French was traditionally the language of menus, especially in the smarter restaurants. Today, in the Flemish cities, Dutch may lead, followed by English, perhaps with no French at all. But it is rare to find a restaurant with no one to explain the dishes in exquisite detail – in whatever language suits you best.

The Belgians love eating out, and they want good food at good prices. If a restaurant is not up to scratch, they simply don’t go there. If their favourite restaurant goes through a bad patch, they desert it. So choose the restaurants that are full of locals.

Good restaurants are busy every day of the week. If you set your heart on going to a particular one, be sure to make a booking – easy enough to do over the telephone. If you change your mind, be sure to cancel the reservation.

Special two- or three-course menus offered at a fixed price (dagschotel or dagmenu), which often change on a daily basis, can be extremely good value. It’s not simply a question of price; the chefs may have found ingredients at the market that took their fancy, and will be concentrating extra creative talents on them.

Belgium is essentially a carnivorous and fish-loving nation, but most restaurants provide vegetarian options. There are also some dedicated vegetarian restaurants in all the cities, where chefs apply characteristic Belgian flare to their dishes. Tourist offices have listings.

Belgians like their beef fairly rare. If you ask for a medium-rare steak (“saignant”), it is likely to be more rare than medium. The beef’s quality usually justifies light cooking, but if you want your meat well done (“bien cuit”), insist on it, and ignore raised eyebrows. Lamb is also served rare; if you don’t like it that way, ask for it to be well done when you order.

In certain dishes, beef is served raw. This applies to Steak Américain and the widely adopted Italian dish carpaccio. Fish is served raw in the Japanese-influenced fusion dishes, and in salmon or tuna carpaccio. Oysters are likewise eaten raw.

Value-added tax (TVA/ BTW) at 21 per cent and a service charge of 16 per cent can add a lot to a restaurant bill, but both are usually included in the prices quoted in the menu. If you are not sure, don’t be afraid to ask. If service is not included, you can add 10 per cent; if it is, you can add a small cash tip, but this is optional.

Eating out is often a family event in Belgium; lunch can last half the afternoon. Children get used to this from an early age and may develop surprisingly sophisticated tastes. As a result, children are almost always welcomed in restaurants, and restaurateurs will go out of their way to satisfy their eating and drinking preferences. Children are also allowed into most cafés and bars.

Belgian beers are generally somewhat stronger than their equivalents in Britain and the USA, and range from about 5% to 12% alcohol by volume. Since beers are served in fairly small quantities, the effect can be deceptive – until you stand up. It may need a bit of practice to get the measure of this.