There are a few tables available at lunchtime, or for a Friday night apéro, but the main reason we come to Cèpes is to take all these good things back home with us. Beth, alias Elisabeth Van De Velden, is in the kitchen cooking up market fare, while Hannes Lefevere handles the bottles, with the same sense of seasonal improvisation. Behind the bar, there’s not so much as a hint of a cep mushroom, but there are some lovely red or green cabbage salads and funky spiced fried potatoes, which go beautifully with the plump meatballs in spicy tomato sauce, or the very porky Orloff pork roast with bacon and cheese. Wash it all down with an explosively flavorful Bengoetxe Basque txakoli or a glass of Goupil, an insolent Languedoc syrah from the Domaine Castan. Wrap it all up and we’re ready to go! // Sugar Kowalczky
The hidden gem: The hearty lasagna, loaded with vegetables and spring lamb (€14 a portion).
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