The owners of Hostellerie du Grünewald, Clovis Degrave and Aline Bourscheid, are ready for their new venture: Boos in Bridel is becoming Maison B from 6th November. Here’s a look around and our first impressions, before and after.
Updated article from 8th August 2024.
B for Biergerkraiz, the first name of this inn established in 1910. B as in Bridel, the municipality in which it is located, B as in Boos, its last name. B as in brasserie, what they’re going to do with it, and B as in Bourscheid, Aline’s surname. B for brief: Clovis Degrave and Aline Bourscheid’s new establishment will be called Maison B, “and everything comes back to this letter”, laughs the chef from Hostellerie du Grünewald and Chef’s Table in Dommeldange.
A few months before the opening, scheduled for next November, the two thirty-somethings opened the doors of this gigantic space and its exterior, as impressive as it is pleasant.
–> Deadlines met: the restaurant officially opens on Wednesday, 6th November. However, the first three evenings are already fully booked — “Groups, mainly acquaintances on Wednesday and Thursday to get the team up to speed, and another group on Friday. But from Saturday evening, reservations are available,” Clovis Degrave explains.
A Brasserie menu and revamped dishes
“Here, we’re going to completely change the concept of what Boos used to be, a place where people came to party until late. This new establishment will be a brasserie, with quality cuisine but a simpler menu. Prices will also be affordable, and we’ll be serving classics from Luxembourg and elsewhere, as well as dishes that are a little more revisited and sophisticated,” explains Clovis Degrave, Gault&Millau’s Young Chef of the Year 2024. Beef lovers will find the traditional filet with pepper sauce, as well as a “crying tiger”, a recipe for Thai-style marinated beef. “That’s an example, but we’re really going to try to offer other things, with quality products. We’ll also have suggestions, like grilled fish, lobster linguine…, it will really vary.”
–> The menu has been revealed, and the chef has delivered on his promise: classics include vol-au-vent (with an optional sweetbread supplement for aficionados), a wäinzoossiss from Maison Kaiffer, a roast chicken to share, and a 500g chateaubriand… “Like any brasserie, we’ve included some seafood — oysters and a seafood platter with lobster, prawns, oysters, and langoustines. But we won’t overdo it; we don’t want to compete with others out there.” The menu also offers delightful surprises, such as roasted lobster paccheri to share, spiced beef gravlax with tarragon salsa, sea bream crudo with lemon and black garlic… and two vegetarian dishes. Starters are priced between €16 and €22, while mains range from €24 to €42 (€16 for children).
Once the menu has been laid out, it’s time for the tour. Right from the outside, there are plenty of parking spaces: “We park at least 85 cars. The entrance, which used to be a checkroom, takes on a completely different look. First on the right: a twenty-square-metre glassed-in area (photo top right) will become a smoking room where customers can settle into “comfortable armchairs next to a fireplace” to smoke their cigars. What’s more, they will even be able to keep their cigars in small boxes for their next visit.
–> The cloakroom remains at the entrance, where guests will be welcomed at the counter. The smoking lounge is ready and ventilated but still awaits its cigars cellar. It is no longer glass-fronted along the inner corridor.
An intimist first room
Across the corridor, you arrive in the front part of the historic house. A deep room with a large shaded wooden terrace. “To the right as you enter, we’ll set up a counter with large mirrors behind it, and to the left, tables near the windows. At the far end, in the arched room, we’ll install banquettes and tables for two, bookcases, a round table… The floor will be in dark solid wood parquet, the atmosphere hushed.” In this pre-restaurant, spaces can be partitioned off with curtains, and it will even be possible to privatize the place, which seats around 40 “or even 50 in private mode”. Not forgetting the large terrace (photo top left).
–> This more intimate section is a great success. The atmosphere is cosy, accentuated by elegant wooden-slat blinds. The curtain separating the two dining areas is in place, and the parquet flooring highlights the white tablecloths and mustard-coloured walls. On the picture rails, artworks from the Valerius gallery are displayed
Behind this first part: the kitchens. In all, some one hundred square meters are dedicated to the kitchens: tapas corner, hot plates, starters, pantry, pastry, and all the other annexes dedicated to meal preparation. “We’re going to keep the kitchens almost as they are, but with a good clean,” smiles the owner, looking at the dust on the stainless steel.
–> A thorough revamp has been completed, including work in what used to be a cold storage room. Twelve staff members will be working in the kitchen. Plates and serving dishes, branded Villeroy & Boch, are engraved with the Maison B emblem.
An afterwork area
We’re almost halfway through our tour of Maison B. For the premises are gigantic. Returning to the entrance hallway, we enter a space made of glass and wood, with impressively high ceilings. “On the right-hand side (photo bottom right), we’re going to install high chairs and table-top tables, which will be the aperitif and afterwork area, where people can also wait for a table.
–> A welcoming “first” area has been set aside here for those who wish to have a drink and enjoy the bar menu from Wednesday to Friday from 2 p.m., and from 6 p.m. on Saturdays. “With a cocktail, you might have a club sandwich or a lobster roll, for example,” says Clovis Degrave.
In the immense main dining room, with its light-flooded glass roof, the nearly 250 m2 main dining room will be divided into three areas. In the center, opposite a large counter, a removable island embellished with a touch of greenery – “a tree or a large plant, we haven’t decided yet” – will be surrounded by around thirty place settings. On either side, small spaces of 18 and 32 place settings will be designed for greater intimacy.
–> There will be a large plant. The three spaces are ready, each with its own warmth. In the evenings, the subdued lighting lends this vast venue an elegant, intimate atmosphere.
A breathtaking exterior
Last but not least, the outdoors will be a must as soon as the warm weather arrives. Although light is an integral part of the main hall, thanks to its glass structure several meters wide and high, the terraces and gardens are immense. “We’re really somewhere else, in the middle of nature. We have around 1,200 m2 of sanded terrace, and 700 m2 in all of wooden decking,” explains Clovis Degrave. Outside, a number of cottages remain, belonging to former farmers. “We could use them to organize a small Christmas market here, with several stands. For corporate events, for example!”
An outdoor bar open all summer long, a lounge area sheltered by the trees, musicians and DJs – “But only for an atmosphere, not an open-air disco”, reassures the new owner – a pétanque court, a children’s play area….
–> A children’s play area here, a pétanque court there. All wooden terraces will be set up with table service, and drinks can be collected from the outdoor bar if you prefer to sit in the garden sections. All this will be for the warmer months. For now, the chalets are not yet operational.
“Young and old, we’re banking on the three generations. At weekends, the clientele can be more family-oriented, and Saturday evenings a little more festive!” Maison B will be ready to welcome its public as early as November, “as we don’t really have any major work to do here”, explains Aline Bourscheid.
–> With a capital B for “Bravo!” The venue is a success, and the atmosphere is already tangible. The only thing left is to come and try the dishes prepared by the new chef, Laurent Bonnarens, originally from Namur, who has worked in the kitchens of Ikki and Toit pour toi in Luxembourg.
Maison B
31, rue Biergerkräiz
8120 Bridel Kopstal
Wednesday — Thursday: service from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Saturday: 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Sunday: continuous service from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Musical atmosphere on Friday and Saturday evenings from 9 p.m.
More details on maisonb.lu
