Where to have dinner before a 2026 FIFA World Cup match in Walloon Brabant?

For international readers based in Brussels or the wider Walloon Brabant, a bit of context helps. A Belgian brasserie is not a pub, not a bistro, and not a sports bar. It is a specific format: long wooden tables, a bar that runs continuously, a classic Belgian carte (croquettes, filet américain, boulettes in tomato sauce, jambonneau), a family owner in the room. Chez Clément has been operating in this exact register since 1858, five generations deep, with Marie and Gilles Verleyen at the helm since 2021.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Because of the time-zone gap, most matches broadcast in Belgian evening hours, which lines up naturally with a proper sit-down dinner beforehand. Chez Clément opens its evening restaurant service at 7pm and takes last orders around 10pm for a 10:30pm close. That gives ample runway for a full three-course dinner before a kickoff between 8pm and 9pm Belgian time. No rushing, no counter service, no plastic tray. Just a real meal at a table, then home or to the venue in time for the whistle.

Geography is the second reason this works. The brasserie sits at Rue de la Bruyère 230 in Genval, at an equal driving distance from most of the Walloon Brabant map. Five minutes from La Hulpe, five minutes from the Lac de Genval, fifteen minutes from central Wavre, twenty minutes from Louvain-la-Neuve, twenty-five minutes from the Brussels Ring via the R0 La Hulpe exit. That geography turns the brasserie into a natural meeting point for a group coming from several municipalities, which is exactly what happens on match nights for national fixtures.

A la carte pricing sits in the 20 to 60 euros per person range for dinner, which places the venue in the mid-range family-brasserie bracket rather than the fine-dining tier. The house is large, 230 seated covers with room for up to 250 at private events, and does 200 to 300 covers per service on a busy night. Free parking sits directly opposite the entrance, which absorbs the spike on match evenings even on a Saturday. TVs are on throughout opening hours, from midday to 1am, so guests who finish dinner around 9pm can move to the bar area and watch the second half on site if they prefer that to driving home.