Winter, spring, summer or autumn: the place to be to sample the best dishes in Brussels is the Place Sainte Catherine. Situated in the heart of the city, not far from the historic Grand Place, this square is the epicenter of fish and seafood of the Belgian Capital. Along the square in front of the church and in the nearby streets you find numerous fish- and seafood restaurants, wholesalers of fish, oysters and lobsters and a few great fishmongers. One of those top-of-the-bill fishmongers is without any doubt “Mer du Nord” (the North Sea). The place to be for locals and tourists every day of the week except on Mondays. Opened many years ago as a ‘normal’ fishmonger, the Mer du Nord started to sell fish soup and scrimp croquettes at a window counter. Soon they offered a glass of wine with it and added other dishes like mussels in white wine sauce, raw mussels (eaten like oysters), ‘scampis a la plancha’, sandwiches with fresh home-made fish salad and oysters. It ...