Hicham

Hicham is a small Moroccan-run halal restaurant in central Brussels, tucked along one of the side streets that fan out from the city's main Arab and North African commercial district near the Gare du Nord. The shop is modest — a narrow frontage, a handful of tables inside, and a counter that does a brisk takeaway trade through lunch and early evening. The menu is unapologetic Moroccan home cooking: chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives, lamb tagine with prunes and almonds, kefta meatball tagine bathed in tomato sauce, couscous on Fridays, harira soup through the colder months, and briwat and pastilla when the kitchen has time to make them properly. Grilled meats — merguez, chicken, lamb skewers — come from the charcoal grill and are served with khobz bread, a small salad, and often a complimentary glass of mint tea at the end of the meal. The halal certification is taken seriously; the meat comes from a trusted Brussels-area butcher and the kitchen is entirely free of pork and alcohol. Prices are reasonable, portions are generous, and service is informal in the best sense — the owner greets regulars by name, patient with newcomers who need the menu explained. The customer mix reflects the neighbourhood: Moroccan and Algerian families, workers from nearby offices who have discovered the lunch menu, Belgian converts, and the occasional traveller following a recommendation. During Ramadan, the restaurant stays open late for iftar and often adds traditional sweets — chebakia, briouat with almond, sellou — to the regular offering. There is no alcohol, no pork, and no compromise on the Moroccan home-style that defines the kitchen. For a Muslim visitor to Brussels seeking an honest halal meal that tastes of home rather than of a tourist menu, Hicham is an easy and dependable recommendation, and the sort of small neighbourhood place that rewards return visits.