After nearly 18 years in the capital, the famous Viva M’Bomba restaurant in Brussels’ Saint-Catherine area has closed its doors, according to Brussels publication Bruzz.
The restaurant, operating from a small and modest location, was famous for its traditional Belgian fare, as well as a selection of specialty meat dishes such as tripe, marrow bones, andouillette, and veal brain. Not to everyone’s taste, but the restaurant remained a cult hit in the capital.
First founded in 2004 by Katia Rubens, later passing on to Tayfun and Atilla Zorsu, the restaurant was extremely popular upon its opening. Unfortunately, as time has gone by, reviews became increasingly negative and customers spoke of “faded glory.”
The restaurant was sold in 2013 to French business partners, who ran the restaurant in the same vein until 2020, when the restaurant would ultimately become another victim of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The restaurant was famous for charging a “corona supplement” fee due to the difficult financial situation during the pandemic. Shortly afterwards, the French business went bankrupt and sold the business to the Zorsu family.
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The Zorsu family were relatives of the Beyaz brothers, a respected family who once owned eleven restaurants in Brussels, including the famous Maison du Cygne on the Grand Place, and Brasserie Georges. The Beyaz group went bankrupt in 2018.
The new owners struggled to keep the restaurant alive, hampered by Covid restrictions and lockdowns. By June 2022, the fate of the restaurant was sealed. The registered address of the business has now moved and the restaurant is closed. It is unclear if the restaurant will be sold.
Despite the loss of the iconic restaurant, Belgium's culinary tradition remains strong. Two Belgian restaurants recently made their way into a ranking of top 50 restaurants in Europe. This includes L’Air du Temps in Namur and The Jane in Antwerp.
