Het Vliegend Tapijt

Felix François didn’t fall far from the tapijt. Having earned his stripes at ’t Oud Konijntje and La Durée, he then took over the family restaurant Het Vliegend Tapijt with his wife Nel Desmet, 10 years ago. All that’s left of his parents’ old-school bistro is the name, swapping the traditional vibes for stripped-back interiors and refining his dad’s generous cuisine with verve. That day at lunch: an invigorating elixir of yuzu and pineapple white tea paired with a trio of appetizers – a flaky mushroom pastry, a crunchy sesame and ras el-hanout carrot roll with a butternut layer, a leek round rolled in nori with a smoky leek mayo; followed by a dapper daikon millefeuille layered with pea cream, topped with a thick cottage cheese sauce and a drizzle of wild garlic oil; unusual hops shoots paired with cured egg yolk and chunks of smoked cod, doused in a chervil and wheat beer sauce; beautiful steamed pollack steak nestled in fennel mousseline, whipped into action by a frothy mussel jus, paired with pretty charred pointed cabbage and peanut crumble; before a delectable siphoned chocolate mousse, blood orange sorbet and crispy chocolate tuiles. On top of that, a bite-sized pastry as an added bonus: the chef’s (award-winning) interpretation of the traditional Kortrijkse Knibbels, a nap-inducing sweet fritter topped with caramel sauce. //Alba Nebbioli

FEELING THIRSTY? Only clean stuff made in Europe, with over 200 labels to choose from: Ready Steady Go!, an Austrian pét’ nat’ from Straka (€10 a glass), an Alsatian riesling from Marc Kreydenweiss (€68 a bottle), or even wines from neighbor Servaas Blockeel at the Domaine Het Lijsternest (€65).

PRICE: Menu €33-40 (lunch), €55-85 (dinner).