All good things come in small packages! On the unmissable Hendrik Conscienceplein public square, chef Louis Broos (ex-L’Épicerie du Cirque and Graanmarkt 13) is popping open bottles and spinning plates for 10 guests downstairs and six upstairs, in this intimate kot (meaning “broom cupboard” in Flemish) combining white and moss-green walls, framed Talking Heads vinyl records, a wooden mezzanine and good times guaranteed. Chef, sommelier, waiter, party starter and fermenter (Acid Fermentation, that’s him too) all rolled into one, that evening the jack-of-all-trades sent out: fennel stewed in kimchi butter, with fresh peas and a furikake crumble topping (a sesame seed and seaweed seasoning); brown butter beets with smoked yoghurt; homemade pappardelle pimped out with ‘nduja, goat cheese and pickled oyster mushrooms; Carima rib steak (matured for two months) doused in its jus, with star anise, roasted parsnip, cauliflower purée and crispy chicken skin chips; and for the sweet finale, a rich steamed chocolate cake served with whipped cream infused with vanilla, cardamom and orange zest. // Saffron Edge
FEELING THIRSTY? Eastward bottles – but that’s not all: Pinka, an Austrian white by the neo-winemakers at Holass Wine Collective (€8 a glass), Eggstasy, a Slovakian skin-contact Riesling from Slobodné Vinárstvo (€59 a bottle), a Burgundy pinot noir from the Petit-Roy winery (€82)… As well as classic cocktails (gin & tonic, Negroni, Manhattan, €12-15).
PRICE: Menus €39 (lunch, three courses) and €59 (dinner, five courses), food and wine pairings €25-40 (3-5 glasses).
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