundred covers on a choice menu, at a fair mid-range price.
Chez Clément often hosts the pre-wedding dinner for weddings held the next day at Château du Lac or Domaine Solvay. The proximity (under ten minutes) and the choice menu format suit family and friends arriving on the Friday evening.
Terrace weather
La Hulpe has few real restaurant terraces. Ernest keeps a half-enclosed garden, Villa Fiore an inner courtyard with limited sun. For a Saturday lunch in spring, we head to the Lac de Genval, where Chez Clément, Brasserie du Lac and Genval-Les-Bains each offer a south-facing terrace. Chez Clément is the least expensive of the three.
Why this guide: five minutes down the road
The point of this page is not to sell Chez Clément. It is to give a La Hulpe resident, a Dolce guest, a couple staying in the region for the weekend, a clear map to choose. Our contact details are at the bottom, for those who want the classic Belgian menu La Hulpe does not offer. The other tables are excellent in their own registers.
Contact and hours
Brasserie Chez Clément, Rue de la Bruyère 230, 1332 Genval, Belgium. Two kilometres from the centre of La Hulpe, five minutes by car. Five minutes from Dolce La Hulpe. Open seven days a week, lunch service 12:00 to 14:30, dinner service 19:00 to 22:30, bar continuous from 12:00 to 01:00. Online reservation at brasseriechezclement.be/en/reservation or by phone at +32 2 652 33 92. Free parking directly opposite the restaurant.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Chez Clément from the centre of La Hulpe?
Two kilometres, five minutes by car. We are in Genval, the neighbouring village, on Rue de la Bruyère. About ten minutes by bicycle.
Do you serve classic Belgian cuisine?
Yes, that is our menu. Chicken waterzooi, Flemish carbonnades, homemade grey shrimp croquettes, endive gratin with ham, grilled white sausage with apple compote. The frites are cut fresh daily and double-fried. The coffee is a Masalto specialty roast, 100 per cent certified Arabica.
Do I need to book in the evening?
On Friday and Saturday evenings, booking the day before is recommended. On other evenings, a table or a seat at the bar is usually available without reservation. The bar serves a continuous snack menu from 12:00 to 01:00 (house frites, toasts, fried scampi).