Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Brussels cool hunters

No-one knows a place like the locals, so Carolijn Domensino goes people-spotting in Brussels, to find where the city’s cool, young things like to eat, drink and play

Who are you? Lina

How old are you? 28

What is your favourite late-night hangout? Ballroom, which is held every second Sunday of the month at Café Bota (Le Botanique, 236 Koningsstraat, 1210 Sint-Joost-Ten-Node, tel.
, botanique.be)

Where do you like to shop? I love to shop at Vintage Gabriele (27 Rue des Chartreux, tel. , www.gabrielevintage.com), which sells clothes and accessories from the ’20s through to the ’80s. You can pick up fabulous costume jewellery and gorgeous shoes too.

What is one cool thing visitors to the city really must do? Stay the night in one of the ‘Fashion Rooms’ at the Windsor Hotel (Grand Place, 5 Rue Duquesnoy, tel. , www.royalwindsorbrussels.com). The rooms are styled by Belgian fashion designers such as Haider Ackermann, Jean-Paul Knott, Romy Smits, Kaat Tilley and Nicolas Woit.

What is your favourite Brussels discovery? Meeting my husband here!

Who are you? David Rousseau

What do you do? I’m a shop assistant at Alice Gallery’s shop. A.L.I.C.E. shop (182 Rue Antoine Dansaertstraat, www.alicebxl.com)

How old are you? 28

What and where have been your most memorable meals in Brussels? At fusion restaurant Kika (177 Bd. Anspach, tel. ), which serves an interesting selection of dishes for a reasonable price. But if you are looking for somewhere special to impress your guest then I would recommend the French restaurant A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (25 Rue du Lombard, tel. ),

What is your favourite cocktail bar? Le Greenwich (7 Kartuizerstraat, tel. ). It’s not really a cocktail bar, but a café with old-style décor, where you can play chess or enjoy a relaxing read. What is your favourite late-night hangout? Gare de la chapelle/ Recyclart (25 Rue des Ursulines, tel. , recyclart.be) is a really cool and different place for a late-night hangout. Think an eclectic mix of art, rock, street theatre, dance and video installations.

Where do you like to shop? For vinyls, CDs, DVDs and vintage videogames Veals&geeks (8A, Rue des Grands Carmes, tel. , vealsandgeeks.com) is one of my favourite shops.

Who are you? Morgane

What do you do? Model and shop-assistant of sex life accessory boutique Lady Paname.

How old are you? 29 What is your favourite cocktail bar? The art deco bar L’Archiduc (6 Dansaertstraat, tel. , archiduc.net) located in the fashionable Antoine Dansaert’s Street which is primarily home to artists.

What is your favourite late-night hangout? Studio 44 (44 Avenue de la Toison d’Or, studio44.be), a trendy hangout with a lot of international DJs playing R&B, Garage and Latin.

Where do you like to shop? Ramon & Valy (19, Rue des Teinturiers) – a vintage shop specialising in secondhand designer clothing with labels like YSL, Pucci, Léonard, Lanvin. I also like to shop at Mademoiselle Jean (100, Rue Dansaertstraat, tel. , mademoisellejean.com). Aurore Jean makes modern clothes inspired by the past. Lingerie elements figure strongly in many of her designs, with ribbons and bows.

What is one cool thing visitors to the city really must do? Visit Lady Paname and purchase a sexy surprise for your partner.

What is your favourite Brussels discovery? Go to the best tea saloon ever! – A.M Sweet (4 Kartuizerstraat, tel. ).

Who are you? Ad Luijten

What do you do? Shop owner of Waffles, which sells sneakers like Nike, Adidas and Vans among others.

How old are you? 28 What has been your most memorable meal in Brussels? I am particularly fond of the food at Italian restaurant Intermezzo (16 Rue des Princes, tel. )

What is your favourite cocktail bar? De Walvis (209 Rue Antoine Dansaertstraat). It’s a hip, art deco styled bar frequented by a fashionable, young crowd.

What is your favourite late-night hangout? Havana Club (4 Rue de l’Epée, havana-brussels.com), which is actually a bar, restaurant and club that stays open until the early hours.

Where do you like to shop? Obviously I love shopping at my own store for sneakers. But I also like Norden (46 Rue van Artevelde, ilovenorden.com), a Scandinavian fashion and design shop, and for gifts I love shopping at Wasko (126 Rue Dansaertstraat, wasko.be), which sells fun, quirky stuff like cool travellers’ notebooks What is your favourite Brussels discovery? The ‘Marollen’, it’s where the real Brusselaers live and where you’ll find the daily market on the Vossenplein, as well as all the antique shops and plenty of traditional local bars.

Who are you? DJs The Sunsetters&Mönk

How old are you? 32 & 19 What and where have been your most memorable meals in Brussels? The latest best one was at Sushi Shop (144 Avenue Louise, www.sushishop.be). It only opened quite recently and serves up excellent sushi and it’s not too expensive.

What is your favourite cocktail bar? Dali’s Bar (35 Korte Beenhouwersstr, tel. ), is really good. It has the most exotic cocktails in Brussels and always plays great music.

What is your favourite late-night hangout? It would have to be the Wax Club (66, Blvd Anspach, tel. , thewaxclub.com). It’s a small club but has a great vibe and good, electronic music and it’s always packed.

Where do you like to shop? Mr.Ego (29 Steenstraat, tel. , mrego.be), a friendly urban clothing store with lots of different brands like Etnies, Emily The Strange, Freshjive, Gravis etc. What is your favourite Brussels discovery? Nicolas Dehon’s shop (24 Rue des Chartreux, tel. ). He sells old postcards and authentic must-haves of Expo ’58.

Who are you? Fatou Mata Haïdara

What do you do? Clothes designer (Fatou Mata, Dansaert, 53 Oude Graanmarkt, tel. , www.fatoumata.com)

How old are you? 36

What and where have been your most memorable meals in Brussels? Comme chez Soi (23 Place Rouppe, tel. , commechezsoi.be) where you can dine in a beautiful room inspired by art nouveau architect, Victor Horta. Another of my favourite restaurants is Kokob (10, Rue des Grands Carmes, tel. , kokob.be), an Ethiopian kitchen/bar, a cool cultural hotspot too.

What is your favourite late-night hangout? Dirty Dancing (38 Chaussée de Louvain, tel. , dirtydancing.be). It’s a massive club venue, which can be pretty tricky to get into, but it’s definitely worth a try.

Where do you like to shop? The Flea Market on Place du Jeu de Balle where you can find an extraordinary mix of household items, vintage clothes, crockery and furniture. Ask for the marché aux puces! I also love to mooch around the second-hand goods shops in the surrouding streets, Rue Haute, Place du Sablon and Rue Blasé.

What is one cool thing visitors to the city really must do? Visit artshop Franco Frères (12 Kartuizerstraat).

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