restaurant review #291 – We already had the pleasure of tasting the dishes of plantbased chef Pieter-Jan Lint at a private party (see HERE) and it was delicious. So we were very happy to see the offer of a vegan gastronomic menu for Christmas and New Years eve (end of 2020).
restaurant review #284 – Naturell is the ‘sister restaurant’ of ‘t Aards Paradijs in Nevele, which we have visited a couple of years ago (see restaurant review #156 here). In 2010, chef Lieven Lootens was awarded the title of best vegetable chef of the year (beste Groentekok). Our visit to ‘t Aards Paradijs was a great gastronomic experience, and we have been wanting to go to Naturell for quite a while. A couple of weeks ago it finally happened, as we went there to celebrate my 50th birthday. Yeah 🙂 This review is from a visit to Naturell in October 2020, before the second lockdown measures due to the COVID19 pandemic started.
restaurant review #282 – ‘t Vijfde Seizoen is a gastronomic restaurant in Aalter (between Bruges and Ghent). This literally translates as ‘the fifth season’. There is always a vegetarian menu standardly available, which can be veganised upon request (it’s advised to ask it in advance, and we did when making the reservation). I already posted a review of a visit to ‘t Vijfde Seizoen in 2018 here. This review is from a visit to ‘t Vijfde Seizoen in February 2020, just before the lockdown measures due to the COVID19 pandemic started. Upon making the reservation for dinner, the restaurant also asked us to notify them by noon whether we choose the 4-course or 5-course menu. We went for the latter which is 70 euro per person. These appetizers came with our drinks (we had an alcohol free cocktail, 8€): tofucroquette, paprika coulis, pomegranate quinoa butternut, and courgette soup.
restaurant review #250 – This is not really a ‘restaurant’ review, as we did not visit an actual restaurant! But gastronomic vegan chef Pieter-Jan Lint and his team did the catering for a birthday party of a friend. It was a beautiful sunny day at the end of Summer, and we were in the back garden of an estate in the Antwerp area. There were sofas, high chairs and benches, a really enjoyable setting, and that also meant one could easily walk around in between courses and mingle with others. So much better than having to be seated at a table for several hours on end! We were served a 10-course menu. This was the menu (Dutch on photo)
restaurant review #243 – Cèpes is the restaurant of Hotel De Sterrenberg. It is located just outside the western entrance of De Hoge Veluwe, a nature reserve in the middle of the Netherlands.
restaurant review #227 – Vanilla Black is a vegetarian gastronomic restaurant in the city center of London, close to Chancery Lane. We were here before two years ago, and really enjoyed our visit (see review). We saw there was still place for lunch when we were in London last October (after VegfestUK), and we decided to make an online booking for lunch.
restaurant review #177 – Taste is a gastronomic restaurant in the city centre of Louvain / Leuven. They offer a vegan menu on request (mention it when making the reservation). I made a reservation online a couple of days before we wanted to go (and had to make a deposit, by bank transfer). This review is from a visit a couple of months ago, during the past Winter. We were warmly welcomed when we arrived and given the menu, and asked whether we wanted a 4-course or 5-course menu. We went for the latter, which was 95€ per person. Additionally, Jim had the beers* (22,50€), and for me the non-alcoholic drinks (18,75€) to go along with the courses. This is what we had for dinner (in sum, we tried to remember as many as the recited ingredients as we could, but – as is often the case in gastronomic restaurants, there were plenty more ingredients on the dishes and enumerated!). a trio of amuse geueles to start with: pumpkin soup, red beet and pumpernickel, and …
As you can probably tell from the number of restaurant reviews on our blog, we do like to go dining out. But we also love to stay at home and experiment in the kitchen (an overview of several homemade meals can be seen here: what do you eat?). Yesterday was World Vegan Day (November 1) and for that occassion it was a bit more fancy than usual! Everything prepared by Jim, I just made the photograph (and ate it 😉 Delicious! Tower with layers of: – Chards with cream cheese and chopped roasted pecan nuts – puree of pumpkin and lentils with ginger – potatoe mash with chicory. On the side: Shiitakes and chanterelles baked in garlic, oven roasted Brussels sprouts in olive oil and herbs, soy chunks baked in ketjap manis, with onions and carrots in gravy sauce, jerusalem artichoke steamed and baked in cashew cream with parsley. Et voilà! 🙂 View this post on Instagram A bit more fancy dinner for #worldveganday! 👌☺ Tower with layers of: – Chards with cream cheese and chopped …
restaurant review #114 – Agua del Mar is one of the two restaurants in the Kursaal of Ostend, with a nice view on the beach promenade and the North sea. We originally planned on going to the other restaurant, situated above Agua del Mar, the Ostend Queen, as we had seen in this facebook post that they offer a gastronomical vegan menu. Unfortunately, since the beginning of 2017, Ostend Queen has stopped taking reservations for smaller parties (only reservations for groups of 25 and more!). When telephoning to make a reservation, we were assured that we could just as well have a vegan menu at Agua del Mar (always a vegan option standardly available), and that it is the same chef for the two restaurants, and that he could also come up with a vegan suggestion a la minute. So we were happy to make the reservation at Agua del Mar! (Update see below) We were here for lunch on a Saturday. Despite it being a school holiday week, there weren’t that many tables occupied (besides ourselves, …
restaurant review #104 – Lof is the restaurant in Sandton Grand Hotel Reylof, in the center of Ghent (about 10 min walk from Korenmarkt). We were here a couple of weeks ago with vegan friends. I had seen this place mentioned a couple of times online, and also knew of a vegan friend who had been here before, that restaurant Lof serves a vegan menu. It is also advertised on Lof’s website. I made an online reservation and specified that we all wanted a vegan menu. Before visiting, I telephoned to check whether the reservation was noted (vegan menu?) and it was said to be no problem! The restaurant is situated in a lovely spacious dining room, nicely decorated. It feels trendy and hip, but stylish at the same time. Adjacent is a nice lounge bar. The restaurant is quite big though, and as more and more people came in, the accoustics were a bit ‘loud’. We were seated at a round table, with two of us having comfortable chairs, the other two sitting on a bench, which was …
The Bruges Vegan 