Masu

After cooking up a storm at renowned restaurants in the city of the Doudou (iCook! from Jean-Philippe Watteyne and L’Envers), Maxime Wery and Sullivan Pischetola have put down their chef’s hats a mere stone’s throw from the Grand-Place. The name of their spot? They’ve combined the first two letters of their first names, which in Japanese also means a square wooden box used for measuring rice. These little boxes also feature as salt holders on the tables, in the beamed dining room with banquettes and an ultra-colorful mural by Hell’o Monster. And it’s here where the two chums entertain with their self-proclaimed “modern, worldly” cuisine: incredible homemade sourdough bread spread with truffle-chili butter and adzuki bean hummus; and, that evening, grilled padrón peppers with yuzu, a split pea purée with garlic and ginger, nachos and cheddar coulis; a tasty tamarind beef stew with apple, lemongrass and cilantro; then a rutabaga steak (a tad too salty) with an arugula, mint, and grapefruit salad, plus Masu-spiced fries topped with Parmesan; or even a steamy haddock fillet, sautéed potato and cauliflower with capers (a little too present), sumac and savory fumet; for dessert, almond milk wheat pudding, almond streusel, cinnamon and pear tartare, or a chocolate blondie with cashew nuts and pandan ice cream. // Alain Maes

FEELING THIRSTY? A naturalist library under Rita’s control: Coup de Grisou, a Loire Grolleau gris from La Grange aux Belles (€7 a glass), a Goepp & Fils Riesling (€42 a bottle), Ponzichter, an Austrian red from Weninger (€35), or October, a Roussillon vin de primeur from Les Foulards Rouges (€38)…And craft beers on the suggestion board (Bloody Juice, a sour beer brewed with carrots and pepper, in collaboration with La Source in Brussels, €6.50 330 ml).

PRICE: Set menu €30-32 (lunch), menu €42, à la carte €48.