Where to dine near the Sonian Forest?

The Sonian Forest (called Zoniënwoud in Dutch) is one of the green lungs of metropolitan Brussels, a vast beech canopy whose primeval-style stands were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2017 as part of the “Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe” serial site. From the southern perimeter of the forest, count five to ten minutes by car to reach Chez Clément at Rue de la Bruyère 230, Genval, ten metres from the La Hulpe communal border.

The proximity matters more than it sounds. A British visitor arriving via south-east Brussels (Auderghem, Watermael-Boitsfort) often drives through the forest perimeter before reaching Genval / La Hulpe, making Chez Clément a logical “forest then brasserie” pairing. The house has been welcoming such travellers since 1858, when Henri and Sidonie Clément opened the original coaching inn known as “Bruyère à la Croix”. The current owners, Marie and Gilles Verleyen, are the fifth generation of the same family.

For walkers, the brasserie's hours align with most forest itineraries. Lunch service runs noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and the separate bar remains open continuously from noon to 1 a.m., useful when a long walk runs late. The kitchen, led by Vincent Frédéric De Laloy since 1996, handles two to three hundred covers per service with a brigade of thirty-two, fully house-made cooking.

For families, the configuration is generous: a large free car park ten metres from the entrance, 230 indoor seats, an outdoor terrace and a glass conservatory used for events. The forest may belong to UNESCO, but the post-walk Belgian brasserie ritual belongs squarely to Chez Clément.