Cookie's

Bruges is interlaced with hidden cobbled streets, but this one alley in particular is so tucked away that it’s easy to walk right past. About as central as it gets, De Garre is a small arched passageway near the Burg Square and the Basilica of the Holy Blood. At the end of it, a hanging sign marks the entrance to Cookie’s, an old biscuit-baker’s house dating back to 1600. This is where Kevin Koekelbergh and Kim Grenelle started their charming tapas restaurant six years ago.

Combining local products (Flemish cheeses, North Sea shrimp, bluewhite beef…) with the best of the Mediterranean (Spanish and Italian ham, olive oil, seafood…), Cookie’s does a fusion twist on traditional tapas. Paired with world wines, the succession of little dishes makes for a fun and unique way to eat out. Especially when you order the Chef ’s Tapas, a series of five dishes that changes daily. With this, we share one bottle of sparkling water and one bottle of Boer en Brit (€28), a bold, full-bodied red wine from South Africa.

Before our first tapa even arrives, we’re treated to tasty green and black olives, fresh spongy bread and a bowl of fruity olive oil for dipping. Our table is upstairs against a banister overlooking the predominately brick-and-wood interior, complete with woodburning stove. It’s an intimate setting, romantic even, despite the full house.

First up is a platter of Hungarian cured ham, sliced paper-thin. This traditional ham from the rare Mangalitza breed of “sheep pig”, known as much for its woolly fur as for its incredibly tasty meat, is nutty and salty and literally melts on your tongue.

The second tapa consists of crusty slices of bread, lightly rubbed with garlic and topped with cubed yellowfin tuna tartare in an onion confit. The fresh raw tuna is rich and smooth, nicely offset by the toast’s crunch. This turns out to be our favourite.

Our server then delivers a plate of miniature croquettes: two cheese and three shrimp. The latter are nicely presented next to a few unpeeled shrimp and a wedge of lime, atop a bed of lettuce. I prefer the cheese croquettes for their creamy, pungent filling, while my companion favours the shrimp ones for their more delicate, briny flavour.

We’re both quite taken by the next dish, as it features scallops perfectly seared to a buttery finish. It’s a pity there are only two of them, enough for one each. They come with a carpaccio of vegetables, or thinly sliced raw cauliflower and broccoli and strips of red beet. The dish nicely combines a lot of subtle earthy flavours with contrasting soft and crunchy textures.

The finale offers a tip of the hat to good old-fashioned Flemish food with a strip of grilled steak, homemade creamy mushroom sauce and some thick-cut fries sprinkled with coarse sea salt. It’s cooked medium rare, so barely bloody, and tastes divine with a dip in the sauce.

Wholly satisfied, we pay the even €80 bill and head back out into the Bruges night via the long mediaeval corridor.

***

De Garre 2, Bruges; tel 050.61.35.88; www.cookiescafe.be

This review first appeared in Flanders Today