I might as well confess immediately: my knowledge of Japanese cuisine is limited. Mostly to wasabi-flavoured bar snacks and, very occasionally, pre-packed westernised sushi approximations. Meanwhile, a few of my acquaintances marvel like true connoisseurs at restaurants where exorbitant prices and rude service are “telltale signs of authenticity”. Now, call me old-fashioned, but I tend to dislike being fleeced or growled at. But then along comes Takigawa, and suddenly everything is how it should be.
Picking a restaurant’s ‘surprise’ menu can be a risk, but from the first aromatic whiff of the herb and seafood broth that opened the mystery meal at Bouchéry, it was clear this was a gamble that had paid off. With chunks of fresh nautical crustaceans, delicate periwinkles and strips of sea lettuce, combined with an earthy mix of fresh herbs, seasonal vegetables and nutty kamut wheat grains, this was undoubtedly an appetiser that aspires to greatness.
The decor may be cool and contemporary, but the mood at Rouge Tomate seemed distinctly 1980s as trans-Atlantic accents bristling with manly talk of export deals and global strategies drifted over the plates of turbot and suprême de pigeon. Housed in a stylish 19th-century townhouse complete with wood-panelled library and palm-lined garden, this Avenue Louise eatery has lured powerlunchers for more than a decade with wow-factor dishes like lobster ravioli in coral jus, or label rouge salmon sprinkled with poppy seeds, fennel and smoked fleur de sel.
From Norway’s lye-cured lutefisk to the accras de morue served with a bitingly spicy ‘dog’s sauce’ in the French Antilles, salt cod is a vital ingredient for cuisines around the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Only in Portugal, however, has this briny delight been elevated to the level of national treasure. According to Lisbon lore, the Portuguese have a different bacalhau recipe for all 365 days of the year.
La Piola II is a welcome addition to an area already rife with cosy, reliable restaurants for Brussels’ bobo set. The sister restaurant to the popular La Piola, both a stone’s throw from Place du Châtelain, La Piola II’s focus is on serving up fresh fish, pasta and friendly service. It succeeds, to an extent.
Follow Walkin’Thai on Facebook at the risk of salivating on your desk with every daily special announcement: “Mm, it smells good in here, like stir-fried ginger chicken and vegetables…” or, “Come in for lunch today, we’re tossing chicken and Thai basil in the wok.” These status updates, of course, come with graphic, full-colour photographs of said dishes. It’s enough to make you hungry for Thai food every day of the week.
Fashion retailer Smets’ commercial empire encompasses 21 shops in its native Luxembourg, which makes its sole holding in Belgium seem a bit of an outpost. But, like the company’s flagship store across the border, Smets Brussels is twinned with a gourmet in-house restaurant. For those unfamiliar with the Smets urban aesthetic, the name alone – Bowery, after a neighbourhood in lower Manhattan – speaks volumes.
Tucked down a cobbled street a few steps from the Grand Sablon, Soul offers the conscientious diner food to warm body and spirit. Outside, it’s unremarkable; inside, it’s dark and cosy with work by local artists on the walls and plenty of atmosphere even when it’s mostly empty, as was the case on our Sunday evening visit.
A toukoul is a small house built by women from the Afar ethnic group of Ethiopia. It’s also the name of Brussels’ newest Ethiopian restaurant, built by the young, and male, Belgian-Ethiopian entrepreneur Haile Abebe.
The décor is spacious, modern and inviting. Walls are covered by photos of Mick Jagger, Steve McQueen and other vintage stars knocking back booze, and blackboards behind the bar advertise the day’s liquid offers. There’s a cluster of high tables with bar stools that fill up with after-office tipplers in the evening, when there’s an inventive tapas menu featuring nibbles like octopus with fennel, sardine and preserved lemon rillettes or chorizo tapenade.
