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Mosselen met Friet (Mussels with Fries) in Antwerp, Belgium

There are 3 countries in the world that one can easily get this kind of dish throughout the year — a pot of cooked/steamed mussels and fries, and these are:

1) Belgium
2) France
3) Netherlands

I will not be surprised if this is the national dish of Belgium. Interestingly though, most of the mussels come from the Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland where they are cultivated in many huge mussel fishing farms. They are called Zeeuwse mosselen (Zeeland mussels) which are by far the most popular and most eaten in Europe.

So I was craving for this dish and thought it is much better to eat this in Belgium. Antwerp calling!

The nice thing with the restaurants in Antwerp Centrum is that no matter what their cuisine specialty of the house is, they always serve a pot of Mosselen met Frites, the traditional way. The fries are also Belgian style which are normally bigger and their mayo is quite sour compared to the Dutch mayo. The Belgians prefer it this way I guess.

In the Netherlands and France, you will really have to search for seafood restaurants to eat this dish. Which makes the Belgian cities (especially Brussels and Antwerp), the best place to go to satisfy any mussels craving.

I managed to finish the whole pot myself. I was quite surprised =)

We ate at an Italian restaurant  called  Ristorante Del Sud Classico at the Koornmarkt.

Minestrone soup, for the Dutchman.

It was all bad timing for us as it rained the whole time in Antwerp. We forgot to bring the umbrella that was sitting at the back of the car in the garage so we were kind of soaked. This is my a bit soaked hair and face. And oh, the lovely Duvel as well.


Dutchman ordered some spare ribs. He has no complaints so far.

My delicious pot of cooked mussels. I ordered the natural flavour. I prefer it this way. Other flavours include wine, provencal and curry. This was excellently cooked. Look at that juicy and succulent looking mussels.

I shared those Belgian fries and mayo with the Dutchman who was more than glad to gobble them all =)

The view of the restaurant inside.

Yup, the mussels at Ristorante Del Sud Classico are indeed from Zeeland, the Netherlands, and this is the view from the toilet, the square of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Antwerp (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal Antwerpen).

Travel Period: August 2015
Destination: Antwerp (Antwerp), Belgium

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