Was Epicurus Right?
Epicurus, the Greek philosopher of the fourth century BC, was not the hedonistic libertine that history has sometimes made him out to be. His thinking was subtler, more humane: true pleasure arises from deliberate simplicity, from attentive presence to the good things in life — a shared meal, an animated conversation, the beauty of a natural setting.
He taught in a garden. We welcome guests in a forest.
Au Repos des Chasseurs, an establishment founded in 1687 in Watermael-Boitsfort, on the doorstep of the Sonian Forest, is guided by precisely this philosophy at every service. Here, the table is an art of living, and the setting an invitation to fullness.
The Sonian Forest: A Living Presence
The Sonian Forest is not simply a backdrop. It is a presence — one of the finest beech forests in Europe, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which wraps the south-east of Brussels in a canopy of filtered light and inhabited silence.
In the early hours of the morning, when the kitchens come to life and slanting light breaks through the foliage, the forest reminds us of what truly matters: beauty is there, immediate, free, sufficient. To lunch or dine in this context is to accept being quietly transformed by it.
The seasons set our palette. The deep greens of summer give way to the golds of autumn; winter mists clothe the beeches in mystery; and spring erupts through the undergrowth with the generosity particular to northern forests. Each visit is a different season; each meal, a new encounter with this landscape.
Bistronomics: The Luxury of Getting It Right
Our head chef Adrien Schurgers embodies what is known as bistronomie at its most demanding: a kitchen of the highest quality, stripped of unnecessary ceremony, direct and sincere, where every plate speaks of a product, a producer, a season.
Bistronomie is, in this sense, deeply Epicurean. It refuses pointless ostentation in order to focus on what truly counts: the right flavour, the texture that surprises, the pairing that illuminates. No embellishment for its own sake — only a deep and genuine attention to what lies on the plate.
Those who love great beef will find our hot stone cooking — a convivial ritual that turns every table into a shared experience around fire. A primal, almost timeless gesture that our ancestors, the hunters of old, would have recognised at once.
1687: A Living Heritage
Founded in 1687, Au Repos des Chasseurs is not a museum. It is a living house, one that has endured through the centuries by remaining faithful to a single vocation: offering hospitality.
Hunters of old, weary travellers, lovers seeking a setting worthy of their promises, families gathered to mark what deserves to be marked — all have crossed this threshold. All have found here a carefully laid table, a fire burning, a sincere welcome.
Today this tradition continues and renews itself. We have chosen to open the doors of our boutique hotel as well — eleven exceptional rooms that will allow guests, from May 2026 onwards, to extend the experience far beyond the meal itself. Falling asleep at the edge of the Sonian Forest, waking to the silence of Watermael-Boitsfort: that is the promise of a complete epicureanism, from dinner to breakfast.
The Table as a Space for Connection
Epicurus knew it well: the most lasting pleasure is not a solitary one. It is shared. The table is one of the rare spaces in modern life where we collectively allow ourselves to slow down, to savour, to truly see one another.
Whether you come as a couple for an evening outside of time, with colleagues for a business lunch that deserves better than a meeting room, as a family to celebrate a birthday or as a group for a seminar no one will forget — Au Repos des Chasseurs offers you the setting and the cuisine to make this moment something genuinely memorable.
Our five banquet halls, with a combined capacity of up to 350 guests, speak to our vocation for celebrating the great moments of collective life. And yet, even at the grandest of receptions, the ambition remains unchanged: that every guest should feel, for a moment, at home.
To Come Here Is to Choose
In a world that moves fast, choosing to come to Au Repos des Chasseurs is a deliberate act. The act of saying: this meal deserves care. The person across the table deserves my attention. This moment deserves to be fully lived.
That is, at its heart, the definition of Epicureanism: not to consume more, but to live better.
The Sonian Forest is waiting. The table is set.
Epicurean Dining in the Sonian Forest | Au Repos des Chasseurs