Brussels food market Wolf celebrates sixth anniversary with spring makeover

Street-food emporium Wolf is shedding its winter coat and launching a raft of new ventures for spring, including a new karaoke box located deep in the vault of the former bank.

The striking heritage building in Rue du Fossé aux Loups houses an indoor food hall, complete with a pavement terrace, as well as a micro-brewery serving craft tipples.

Wolf’s 17 food and drink outlets offer an ethical tour of freshly-cooked dishes from all regions of the globe. Recent newcomers to the line-up include vegan Asian stall Lil Bao and Curry Club by Mission Masala. They will soon be joined by Fish Tank to complete the culinary feast.

The selection includes a pop-up stand, which changes every three months to add further variety to the menu options while serving as a test lab for local restaurants. Current occupant  Focaccino is delivering Italian street food favourites until the end of March.

If one of the key successes of Wolf is its sharing concept – enabling customers to sample an array of tasty dishes from around the world, the other draw is its lively atmosphere and unusual decor, combining recycled objects with original decor.

Occupying since 2019 a landmark heritage building dating from the 1940s, this was once the banking headquarters of CGER, designed by architect Alfred Chambon. Its former identity as a financial seat of power is evident in its solid fortress-like exterior, while the food stands are sited in the counters that once served bank customers.

Many of its artisan-crafted period design features have been carefully preserved, especially the Val Saint-Lambert glass roof and imposing bronze doors. One of Belgium’s coolest architects and designers, Lionel Jadot, was responsible for the transformation into a contemporary dining establishment.

A centrepiece bar fills the central lofty space. Customers can purchase drinks here, which include sharing options for pitchers of soft drinks such as home-made ice tea concoctions, as well as cocktails.

For lunch and dinner, food orders are taken directly at each stand; an opportunity to watch the busy chefs at work. Another feature is the brewery and its gleaming kettles and fermenting vats located at the rear of the building, along with an event space.

On the market’s lively events calendar, there are cooking workshops and masterclasses, quiz evenings and upcoming seasonal activities such as an Easter egg hunt.

Meanwhile, the new karaoke space is a retro-styled intimate room that can be rented by the hour. It is full of Art Deco features, including a geometric-designed heavy gold-plated door. Tucked in the basement, alongside rows of former bank safes and a new Wolf merchandising vending machine and photo booth, the singing box is a stylish and convivial addition to the food market’s mission of sociability and sharing.

Photos: ©Sarah Crew; ©Wolf