From her days in Tokyo, Apo Tsuboi has retained a love for food bar culture, fine materials (blonde wood), rough textures (red brick) and ramen with full-bodied broth – including a creamy miso broth made with oat milk. After falling in love with a man from Antwerp, giving birth to five children who have since given her just as many grandchildren, she also wears many hats at her izakaya: waitress, accountant, dishwasher, sommelier… and chef, responsible for whipping up a shared menu of flawlessly prepared classics. The day we went, we opted for some mouthwatering vegetable gyoza, extremely light vegetable tempura, crispy karaage chicken, irreproachable onigiri, homemade kimchi, and a matcha brownie served with sesame ice cream to round out the meal. // Sugar Kowalczky

FEELING THIRSTY? Wakaze sakes, brewed in Paris by the master brewer Shoya Imai using Camargue rice (€30-40 a bottle), along with some naturalist bottles of wine (like the Catalan Garnatxa Blanca from Casa Mariol at €23 a bottle) or homemade kombucha (€4).
PRICE: Ramen €18-20 (€16-18 at lunch), tapas €6-10, gozen menu €18-20.