Aube

A new day is dawning in this part of the Forest neighborhood, which until recently has been ignored by quality bakers. In what used to be the old Van Haelen garage, this fabulous bread factory was born after a few months of renovations. Thanks to mechanics Thomas Kok (Chez Richard, Chez Franz) and Christophe Nagel (who used to be the director of Kickstarter), the cars have left the shop but the atmosphere feels much the same: an overhead door, glowing grills, exposed pipes…. What’s fueling the space these days? Specialty coffee from OR (a roaster in Ghent), incredible sourdough bread (including the signature loaf made with buckwheat flour) and viennoiseries that’ll make you want to wake up early: incredibly flaky chocolate croissants, sinful cookies, honey-feta pastry squares that leave you with sticky fingers, and plump chocolate or plain bressane. Devour them all while seated on the massive corner terrace, which does the neighborhood a world of good. // Rosa Poulsard

The hidden gem: The buttery croissant, generously stuffed with ham and cheese (€3 though!).