Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Indulge

Favourite restaurants and foodie titbits from Brussels Airlines’ short-haul network

Text Guy Dittrich, Sarah Morris

Toucan-sur-Mer
BRUSSELS

17-19 Avenue Louis Lepoutre, tel , www.toucanbrasserie.com

A decade on from opening the Toucan Brasserie, Jean-Michel Hamon has launched Toucan-sur-Mer next door. And it’s here that the Brittany-born owner’s passion for all things nautical really shines through – he knows the provenance of all the fish on the menu and the producers of all eight choices of oyster.

Once inside, the marine references come thick and fast. The bright white interiors are reminiscent of a Deauville harbourside, the zinc-alloy bar counter is etched with oceanographic images, and the stainless steel écailler at the entrance displays iced ranks of langoustines, bulots (sea snails) and etrille (crabs) behind a tank of lobsters. Meanwhile, all tastes are clean and clear. Sardine fillets, glistening with olive oil, are served on simple boiled potatoes. The sauces are light – a discreet tomato emulsion with the pan-fried blanc de turbotine or parsley sauce with the crab ravioli – and let the fish do the talking. Allow €130 for dinner for two with wine. GD

El Plató
MADRID

36-38 Paseo de la Castellana, tel.

Plato means ‘plate’ or ‘dish’ in Spanish, but an accent on the ‘o’ transforms the meaning into ‘TV studio’. This red-and-white restaurant is an unusual dining experience, as a film set can be seen through the glass wall at the back. Sit in the right-hand corner for the best view of the presenters of financial channel Intereconomia grilling executives and economists in front of the cameras. The weird thing is, they can also see you with your rioja in hand, scoffing dishes such as griddled cuttlefish, lamb curry, courgette tempura and duck with a cassis sauce. Chef Pedro Larumbe’s most avant-garde concoction is a cocktail glass of roast eggs in a potato and spicy sausage foam. The most satisfying is albondigas (meatballs) with a dash of sweet wine. Allow for €50 for two with wine. SM

Foodie corner

Cake Chic

We can’t imagine Gwyneth Paltrow goes in for cake of any kind all that much, but when she does she goes to Peggy Porschen. As do Madonna, Elton John, Stella McCartney, Damien Hirst and Anthony Hopkins, who marked his 70th birthday with one of Porschen’s creations.

Having cornered the market in chichi cupcakes and too-cute cookies, the self-styled doyenne of cake-baking this month publishes Cake Chic (€23, Quadrille).

Predictably, it’s packed with gorgeous stuff – four-tier ice-cream cakes, cherry fancies and little black dress biscuits. Who knew eating cake could be so stylish?

www.quadrille.co.uk

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