Minimal ingredients, maximum flavor. At Ice Ice Amy, ready-made mixes are strictly off the menu, along with artificial flavorings, colorants, stabilizers, emulsifiers and texture enhancers. Chemical engineer Amélie Cobbaert fell down the rabbit hole of ice cream science, becoming almost obsessively devoted to experimenting with pure, unadulterated ingredients. Her goal? A scoop whose creamy texture unfolds gradually as it melts. And yes, university researchers got involved. And yes, the results speak for themselves. After Ostend and Ghent, it’s Antwerp’s turn to get its own ice cream parlor. On the menu: classic fior di latte; irresistible banana and brown sugar; dark chocolate with olive oil and sea salt; and even ice cream made with… cooked cabbage! Worth every lick! · Arno Bintjens

The hidden gem: The ice cream gets all the attention, but don’t overlook the cones. Baked fresh on site, they’re also sold separately as ultra-thin wafers to take home (€5).