Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Indulge

Eat like a local and dine at one of these stylish restaurants on the Brussels Airlines network

Dean Street Townhouse

LONDON
69-71 Dean Street, tel. , www.deanstreettownhouse.com

We’re usually condemned to just pressing our noses up against the window of Nick Jones’s starry Soho House members’ dens. But no longer. The king of clubs has teamed up with legendary restaurateur Richard Caring (Le Caprice, The Ivy, J Sheekey and Scott’s) to create a very snazzy stable for keeping Gwyneth and proles like you and me fed and watered. And boy is it a good ’un.

Housed in a whitewashed Georgian building, cosy and comfy best describes the 39 bedrooms at this hotel. There are old-fashioned Roberts radios by the bed, simple light switches rather than computer-controlled panels, and a real key on a brass fob. Lovely stuff. Downstairs in the restaurant, meanwhile, it’s slick Sheekey-style professionalism all over, with starched tablecloths, silver cutlery and a menu that deftly rides the current wave for nostalgic comfort food. Clubby but not exclusive, you’re instantly made to feel like you’re part of the pack, which is itself a rare achievement. So grab a high chair at the buzzy bar and get stuck into a stiff cocktail before settling down to not-too-pricey dishes like fish and chips or chicken, bacon and leek pie (€12.50/£11.50). You’ve got to love a restaurant that makes its no-nonsense signature dish mince and boiled potatoes. Just like Granny used to make. Richard Bence

Chalet Robinson

BRUSSELS
1 Sentier de l’Embarcadère, tel. , www.chaletrobinson.be

Candles light a path through the woods to the ferries that shuttle guests across the lake to the magical Chalet Robinson, a chalet-style restaurant in the heart of Brussels’ Bois de la Cambre. The Cambre woods are landscaped gardens adjacent to the Soignes Forest that stretches out from the south of the capital, and the island and restaurant are named after Robinson Crusoe. Unlike Crusoe, though, visitors won’t find this island deserted. For a start there’s Gérard le Canard, a friendly duck who’s the restaurant’s mascot, to welcome you. Then there are the Brusseloise returning to repeat an experience they probably last had with their parents; the original restaurant burned down some 19 years ago.

The new experience is mostly a celebration of simple, luxurious Belgian cuisine, with croquettes aux crevettes (prawn croquettes), filet Américain (steak tartare) and the ice-cream dessert, Dame Blanche, sitting alongside more cosmopolitan fare such as Caesar salad and sashimi. The chalet itself is a similar mix of the traditional and modern; a sturdy wooden building in a rustic style with contemporary furnishings, including glamorous mirror-ball lamps by Tom Dixon. A visit can turn into an all-day affair, with afternoon tea followed by cocktails on the terrace, and you can work off the waffles with a row around the island in the all-new fleet of boats.

Getting to Chalet Robinson isn’t that straightforward (although the minute-long ferry ride couldn’t be more efficient), but the experience of tranquillity so close to the city makes it so worthwhile. A meal will come in at around €40 a head, excluding drinks. Guy Dittrich

Foodie corner

My Favourite Ingredients by Skye Gyngell (Quadrille, €17, www.quadrille.co.uk,)

This year, leave your shopping trolley behind, pick up your wicker basket and start exploring your local markets for the season’s freshest produce. It may be Brussels sprouts and celeriac now, but you’ve courgettes and cucumbers to look forward to, and you’ll be able to whip up a storm with My Favourite Ingredients.

Its brimming with recipes made with seasonal produce, from raw white asparagus with porcini to frito misto of artichokes and lemon with mint and anchovy vinaigrette. So wherever you find yourself this year, head for the market – you may never look at a supermarket again.

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