Hispania Brussels opened in 2016 on the Grand Sablon, one of the best-known squares in central Brussels, and its stated aim from the start was to be the reference for Spanish food in Belgium and the wider Benelux.
It is also the only restaurant in Belgium in our directory right now, which is part of why it gets a post of its own.
The address
Hispania sits at Rue Bodenbroek 2, on the edge of the Grand Sablon. The square is the city's antiques and chocolate quarter, and the restaurant's own description points to the antiques market that is held there every week. If you are in Brussels for a weekend, the location makes it an easy lunch stop between the market stalls and the chocolatiers around the square.
Who designed it and who wrote the menu
Two names come up in Hispania's record. The rooms were decorated by the Spanish interior designer Lorenzo Castillo. The menus were created by Marcos Morán, described in the record as a Michelin-star chef.
We don't have a dish-by-dish menu for the Brussels room on file, so we won't pretend to know what is on it this week. What the record does say is that the menu is a bistro menu built around Spanish tapas and a set of house signature dishes.
More than a dining room
Hispania describes itself as a brasserie, and it is set up to do several jobs at once:
- A brasserie with a bistro menu of tapas and signature dishes.
- Separate event rooms and spaces for groups.
- A private dining room.
- A gourmet shop selling Spanish products.
The record says the shop displays Spanish products. We don't have its stock list, but typical Spanish deli goods include tinned conservas, olive oil and cured ham such as jamón ibérico.
The sister restaurants
Brussels is one of four Hispania listings in our directory. The Brussels record mentions the London restaurant as its sister, and all four records name Marcos Morán as the chef behind the food.
- Hispania (City of London), at 72-74 Lombard Street, occupies more than 9,000 square feet of the historic Lloyd's Bank building and works as a restaurant, bar, shop and take-away.
- Hispania Kensington, at 61 Gloucester Road in South Kensington, is the newer London room. Lorenzo Castillo decorated it too, and Marcos Morán guides the kitchen.
- Hispania Nha Trang, on the shore at Bai Tien in Nha Trang, Vietnam, is the group's first restaurant in Asia and cooks with local ingredients.
Before you go
Because the room hosts events and private dining, a larger booking is worth arranging in advance. For a first visit, a sensible order at a Spanish brasserie is a few tapas to share and then one of the house plates. Our tapas page covers the basics if you are unsure how to pace a meal like that.
You'll find the address and contact details on Hispania Brussels' listing. Check opening hours there before you set out.
