Restaurant Couvert Couvert - Heverlee

Restaurant Couvert Couvert has 1 Michelin star and it is run by the Folmer brothers, who were both trained as pastry chefs. The restaurant is located in Heverlee, just outside Leuven. Here's the restaurant as seen from the street.

The entrance is through the back, with a bucolic sight of cows grazing in the pastures. During summer time, the outdoor terrace must be fun.

As we approached, the lady manager came to open the door and welcomed us with a smile and quickly took care of our jackets. Here's the entrace: on the way to the dining room, one can have a look at the kitchen.

Sober Scandinavian minimalist design with all-white walls and soft lights. The restaurant was quite empty; in total only 4 tables were occupied.

The view from our table:

Food

Interestingly for a Saturday lunch, the whole menu was available, from à la carte to the 6 course Menu dégustation. We opted for the 3-course Menu Couvert Couvert. For the main course, we both selected the fish dish. Since I forgot to snap a photo of the menu, the descriptions will be quite basic this time.

Nibbles: some super thin savory sticks

Amuses bouches

Daikon & mackerel, Cheese pastry, Beef & green cabbage

River shrimps and beets in a lemongrass-beet bouillon - which was disappointing, too sweet and the lemongrass flavor was barely discernible.

Bread, Greek olive oil, butter from Brittany

Appetizers

Bonito, avocado and smoked bouillon

Sot-l'y-laisse (chicken "oyster"), beets and lemon

Entrée

Wild fish, sweet chestnut, parsley roots, mushroom sauce

Dessert

Baked apples, meringue, apple-mint sorbet

Chocolate ice cream, banana, lemon curd

Mignardises

Earl Grey marshmallows, souffle, warm chocolate with ice cream, fruit compote.

Overall, a pleasant meal in a relaxed atmosphere. The food was good, except for the shrimps & beets appetizer, and the desserts were superb. A selection of breads would have been nice, perhaps this is available at dinner time ? We did not wait for more than 5 minutes between each course and service was attentive, partially thanks to the presence of the manager and 2 waiters for only 9-10 diners.

Restaurant Couvert Couvert
171,Sint-Jansbergsesteenweg, 3001 Heverlee
http://www.couvertcouvert.be

La Manufacture Restaurant - Brussels

La Manufacture is about 10 minutes walk from Place Sainte-Catherine on the sleepy Notre Dame du Sommeil street.

The building used to house a printworks and afterwards a Delvaux leather factory. When the latter moved to a much cheaper location, the place was renovated into a restaurant. A photograph at the entrance shows Delvaux employees working the leather inside La Manufacture.

The interior is quite original, with soft lighting, dark woods and leather chairs. The brick walls, metal staircase leading to the first floor (which was unoccupied that evening) and the pillars gave a unique factory feeling.

We opted for the 3-course Menu clin d'oeil ("wink menu" according to their English menu). We were given four small breads and butter. Oddly, the salt on the table was in the same plastic container as sold in supermarkets.

Starters

Aiguillettes de Bœuf Mariné à la Graine de Moutarde et Dill (Marinated Beef Slices with Mustard Seed and Dill )

Gaspacho Andalou à l’Huile de Pistaches, Avocat et Crevettes (Andalusian Gaspacho with Pistachio oil, Avocado and Shrimps)

Main dish

Magret de Canard Mulard au Citron et 2 Olives (Mulard Duck Breast with Lemon and 2 Olives)

Escalope de Saumon au Gingembre (Salmon Escalope with Ginger)

Dessert

Corolle de sorbets (Assorted Homemade Sorbets)

Parfait Glacé Meringué au Gingembre et Noix de Coco (Frozen Meringue Parfait with Ginger and Coconut)

That was a very good dinner and every single dish was enjoyable. The amount of food was just perfect, we were full without being stuffed. The young waiters were efficient, and the wait between each course was a reasonable 5 minutes. As we left, an employee gave us back our jackets, opened the door for us and said goodbye. Recommended restaurant.

Restaurant La Manufacture
Rue Notre Dame du Sommeil 12
1000 Bruxelles