Belgo serves tender mussels and a fantastic array of Belgian beers in a bright, lively restaurant and bar.

The Venue
Four Belgo restaurants operate in London. The Clapham branch sits south of Clapham North tube station on Clapham High Street. It divides into two main areas - a bar to the right as you enter and a restaurant on the left. Several booths sit at the back of the bar. The wall of this area curves seamlessly into the ceiling and gives a tunnel-like effect, echoing the nearby railway arches. Opposite the bar, a banquette runs along the wall with several small tables and low stools. Behind the bar are brightly lit shelves full of gleaming glasses for the multitude of beers on offer.

At the bar entrance are beer bottles behind metal grates drawing attention to the venue’s focus on beer - an attractive feature. An open kitchen lies to one side of the restaurant area. Along the side of the building, floor-to-ceiling windows give the place an open, airy feel. Tables line the outside pavement and on a warm, sunny day is an ideal location to enjoy one of the house specialties - a fruity Belgian beer.

The Atmosphere
The restaurant area maintains a bustling atmosphere. The chefs cooking in the open kitchen add to the ambience whilst the young, friendly staff provide a prompt and attentive service. The venue attracts a broad range of customers from young professionals and couples to older single diners reading the newspaper. The place can get quite busy in the evening and even on an overcast day customers occupy the outside tables, watching the world go by on Clapham High Street.

The Food
As Belgo advertises, they specialise in mussels, frites and beer, although they serve plenty of other options. For example, the salmon fishcakes starter (£5.25) with baby spinach and lime hollandaise looks homemade and the fishcakes have a delightful texture – crispy on the outside and soft and creamy inside with good flakes of salmon. The sauce is tangy and buttery. The steamed asparagus starter (£6.50) comes with a choice of hollandaise or vinaigrette. The asparagus spears are large, tender and delicious but the vinaigrette does little to enhance their flavour.

For mains, the kilo pots of mussels with frites (£10.95) are their specialty. The moules mariniere are steamed with white wine, garlic, cream, celery and onion. The mussels are extraordinarily tender, the sauce rich and well balanced, and the onions succulent. The frites are crisp and not greasy, but can appear slightly overdone.

If you’re vegetarian, the menu includes a novel option of steamed globe artichoke (£10.50), which comes filled with sauteed wild mushrooms, asparagus and button onions with a carrot butter sauce. The vegetable filling is tender and the carrot butter sauce looks a little like baby food but is smooth with a slightly sweet undertone. Although it is refreshing to find a chef forward-thinking enough to offer an innovative vegetarian main, especially in a restaurant that specialises in mussels, overall the dish is too messy, complicated and not very filling.

Desserts are well priced at £4.75. The Brussels style waffle comes with vanilla ice cream, Chantilly cream and a choice of warm white or dark chocolate sauce. The waffle should be served hotter than it is but it does have the perfect consistency. The best part of the dish is certainly the chocolate sauce - strong and slightly bitter. Alternatively, the pavlova is overwhelmingly sweet and looks like a large blob on the plate although the slices of fresh strawberries are refreshing. A smaller, shapelier portion with more strawberries and coulis could benefit the dish.

The Drink
Fancy a beer? Belgo offers a huge range of Belgian beers – five on tap and a jaw-dropping 48 varieties in bottles. If you don’t want a Belgian beer you can choose Amstel, Heineken or Guinness on tap or Peroni, Corona or Aspall Cider in bottles. To sample a range of Belgian beers, try one of their beer sticks. They come in various quantities and range in price from £8.50-£59.50.

Their house white is Barton and Guestier Fleur de Vigne Vin de Pays, made from Ugni Blanc and Colombard. The wine is dry and fresh and tastes faintly of green apple. Overall, it is a very pleasant wine for a house white and is priced at a reasonable £13.50.

The Last Word
Belgian beer and seafood are the main reasons to visit Belgo. Come here with friends for a beer sampling session or a steaming pot of mussels.

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