Bernal foodies, our long neighborhood nightmare of moule frites deprivation will soon come to a close. No longer will we have to venture beyond the comfortable confines of Bernal Heights to get a moule frites fix, because Tablehopper reports that the folks behind the wonderful Pi Bar plan to remedy Bernal’s moule frites deficit by opening Bel, a new Belgian restaurant, on Mission at Valencia:
Liquor license activity reveals a new taker for the former Locavore space on Mission in Bernal: Richard Rosen, one of the partners are Pi Bar in the Mission. We had a chance to catch up with Rosen on the phone, and he confirms that he is working on the new spot. It will be called ~BEL~ and is all about Belgian food and beer. He says it will be a full-service café, inspired by the sidewalk cafés of cities like Brussels and Bruges. The beverage selection will focus on beers (obvs), many of them Belgian, but you’ll also find Belgian-style beers from other parts of the world, and some local options with different flavor profiles.
In the food department, look for traditional Belgian dishes like moules frites and a California take on the Belgian shrimp croquette, but made with local crab. Rosen will serve as the chef and is looking toward early spring 2014 to open.
PS: While it’s not a proper moule frites, it should be noted that the skillet-roasted mussels at the Old Clam House on Bayshore are a satisfying stopgap alternative.
Bernalwood 
Awesome. Bernel is seriously behind other ‘hoods in the food department. We need an anchor that brings in people from all around. Maybe Ichi is that place.
Would really like to see a nice burger place on Courtland. Barney’s-Shake Shack style. Has it been tried in the past and failed?
Woops. Bernal. May the blogging G-d’s forgive my egregious typo.
/sigh. And Cortland.. just kill me now.
In your defense, even Cortland sometimes spells it “Courtland.”
Maybe in the old Pizza Express building or in what was going to be the new fresh produce market. I always crave a little french bistro – but I guess it’s only a quick ride over to Glen Park for that. A burger place would be fun, too.
Did the produce store die on the vine?
Not that I’ve heard, but then again, I haven’t heard anything.
I’ve been swinging by the produce store every month hoping it’s opened- no updates in the window in ages!
This is great! Having lived in Belgium for several years, I’m really looking forward to checking this place out! Welcome to the neighborhood!
I agree with NFSW. Would love to see a decent burger place on Cortland!
We had a Chez Mama a few years back in the space that is now a Thai restaurant, but then they switched the concept and then closed.
Chez Mama had a good moules frites, the food was good and decently value-priced. They left abruptly and then over-priced and overly pretentious Tinderbox came in and didn’t last very long. I wish Chez Mama had stayed
Looking forward to this! though I think of the Locavore space as one of those oddly cursed restaurant spaces.
Agreed. Que la malédiction s’achève avec l’arrivée de Bel !
It’s now a year plus later, and this restaurant has not opened. Nor has Charlie done anything with Park Bench, for that matter
Pingback: Coming Soon: A New Golden Age for Beer in Bernal Heights | Bernalwood