L’Ami de Claire Fontaine

Delightful deli and sandwich shop! We stopped by late afternoon in the hours between lunch and dinner when many other restaurants are closed. We had delicious homemade gazpacho and a classic quiche Lorraine, paired with a great white wine. The man who helped us was so nice and fun to speak with. Truly a gem that I would recommend to locals and tourists alike!

small but amazing deli. loads of sandwiches and other ready to eat meals. very friendly staff!

Premade sandwiches sitting in a cold case. We all know what happens when you put bread in the fridge. It loses flavor and texture. It was so hard to eat…I wouldn’t come back here. I prefer fresh made sandwiches.

Even though the sandwich would be considered on the more expensive side, the quality and abundance of ingredients, the friendliness of the staff, and the coziness of the store makes up for this. Perfect for eating a sandwich to go while exploring the various wonders of Brussels.

Might be considered slightly more expensive than other sandwich shops, but I promise you, it’s worth trying. The quality is excellent. I’ve ordered a vegetarian sandwich which contained grilled vegetables and feta. It was DELICIOUS!

When I have fries, I use sauce to eat them. I want the sauce but in the end it's about the fries - the sauce assists. Of course sandwiches are something else but if I may compare them to a meal of frites, I would say that the power balance in sandwiches is mostly the other way around, meaning that one uses the bread to eat the toppings. Of course this depends etc etc. I admit that I sometimes eat buttered bread or toast, in which case the topping to my bread is what the sauce is to my fries. But that doesn't officially count as a sandwich unless I add second slice of bread (or toast) on top - which I don't. Let's keep this simple. In the case of l'ami de Claire Fontaine, I much liked the fillings and the bread was very tasty but its chewiness slightly got in the way of my enjoying the fillings, the bread taking more of the stage, having as it were an equal place to that of the fillings. This confused me a little bit: who was working for whom? When does equality lead to balance - or is balance even desirable and/or how would one define a balanced sandwich?

We had zucchini soup which was fantastic and sweet potato soup that was delicious. The Greek salad was great as was the chicken tikka masala. The gentleman behind the counter was super friendly and I would very much recommend visiting here.

Simply Devine , her ham baguette is to die for, we had it 3 times in our 4 days in Brussels. €6 is great value as the ingredients are amazing and the bread ! Well the bread is the best I’ve ever had. 100% recommend . Thanks Claire for your food and your friendly welcome.