Kartouche

Who needs a fancy Koncept when you’ve swapped out one letter of your restaurant’s name for another? Aside from the quirky spelling, Kartouche, with a “K” (instead of cartouche – meaning “cartridge” in English – just like all the other items on the menu normally spelt with a C, such as “kroquette”), hits the bull’s eye with its flawless bistro fare, standing out from the plethora of buddha bowls, sushi and brunch joints on Rue Defacqz. Inside this kompact spot that’s had a minimalist refurb (vintage tiles, a zinc-plated counter, Parisian-style furniture), former vet Géry Van Peteghem showcases his Belgian-focused skills acquired at Nénu, St Kilda, Rebel and Raki: bitterballen (crispy fried meatballs) better than you’d get at the friterie, stuffed with tender beef stew and served with creamy wholegrain mustard; butterflied sardines served as a gravlax, with pickled rhubarb for added zing; juicy pressed pork with green cabbage, not too fatty, nor too dry, to dunk in a mustard sabayon and served with a silver bowl of mashed carrot stoemp – which we preferred to the rather so-so roasted oyster mushrooms and chard served steak-with-peppercorn-sauce-style; before finishing the meal with a freshly-made gaufrette wafer sandwich filled with diplomat cream… Krazy good! // Laszlo Dela

FEELING THIRSTY? A two-page wine list: a Languedoc white from Poivre D’âne (€6 a glass, €20 a 480 ml pitcher), Tribu, a Loire cabernet franc from Guillaume Lavie (€38 a bottle), or Les Calades, a Pic-Saint-Loup from Le Mas Foulaquier (€78). Plus, habanero lemonade from Atelier Cuarenta (€4 for 330 ml).
PRICE: Menu €45-55, bitterballen €10, cheese from From Comptoir €14.