How far is Brasserie Chez Clément from Brussels?

For visitors based in Brussels, the brasserie sits in that sweet zone where you are clearly out of the city but still firmly inside the orbit. The classic itinerary, from the Grand-Place or the European quarter, runs out via the Ring R0 motorway and the La Hulpe exit, taking roughly twenty-five minutes outside peak traffic. The Genval / La Hulpe corridor is just on the southern fringe of the metropolitan area, close enough for a spontaneous lunch, far enough to feel like a proper countryside escape.

From south-east Brussels neighbourhoods, Auderghem, Watermael-Boitsfort, Boitsfort, Uccle, the route is even shorter, typically fifteen to eighteen minutes. Many regulars from these neighbourhoods treat Chez Clément as their natural weekend destination, often arriving via the Sonian Forest (Forêt de Soignes) perimeter for a more scenic drive. The Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2017, provides a pleasant green prelude to the brasserie.

Practical context: the Clément family has been hosting Brussels visitors at this address since 1858, when Henri and Sidonie Clément opened the original inn known as “Bruyère à la Croix”. Today, five generations later, Marie and Gilles Verleyen run the brasserie with a brigade of thirty-two led by chef Vincent Frédéric De Laloy, who has been at the stoves since 1996. The proximity to Brussels is one of the reasons the kitchen needs to handle two to three hundred covers per service, a steady stream of city dwellers escapes southward for lunch and dinner across the week.

For travellers landing at Brussels Airport (Zaventem), the drive is around thirty minutes via the Ring. For business travellers, the brasserie is a discreet and welcoming option for a relaxed lunch outside the city core, with a large free car park ten metres from the entrance, a logistical luxury that downtown Brussels addresses cannot match.