2. Bon Bon
Renowned restaurant critic Richard Mariana places Brussels alongside Paris and Barcelona for the quality of its culinary scene. His reporting exemplifies the chefs as masters of contemporary cuisine, yet, rather than modernist, they are passionate about local ingredients, “thoughtfully refined.”
Mariana gives a hearty nod to Commis Chez Soi, and the gastronomic temple La Villa Lorraine. But top if his list is Bon Bon, described by their owners as “a house of character chosen and meticulously decorated by chef Christophe Hardiquest and his wife in order to impart outstanding hospitality and their passion for sharing.”
To enter the restaurant, diners wander up a garden path of verdant greenery. A dining room melds into the kitchen, where chef Christophe Hardiquest prepares a range of artistic plates. With a culinary prowess free of constraints, the menu may delight with “jewels of ‘white pearl’ oysters with Corsican mint and vodka-tonic gels;" Salted pollock from Yeu Island with pine salt and fermented cabbage; and “sole ‘purple style,’” where beet essence is matched with moist nuggets of sole.
Photo courtesy of Bon Bon
