Volle Gas
Today, Volle Gas is once again a place you come to sit down, eat well, and take your time. The current owners, Maxime Grell and Ludovic Chevalier of Nonante Folies, have approached the relaunch with love and care. The menu is built around solid classics and Belgian comfort food. You’ll find a proper americain, a comforting carbonnade, mussels, and smoked trout from Anderlecht. The beer selection focuses on good Belgian beers, including Brussels brews such as Cantillon and Brasserie de la Senne, which feels exactly right for a house like this.
I had the chance to lunch there on Monday, and the experience confirmed that they have embraced the Brussels food experience to the fullest. The hand-cut fries are perfectly cooked, the shrimp croquettes are excellent, the americain (€21) is well seasoned and generous, and the carbonnade (€23) is rich and comforting without being heavy. Prices remain refreshingly reasonable, making Volle Gas a great choice whether you’re coming for lunch or dinner.
The room itself does a lot of the talking. The interior has retained its old-time beauty, with wood panelling, high ceilings and marble tables that immediately set the tone. The monumental solid oak bar, assembled from 820 individual pieces by a master cabinetmaker, is a centrepiece in its own right. Look around and you’ll notice that the details matter here and atmosphere is not recreated, but preserved.
Being a bit of a history buff, I couldn’t help digging up old stories at the Brussels archives. Here’s what I found…
At the turn of the 20th century, when the Fernand Cocq square was still known as Place du Conseil, the ground floor already operated as a café under the name Au Vigneron. After the war, the address remained a lively meeting place, serving beers, gueuzes, faros and lambics.
Au Vigneron around 1900 - Now Volle Gas at Place Fernand Coq
Image from Inventaire du patrimoine architectural
In 1979, the café entered a new chapter when it became Volle Gas, a name that would soon be inseparable from Brussels nightlife.
That reputation reached its peak under the legendary Léopold Lenders, also known as Pol (or Rosse Polle in Brusseleir), who transformed the place — also known during that period as the Bierodrome — into what many still remember as the temple of Brussels jazz. Musicians, night owls and jazz lovers filled the room late into the night, turning Volle Gas into far more than a restaurant. It became a cultural landmark. One of the most striking elements from that era remains the stained-glass window above the podium at the back of the restaurant, a work by master glass artist Pierre Majérus, created for the space when music played a central role.
1970’s Brussels Jazz Scene - image from Mémoire 60-70
Today, that history hasn’t been erased or diluted. It quietly inhabits the room. Volle Gas is the kind of place that reminds you why certain addresses matter in Brussels. Not because they chase trends, but because they know how to carry a past while staying very much alive in the present. You can come for a full meal, or simply for a drink at a table, and feel that this is a house with memory — and one that’s clearly ready to keep writing its story.
Volle Gas
Pl. Fernand Cocq 21, 1050 Ixelles
Open 7/7 non-stop from 12:00 to 23:00
