Restaurant in Brussels, Belgium
Michelin Plate cooking, easy to book.
Aster holds a Michelin Plate for 2025, a 4.8 Google rating, and a We're Smart Green Guide entry for its plant-forward creative cooking on Rue Antoine Dansaert. At the €€€ tier, it is one of the few Brussels addresses offering serious technique and a genuine vegetable-first menu philosophy without the price tag of the city's top-tier fine-dining rooms. Easy to book, right neighbourhood, strong early track record.
Aster holds a 4.8 Google rating across 135 reviews, which is the clearest early signal that this restaurant on Rue Antoine Dansaert is doing something right. It also holds a Michelin Plate for 2025 and an entry in the We're Smart Green Guide, the specialist recognition for kitchens that treat plant-forward cooking with serious intent. For Brussels, that combination at the €€€ price tier is a genuinely useful proposition: serious technique, a clear creative direction, and pricing that sits a full tier below the city's established fine-dining circuit.
The We're Smart Green Guide inclusion is not a branding exercise. It reflects a kitchen that has built its identity around vegetables, in some preparations running dishes to 100% plant-based composition. That is a meaningful editorial stance in a city where classic Belgian cooking still dominates the upper end of the market. If you are looking for a meal that reads differently from the beurre blanc and waterzooi end of the Brussels restaurant scene, Aster is one of the few addresses in the €€€ range that actually delivers that alternative.
The We're Smart Green Guide notes that Aster works with new techniques alongside simple creations, and the Michelin Plate confirms technical competency without implying excessive formality. What you should expect here is a progression through the menu that treats vegetables not as garnish or afterthought but as the structural material of each course. The arc of a tasting experience at Aster is built around that premise: seasonal produce handled with modern methods, plated with restraint rather than theatrics.
This is a relevant comparison point if you are weighing Aster against bigger-ticket creative venues in Belgium. [Quique Dacosta — Creative in Dénia](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/quique-dacosta-dnia-restaurant) or [Arpège — Creative in Paris](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/arpge-paris-restaurant) sit in a different category of ambition and price entirely. Within Belgium, kitchens such as [Hof van Cleve - Floris Van Der Veken in Kruishoutem](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hof-van-cleve-floris-van-der-veken-kruishoutem-restaurant), [Boury in Roeselare](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/boury-roeselare-restaurant), or [Zilte in Antwerp](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/zilte-antwerp-restaurant) operate at higher ambition and higher price. Aster's position is as an entry point into serious creative cooking in Brussels itself, with a defined vegetable focus that those venues do not share. For a comparable plant-forward sensibility in Belgium, [Vrijmoed in Gent](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/vrijmoed-gent-restaurant) is the natural peer reference.
The kitchen's approach to scent and aroma is implied by the produce focus: a menu built around vegetables, herbs, and plant-based preparations tends to produce a lighter, more aromatic atmosphere in the dining room than kitchens anchored to meat-heavy classical French technique. That is a qualitative observation consistent with the We're Smart Green Guide framing, not a fabricated sensory claim.
Aster works well as a special-occasion venue for couples or small groups who want creative cooking without the price exposure of a full four-star Brussels dinner. At €€€, you are likely spending in the range that allows genuine kitchen ambition without tipping into the territory where expectations become very difficult to manage. The Michelin Plate and 4.8 rating together suggest the kitchen is consistent enough to justify bringing someone you are trying to impress.
It is a less obvious fit for a conventional business dinner where guests expect a classic room and a European wine list as the primary signals of seriousness. For that profile, [Comme chez Soi (French - Belgian, Classic Cuisine)](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/comme-chez-soi-brussels-restaurant) or [La Villa Lorraine by Yves Mattagne (Modern Cuisine)](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/la-villa-lorraine-by-yves-mattagne-brussels-restaurant) send the right signals even before the food arrives. Aster is better suited to a guest who already cares about what is happening on the plate.
The Dansaert address is worth noting. Rue Antoine Dansaert is Brussels' most consistently interesting street for independent retail and dining, a neighbourhood with a lower tourist density than the Grand Place area and a dining culture that skews toward Brussels locals rather than visitors. That context matters for a special occasion: you are less likely to be surrounded by a generic tourist-restaurant atmosphere and more likely to be in a room of people who chose the address deliberately. For other strong options in the Brussels creative and fine-dining tier, [Eliane](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/eliane-brussels-restaurant), [La Villa in the Sky](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/la-villa-in-the-sky-brussels-restaurant), and [Bozar Restaurant (Belgian Fine Dining)](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/bozar-restaurant-brussels-restaurant) are worth comparing depending on your brief.
Elsewhere in Belgium, [Willem Hiele in Oudenburg](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/willem-hiele-oudenburg-restaurant) and [d'Eugénie à Emilie in Baudour](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/deugnie-emilie-baudour-restaurant) represent the kind of destination commitment that Aster does not require. Aster is a Brussels restaurant for Brussels visits, accessible without a day trip.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. For a restaurant with a Michelin Plate and a 4.8 Google rating on Dansaert, that is worth taking at face value: this is not a venue where you need to plan weeks in advance under normal circumstances. Book ahead to be safe, but you are unlikely to face the same lead times required at the starred end of the Brussels market.
Phone and website data are not confirmed in our records. Check Google Maps or a current reservation platform for current booking access. Hours are not confirmed in our data; verify before travelling, particularly if you are planning around a specific date.
Dress code is not formally documented, but a Dansaert address with a creative kitchen at the €€€ tier typically reads as smart-casual. Overdressing is unlikely to be wrong; turning up in very casual clothing to a Michelin Plate restaurant may feel out of place.
Explore more of what Brussels offers: our [full Brussels restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/brussels), [Brussels hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/brussels), [Brussels bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/brussels), [Brussels wineries guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/wineries/brussels), and [Brussels experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/brussels) cover the full picture.
Quick reference: Creative, plant-forward kitchen on Dansaert. Michelin Plate 2025. We're Smart Green Guide. Google 4.8/135. €€€ pricing. Easy to book. Dress smart-casual. Verify hours and booking contact before visiting.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aster | €€€ | Easy | — |
| Comme chez Soi | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| La Villa Lorraine by Yves Mattagne | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| senzanome | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Au Vieux Saint Martin | €€€ | Unknown | — |
| Aux Armes de Bruxelles | €€ | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Yes, Aster is a strong choice for a special occasion dinner in Brussels. The Michelin Plate and We're Smart Green Guide recognition give it enough credibility for a celebration, while the €€€ price range keeps it below the financial exposure of Brussels' four-star rooms. For couples or small groups who want genuinely creative cooking without the formality of a full tasting institution, it sits in a useful gap on the market.
Bar seating is not confirmed in available venue data for Aster. Given the restaurant's position as a creative, technique-driven kitchen on Dansaert, the format skews toward seated dining rather than counter-walk-in. If bar access matters to you, check the venue's official channels before booking.
Booking difficulty at Aster is rated Easy, which is genuinely notable for a Michelin Plate restaurant with a 4.8 Google rating on one of Brussels' most active dining streets. A week's notice is likely sufficient for most dates, though weekend evenings during busy periods are worth booking earlier. Don't treat the easy availability as a red flag — it's an opportunity.
Specific menu items are not published in available data, so naming dishes would be guesswork. What is documented is that vegetables play a central role — sometimes as the sole focus — and the kitchen applies modern techniques to simple-looking compositions. Work from that premise: if you're plant-curious rather than plant-resistant, you're in the right room.
At €€€ pricing, Aster's value case is solid for what it delivers: Michelin Plate-level technique, a vegetable-forward approach recognised by the We're Smart Green Guide, and a 4.8 Google rating across 135 reviews. It won't match the scale or depth of Brussels' top-tier tasting institutions, but it's not priced like them either. For creative cooking without the full commitment of a four-course prestige spend, it's worth it.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
