As you dip down to enter Comptoir Garcin, opened by neo-restaurateurs Pierre Van Ransbeeck (a former data analyst, now in the kitchen) and Tatiana Yelengwe (creator of the feminist webzine Déculottées, in the dining room), it’s like stepping back in time: quirky dining areas, dad’s old brasserie decor, a courtyard turned covered back room hiding behind a PVC sliding door… Here we’re back in 1985, Marty! Unless it’s a sleight of hand, to make you feel more at home. Because the menu doesn’t mess with the taste of the times – that evening, it effortlessly featured a veal cottage pie with Sichuan pepper carrots, which had us licking our plate clean; a lively brined swordfish flanked with roast celery and quinoa, painted with a mouthwatering green sauce; before a scandalous caramelized pear, buckwheat crumble and almond sorbet combo that’ll have you crying “Great Scott!” The only issue: there’s no worse neighborhood for parking your DeLorean. // Toni Negroni
FEELING THIRSTY? A nice compilation of laid-back wines: Oliver, a Hungarian biodynamic skin contact white by Kristinus (€7 a glass), Au’Rigine, an Alsatian white from Valentin Zusslin (€40 a bottle), Amiami Vice, a Burgundy red from the Domaine AMI ( €50), as well as kombucha and homemade hibiscus juice (€4.30).
PRICE: À la carte €33-36.
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