At the moment we are all spending a lot of time at home. Some people are simply continuing to work with the help of modern communication tools and with some adjustments to their daily routine, their home office and house rules. Anyone who is confined to their homes must come up with different activities. Playing games, reading books, trying out dance moves, cooking and much more. We want to get everyone barbecuing.

The art of barbecuing or grilling is highly regarded by VIAGE and is applied at top level in our restaurant ‘VIAGE Grill’. The best quality meat and fish end up on an Australian 360 ° broiler grill. Due to the heat of the grill, every piece of meat is immediately seared so that it remains deliciously juicy inside. Furthermore, no additional fat is required for preparation in the broiler. We only work with the best butchers in Belgium and even in Europe and do in-house dry aging or dry maturing. This process ensures that the meat becomes more tender and develops more flavour during preparation.

Now that we are beginning to feel the spring sun on our face and hands, we can also get the barbecue out of the garden shed or cellar. No equipment yet? Or a terrace, but no garden? Online you can find a table-top version of the indispensable equipment for the true meat-eater from reputable brands such as the Belgian Barbecook. Table-top barbecues are safe and handy small barbecues, usually without a base, that you put on the table so that you can barbecue at the table. Just as with normal barbecues, you can choose from various models using charcoal, gas or electricity. With a table-top model, you no longer have to go back and forth between the barbecue and the table, so you don’t miss any of the conversation with your friends at the table. Normally an advantage, but after weeks of sharing joy and sorrow with just your housemates, you might like to give the dishes an extra twist.

Whether you call it grilling, barbecuing or BBQ, it’s all about the same age-old process of cooking with the help of a fire. About 2000 years ago, the French roasted wild boar from beard to tail on a large skewer over an open fire. In South America they are familiar with barbacoa, smoking or cooking meat or fish on hot coals in an excavated oven in the ground.

With the help of your own barbecue, you can bring ‘VIAGE Grill’ into your own home in anticipation of dinner with us. Holstein, Hereford, Black Angus and Blanc Blue Belge are some of the beef breeds we use and that you can buy from the better class of butcher in your area. Drop by at the greengrocer’s for, for example, paprika, courgette, fennel, mushrooms, corn on the cob or sweet potatoes. These vegetables are all great on the grill, as well as being low-calorie.

Getting the right products or having them delivered, setting up your barbecue, cutting the vegetables, beating sauces and setting the table nicely, before you know it, your day is completely full. If you decide to eat outside, think of blankets to keep you nice and warm. Candles on the table and safely on the ground help to create a festive atmosphere. If you let anything burn at all, or if the dog snatches your meat in an unguarded moment, you still enjoyed the day and you can still enjoy your beautiful setting.

Finally, take some photos: of your dish, your barbecue, your housemates enjoying your festive dinner, etc. and share them with us here. We will choose a winner who will hopefully be able to compare their own grilling skills with ours very soon. Yes, the loveliest, most original, funniest, … photo will be offered a dinner for 2 at our restaurant ‘VIAGE Grill’. Our competition will continue until the end of the lockdown. Get grilling!

‘Panem et circenses’ translated as ‘bread and games’ – these are the satirical words used by the Roman poet Juvenalis to challenge the free food and circus performances laid on by the great emperors. As long as people had enough to eat and were kept entertained, they failed to notice the decadence and decay creeping over the great Roman Empire in the first century A.D.

Although originally intended mockingly, these words may sometimes pervade your mind. Who hasn’t experienced that feeling of an empty stomach as you return home after a night out, a show or a concert? Without any shortage of entertainment, but a deficit in the food department? Apart from a greasy snack, after about 10 p.m. there isn’t much on offer on the culinary front. Unless…

Unless you are lucky enough to be wandering around feeling hungry in the centre of Brussels. At VIAGE we understand the need for both bread and games. The entertainment factor of a casino is obvious. The gastronomic perhaps a little less so. However, good food and drink are an inextricable part of the casino experience and across the world, you can eat and drink at affordable prices there. The core business lies elsewhere, after all. The bar and restaurant are an additional service for guests who thus find an all-in-one formula for a successful evening in one place.

An additional service, therefore, but not just any old one. At the end of last year, we renovated our restaurant at VIAGE. The international menu at ‘Saffron’ was replaced by a ‘licence to grill’ at ‘Viage Grill’. Superior-quality meat (such as Holstein, Black Angus, Hereford…) acquires a crispy crust while retaining all its rich flavours and juices on the sizzling-hot 360° Australian broiler grill. For those who would rather not eat meat, we are happy to put a fish on the barbecue. And naturally there are plenty of vegetarian dishes on our menu. We change this menu monthly, so you need never eat the same thing twice.

‘Viage Grill’ exudes the atmosphere of an authentic steakhouse: warmth and cosiness with the somewhat rougher decor of leather and wood. Leaving the hustle and bustle of the casino behind, you enter a different, rustic world where you can enjoy dining with friends and colleagues or a romantic meal for two.

Eating without playing is allowed, of course. To access the restaurant, you do need a membership card from Grand Casino Brussels VIAGE. You request this once at reception and it costs €10. In exchange, you get €5 in casino chips and a delicious welcome cocktail. And subsequently, you simply walk in on presentation of this card. If you are making an online booking for VIAGE, the membership card is free. A warm welcome – the way it should be! Incidentally, don’t forget that you must be over 21 years of age to enter the casino.

Viage Grill is always open from 6 p.m. until midnight. On Fridays and Saturdays, a limited menu is available until 3 a.m. and on other days, until 2 a.m.

More info: https://www.viage.be/en/wine-dine/restaurant/

‘Once upon a time there was…’ is how many fairy tales begin.

This particular fairy tale begins, ‘once upon a time there was not’.

Once upon a time there was not a casino in Brussels. But ‘Casinos Austria International’ wanted to do something about it. The chronicle of how a genuine all-in-one entertainment centre came into being was based on the motto ‘if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well’.

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Work hard, play hard… It sounds cliché, but after a busy work week, a little bit of fun and relaxation is definitely more than welcome. Don’t know where to go or what to do? No problem! We have the perfect suggestion: what about a trip to our beautiful capital B?

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The Christmas season has finally arrived and that means our capital is again transformed into a true winter wonderland. The entire month, you’ll be able to enjoy wonderful Christmas entertainment and cosy quality time with friends and family in the heart of Brussels.

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After spending the summer in Knokke, Jay Gatsby and his decadent entourage return to VIAGE for some good ‘old glamour, mystery and sensation. The Great Gatsby Immersive is a unique experience that’ll submerge you in the atmosphere of the wild 20’s. A time where ladies removed their tight corsets and dressed more comfortably.

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Historically Belgium is not only known for its cultural and gastronomical assets but also for its cycling champions. In total the Tour de France has already crossed our Belgian borders about 47 times. This year, the 106th edition of the Tour de France, will be no different.

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June 21 has passed and summer if officially here and that means only one thing: the holiday madness breaks loose! While hordes of tourists cross the borders to places where they leave their towels and reserve a chair at the pool, you get a far better deal. How so? You can choose a tropical destination that is situated around the corner and that is still hidden from mass tourism. Sounds like it’s too good to be true? Discover it for yourself and have a cocktail at the VIAGE cocktail bar: a hidden gem in our casino.

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