shop
EN | Even the exterior of Oficina sets your mouth watering. With its little urban terrasse, this new establishment on Aalststraat/rue d’Alost will take your taste buds on a journey. You would think you were in Salvador da Bahia, Spain, Italy... The interior entirely lives up to the facade. Once again, we owe this off-the-wall decor to...Frédéric Nicolay. Unlike the giants he has brought us in the past (Belga comes to mind), Oficina is an intimate setting, as one can see in an abundance of decorative touches: a bench made of reclaimed wood, granito, a blackboard, hessian chairs, a wooden ceiling, mirrors to give depth to the space... A formal atmosphere dominates; cool reigns. This cool is ensured by a brilliant duo: Orry Sterckx in the kitchen and Sanne Van Camp, partner of Humphrey’s Yannick Van Aeken, front of house. The menu, written in chalk on the blackboard, is fairly simple. Made up of five or six “salads” and ten or so “dishes”, it is all based on creative combinations of flavours which alter the usual routines. For example, the excellent Burrata, fennel, and orange (€8.50) restores sharpness and freshness to a cheese that is often served too milky. Equally impressive is the unprecedented combination of feta, beetroot, and watercress (€8.50). The earthy notes of the beetroot are counteracted beautifully in this dish, creating a remarkably well-rounded composition. As a “main course”, insofar as there is such a thing here, we chose garlic and tarragon mussels (€17), a tad expensive, but also delicious and never seen on other menus. The choice of wines is on a par with the rest, such as the Viñátigo Negramoll (€8 a glass), a vintage from Tenerife whose waxy nose and tannin undertones make it a huge success.
dille & kamille Home sweet home
© saskia vanderstichele
FR | Dès l’extérieur, Oficina met l’eau à la bouche. Avec sa petite terrasse urbaine, cette nouvelle adresse de la rue d’Alost emmène les papilles en voyage. L’intérieur est à la hauteur de la façade. On doit ce décor décalé à... Frédéric Nicolay, encore lui. Après les récents Crab Club, Humphrey, Grand Central, Angelina et Liberté Egalité Poulet, l’homme ajoute une flèche décorative à son carquois. Au contraire des paquebots qu’il a signé par le passé – on pense au Belga -, Oficina s’affiche intimiste. La grammaire décorative abonde dans ce sens : banquette de bois récupérée, granito, tableau noir, chaises en toile de jute, plafond en bois, miroirs pour donner de la profondeur... Le formel est dominé par un esprit cool assuré par un bon tandem : Orry Sterckx en cuisine et Sanne Van Camp en salle. La carte est plutôt réduite. Elle se divise en 5-6 « salads » et une petite dizaine de « dishes ». Le tout repose sur des associations créatives de saveurs qui changent des habituelles routines. Par exemple ? L’excellente burrata-fenouil-orange (8,50 euros) qui met de l’acidité et de la fraîcheur au coeur d’un fromage servi trop souvent laiteux. Idem pour la rencontre inédite entre féta, betterave et cresson (8,50 euros). La proposition enthousiasme en ce qu’elle évite les notes terreuses de la betterave au profit d’un accord étonnamment rond. En guise de « plat », si ce mot a encore un sens ici, on retient des moules ail et estragon (17 euros), un poil chères, mais là aussi délicieuse et jamais vues sur d’autres cartes. Le fin du fin ? Les suggestions vin qui sont à la hauteur du reste, à l’image du Viñátigo Negramoll (8 euros le verre), jus de Tenerife dont le nez de cire et les tannins fondus font un malheur.
EN | The Dutch chain Dille & Kamille has opened its second Brussels store
in a 17th-century building on the Grasmarkt/rue du Marché aux Herbes. You even get to walk along an authentic medieval passageway. Dille & Kamille started as a Dutch, family-run company in the 1970s, and gradually became a permanent fixture for home, garden, and kitchenware. It is one of those shops full of little bits and bobs for all budgets that you always leave with more in your shopping basket than you initially intended. The shops exude craftsmanship and simplicity. In short, all the ingredients for the good life. Whether you are growing your own plants, making your own fresh pasta, setting a gastronomical table in style, or making jam the way grandma used to. In the future, the range of foods will be expanded with local products. The eye-catcher in the building is undoubtedly the dome with stained glass at the back of the shop. Let yourself be drawn to the coffee corner by the smell of freshly baked cake. At Dille & Kamille, everything is about sharing and hospitality. You can almost literally feel at home here when you install yourself with the newspaper (and even a laptop) and cup of coffee at the wooden table in the shop. You want to take all this cosiness home? Take some scoops of your favourite tea home with you in a bag. By opting for bulk, you can also make an ecologically conscious choice. The shop will soon host regular workshops on crafts and cooking. With ••••• the classical music on the background, shopping at Grasmarkt 36 rue du Marché aux Herbes, Brussel/Bruxelles, 02-669.30.01, Dille & Kamille is always www.dille-kamille.be an enjoyable me-moment. 7/7, 10 > 19.00 Hilke Andries
dille & kamille
bruzz 19