I love the name of this restaurant, de Vitrine, a glass cabinet to display your collection of whatever you collect. It evokes for me Edmund de Waal’s memoir The Hare with Amber Eyes. de Waal is the English ceramic artist who wrote a best-selling memoir that centres around a valuable collection of Japanese netsuke that survived enemy occupation of the family home in the second world war and finally bequeathed to him by an uncle.
This small restaurant in Ghent is the city presence of Kobe Desramault’s restaurant in the country town of Dranouter between Ghent and the north coast of Belgium. In De Wulf is now on my list of restaurants to visit next trip to Europe. Desramault is the youngest Belgian chef ever to be awarded a Michelin Star and in my experience one star is the best star of all, chef is always striving and the cost is never likely to be outrageously expensive.
But back to de Vitrine, set in an old butcher shop in an area described to us by locals when trying to find it as ‘dodgy’. So when we arrived early for lunch we took a walk around the area and found the ‘dodgy’ description means lovely underwear clad ladies standing or sitting in windows and doorways, so reminiscent of the red light district of Amsterdam.
Out of the small kitchen came our first starter of smoked cod, kohlrabi and tarragon
followed by grilled courgette cucumber, dill and bacon.
Juicy lamb shoulder with asparagus and goats cheese cream.
A sensational combination to end our meal of white chocolate and yoghourt, purslane, celery granita. Under the yoghourt and white chocolate confection an egg yolk that had been frozen for 12 hours and then given the brulee torch, the garnish is toasted barley.
The egg yolk revealed.
Coffee and chocolate ended our meal.
Good value we felt – three courses €33 or four courses €45
The bad news (for me) is I missed the event at Garagistes in Hobart where Kobe came to cook – here is a link to read more about it. Savour Tasmania
Anyone planning a trip to Ghent – you can book online http://www.de-vitrine.be.
Address: Brabantdam 134, Ghent Tel 09 336 28 08
Tastetravel 
#1 by Paule Caillat on July 19, 2013 - 1:38 pm
Roz, I have always wanted to go to In de Wulf, now Gent will do. So much closer for us than for you, yet you beat us to it.
xo Paule
#2 by tastetravel on July 20, 2013 - 10:07 pm
I would also recommend Volta in Ghent and I will do a post on that restaurant soon. One day we will go back to experience In de Wulf, the restaurant has accommodation so we will drive there and stay a night. Roz
#3 by Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on July 22, 2013 - 3:11 am
What a great meal and at a really good price too! I’ve never been to Belgium too! 🙂