Lots of good things for sale at Les Trouvailles de Louise
Tucked between green-grocers, on a bustling street, in Schaerbeek, is a little treasure trove of goodness, called Les Trouvailles de Louise. This colourful shop is a epicurean paradise, selling hard to find fair-trade and organic ingredients, scrumptious baked goods, gourmet teas and coffees and colourful giftware.
At the heart of it all is the ever-smiling Louise Baterna, an expat from the Philippines, and the brains behind, Les Trouvailles de Louise, which she opened in 2006.
Les Trouvailles de Louise is much more than a gourmet shop. It is a bustling tea room serving homemade pastries like brownies, carrot cake, cupcakes, pies and cookies to name just a few. If you are in the mood for something savoury, Louise also serves soups, sandwiches and quiches.
Andrew was thrilled to discover the Saturday brunch menu. He started the day with eggs, bacon and pancakes, he reluctantly agreed rivalled his own. I opted for a selection of breads, jams and cheeses. We both enjoyed the delicious coffee that included re-fills; something practically unheard of in Brussels.
At the risk of sounding like an infomercial, but wait, there’s more!
Louise schedules regular activities for her customers. The most popular is her monthly World Food Dinner. Louise invites a member of the community into her kitchen to cook a traditional meal from their home country. These are not trained chefs, but regular folk who want to share their flavours of home with a new audience.
We were fortunate enough to attend one of these events, (that often book up months in advance) hosted by our German friends. They wowed everyone with a traditional Bavarian meal complete with German beer and schnapps.
Les Trouvailles de Louise regularly hosts art exhibitions by local artists. Throughout the month of May, I am honoured to have some of my Forgotten Postcards on display here. Here are a few photos to whet your appetite:
Forgotten Postcards on display in the dining area
The Cash Desk
Gifts and Goodies
Hot & Salty
More yummy treats
Indulge in some sweets
Les Trouvailles de Louise - A treasure trove of goodness
So stop by the shop, peruse all of the goodies on display, grab a bite to eat and immerse yourself in Louise’s beautiful world.
Les Trouvailles de Louise
290 rue Josaphat
1030 Schaerbeek (Brussels)
Hours:
Mondays to Fridays, from 11 am to 6 pm
Saturdays, from 9 am to 6 pm
First Sunday of the month, from 9 am to 2 pm
Closed: every Wednesday
15 comments
Amy says:
May 11, 2011
Congrats on the exhibit! Now I have an excuse to drag Mathieu over there for brunch, which sounds delicious!
Alison says:
May 11, 2011
Brunch is heaven! The World Diners are fantastic too. And ooooh the brownies
Emily says:
May 11, 2011
This was all sounding so lovely – until I saw the hot sauce! I will definitely be making a trek out there this weekend. And congrats on the exhibition!
Alison says:
May 11, 2011
Thanks Emily! Personally I’m always happy to find anything spicy in Belgium, so the hot sauce is still a plus for me
kimberley says:
May 11, 2011
I love this place. Haven’t been in ages. Thanks for reminding me. Your photos are awesome.
Alison says:
May 12, 2011
Thanks Kimberley, It’s the little gems like this that make Brussels so special.
Sylvain says:
May 12, 2011
I’ve been living in Schaerbeek for 8 years and I had no idea this place existed!
Thanks for the tip, now I’ll be sure to go and check it. The food, Louise and your exhibition: 3 good reasons to go!
Alison says:
May 12, 2011
There are some great hidden gems in Schaerbeek! I have quite a few friends who live there and we live very close by so it’s always fun to make these little discoveries. Les Trouvailles is definitely my favourite!
expatraveler says:
May 13, 2011
Wow, that place looks so neat and amazing. Very cool you get to display some of your postcard pics too! I’d be there in an instant for some treats!
Alison says:
May 13, 2011
Thanks Jen! It’s a great spot!
Jen says:
May 15, 2011
This looks WONNNNNDFERULLLLLL… i’d love to Talk Swapnil into doing Indian dinner there sometime…. How does that work technically . . .?
Alison says:
May 23, 2011
Just stop by and have a chat with Louise. She’ll work out a time that suits you all and do the organizational size of things. Go for it!
Tez says:
May 22, 2011
You know, Al – I think reading your blog is like grocery shopping. I need to eat first, else I end up hungry and eating everything in sight!
I hope we get out there to visit you one day, so you can take us to all these fab places you write about.
x
Alison says:
May 23, 2011
Haha, thanks Tez! As you can tell, Belgium is sooo not good for my waistline
We would LOVE to have you guys over here. Any time! Much eating, drinking and merriment is promised 
Steph says:
Jun 3, 2011
What a lovely little shop. And you said pancakes. I haven’t had pancakes in ages. Now I want some. Covered in blueberries. Yum!