Cagette

Along the banks of the Sambre and with all the trappings of a laid-back wine bar (menu chalked on the board, exposed bricks and lush green plants hanging all over the shop), Cagette from chef Benjamin Molitor, who works alongside François-Léo Brasseur in the kitchen and William Périlleux in the dining room, reaches for the sublime! Because Ben’s dishes would each deserve their own pastourelle recited by a troubadour sporting Vejas, for which we sing nothing but praise: gochujang grilled leeks with trout eggs and sesame that goes bish! (the melt-in-the-mouth leeks) bash! (the spicy-but-not-too-hot Korean chili paste) bosh! (fish eggs that explode in the mouth); glazed eryngi mushrooms enhanced with ginger and chives – disconcertingly perfect; pork belly cooked over a low temperature met carrots and XO sauce to make you loop the loop; and traditional French toast, a kind of big caramelized mattress served with a scoop of Earl Grey ice cream from Le Glacetronome. The kumbaya bonus: the friendly service, which makes you want to believe in world peace. // Heloise Bartsoen

FEELING THIRSTY? A great selection of sulphite-free wines: Müller Thurgau, a German white from Andi Mann by the glass (all at €7), fruity red Rot with 11.5% of happiness, also from the aforementioned (€35 a bottle), and Costadilà, an Italian pet’ nat’ by Ernesto Cattel (€39).
PRICE: Plates €7-22, desserts €5-9.