We’re all in on Misera! Ever since opening in August 2022, Antwerp’s elite foodies have been placing all their bets on this very posh restaurant – a concrete cube isolated from the outside world by curtains in the very sanitized Nieuw Zuid neighborhood. And they really hit the jackpot: the eponymous chef Nicolas brings a little artistic fire to the rather sleepy local gastronomy scene – while making sure not to get any ash on the immaculate white tablecloths. What should you expect? Vrai-faux luxury with just the right amount of old-fashioned charm, which we owe to Yasmin Weyn, the restaurant’s fantastic host and hunter of flea market treasures. The day we went, the meal began with an impressionist artichoke heart stuffed with a bombastic fresh crab salad painted with raw cream and dotted with big fish roe; followed by sea bass medallions swimming in a well-balanced yuzu vinaigrette, paired with daikon radish, baby zucchini and salmon roe, all served on a vintage Louviéroise Villeroy & Boch plate; before an obscene but oh-so delicious turbot topped with flame-charred lobster, engaged in a three-way with white asparagus tips, all glazed in a beurre blanc sauce (which itself was hiding pieces of lobster meat) and combined with decadently buttery mashed potatoes. Our wallet thanked us for skipping dessert – but not the sweet madeleine that was served alongside the espresso. We left significantly poorer, but the memories made it all worth it. // Sugar Kowalczyk

FEELING THIRSTY? A rather conventional wine collection where you can still find a few buccaneering bottles: Cuvée des Chamoz, a Jura Chardonnay from Frédéric Lornet (€11 a glass), Brézé, a magical Chenin from the Domaine Guiberteau (€100 a bottle)…
PRICE: Appetizers €36-64, mains €65-89, shared plates €135 (for two), desserts €15-19.