We ended up booking a cheap deal through Expedia which included a flight from Heathrow and 3 nights stay at Hotel le Dome, which was only a few minutes walk away from the central train station on Boulevard du Jardin Botanique.
During the day we didn't realise, but in the night all the neon of the Adult shops and establishments start to show up. Nice enough area though so it didn't make any difference.
It was about a 15/20 minute walk to central Brussels and La Grand Place. Actually, with all the eating and drinking, it was probably a good thing that we had to have a brisk walk to get into and back out of town.
Just by the top left hand corner of la Grand Place (I think if I remember correctly) is a small bar that is very dark and has tables made out of coffins. They serve drinks in skull shaped mugs and lamely try and scare people by shouting boo just by their ears. It was OK for one drink but you wouldn't stay there all night.... no at those prices!
Belgium beers are excellent. Try the Duvel, Leffe and Chimay brands for starters. The Chimay Bleu is pretty hefty. There was a place serving the drinks in Lunettes which are huge glasses that look like champagne bowls.
If you like food, there is one place you need to go to and that is The Mexican Grill. Nothing mexican about it but an all-you-can-eat bonanza, and drink! (update: sadly that is now closed, oh fond memories)
There is a separate write up in the food and drink section for this place but in summary you pay 30 euros, help yourself to the bar which has beer, wine and soft drinks on tap plus there are whole areas for starters, a grill for the steaks that are out, a help yourself to dessert fridge and hot drinks dispensers.
Make sure you don't eat that day, and bare in mind whether kids will be able to get value out of it.
There are plenty of streets and parks to walk around which are all picturesque. The whole architecture is pretty much devoid of badly designed tat. Sunday is pretty quiet so you can stroll around quite leisurely and pop in for a coffee somewhere.
