The spirit of a bistro, the touch of a fine dining table

On an old street in Marche-en-Famenne, a discreet house catches the eye, carrying a first name that feels almost familiar: Blaise.
Inherited from a grandmother who once fed the neighbourhood with heart and generosity, the name already carries something tender and true. Today, it signs one of Wallonia’s most compelling gastronomic revelations.

François-Xavier Simon returned here as a child of the region, shaped in some of the world’s great kitchens. He wears that crown without emphasis, without cape, without proclamation.
His cuisine does not seek spectacle; it seeks truth. It is precise, French, contemporary, never disguised. His dishes show a strong, instinctive identity, but also a remarkable openness to the world: a subtle spice, an unexpected acidity, a delicate fragrance… as if the chef had turned all the world’s terroirs into one shared language.

At Blaise, every plate is built at the height of the product. A perfectly cooked pigeon, sweetbreads that are both melting and crisp, a pheasant capable of repairing melancholy, butter-glazed gnocchi with parmesan and truffle that alone justify the journey. Everything is balanced, intelligent, without excess or noise. The cuisine claims nothing; it gives.

Some sequences leave a lasting mark: croquettes of pressed veal head, white ham and wild shrimp; the intense warm wild boar terrine; the pan-seared Dieppe scallops with butternut condiment, apple, turnip with Japanese curry, raw shiitake and soybean sprouts.
Then come the sweetbreads meunière with white cabbage and sobrasada farce, white grapes and almonds, purslane, chestnut-flour spätzle, trumpet mushrooms and a veal jus with three peppers (green, black and smoked); and the Black Angus Rossini tournedos with black truffle, onion fondue with bacon, toasted white bread, pan-fried foie gras, potato-celery gratin with truffle.
To close: a warm Bourdaloue tart, frangipane cream, poached pears, pear sorbet and praline. A finish both gentle and bright.

In the dining room, Hanna provides the other half of the pleasure. Her warm, smiling, attentive service doesn’t imitate hospitality; she embodies it.

The cellar grows deeper and richer, expanding in harmony with a house finding its full stride.

Bistrot Blaise moves forward at its own pace, confident in what it does, confident in what it offers. Far from poses and artifice, it stands out through sincerity of cuisine and constancy of welcome.

This is a place you return to — because the food rings true. Because you feel genuinely received.
Because François-Xavier Simon and his team create that rare connection between product, plate and emotion.
And in a time that lacks such connections, this one is worth more than any accolade.

LD