Café Circus

What’s this circus over on Place de Londres? Léopold van der Gracht, Charles Levie, Jean Van Campenhout (of Café des Minimes fame) and Tanguy Soille are four old, fancy-fair friends who took it upon themselves to open a bar. Inside their big top? An old bruin café that’s been revamped (original wooden benches and bar, upcycled tiling, a brand-new extra window), where every act is washed down with natural wines, local beers and 99% homemade snacks. That evening, after a mixed platter of St-Bernard nettle cheese, pork terrine and velvety dry-cured ham from the Ferme de Montplainchamps, we got messy with the headliner: generously garnished and full-on cheesy grilled sandwiches, like the spicy one with miso chicken, kimchi, stringy scamorza and lettuce, or the more comforting variation with cognac-glazed meatloaf, comté, onions, and a Dijon mustard sauce. And the beautiful slices of bread from Renard Bakery hold good stead against the drool-inducing smoked paprika mayo. The crowd cheers for the sweets, and the fudgy brownie closes the show with panache. // L.B.

FEELING THIRSTY? Organic Pinot noir from Jean-Pierre Py (€5.5 a glass), St. Vincent, an organic muscadet cuvée from Michel Delhommeau (€22 a half bottle), and Life Should Be About Fun By, a biodynamic Austrian white from Eva Haider (€35 a bottle). Plus, several beers on tap, like Lupulus Triple (€4.8 for 250 ml) and Lanterne from L’Ermitage (€4.8 for 250 ml), Mezcal Negroni cocktails (€11) and a tasty homemade lemonade (€4)

PRICE: Soup of the day €5, platters €19, grilled sandwiches €9.5-13, homemade brownie €5.