The story
Jayu is a Korean restaurant at Rue de Flandre 19 in Brussels, rated 14 by Gault&Millau in 2026. Twelve guests sit at a wooden bar for a twelve-act tasting menu from Belgian-Korean chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre.
Degeimbre, also behind L'Air du temps, Anju and Correspondance, built the menu from walks through Insadong, a meeting with the monk Jeong Kwan and memories brought home from Korea. The restaurant says it does not serve "typical" dishes. It pairs flavours found only in Korea with ingredients grown nearby. Sylvain Claes and Quentin Gilot, both from L'Air du temps, cook at the counter.
Le Fooding listed Jayu in 2026 and singled out several plates. Red mullet comes bouillabaisse-style, in a fish stock with gochujang and anise hyssop. A cacio e pepe becomes noodles in kimchi jus with daikon and Petrossian caviar. The finale is kkwabaegi, a Korean twisted donut, swirled through purple shiso emulsion. Acts carry names such as Kissed by Nature, Green, Greens and Bansang.
The space once housed San, and later Vertige. It now has dimly lit alcoves, a beaded curtain and a bar with a full view of the kitchen. Maître d' Cyril Moreau works the floor. The evening runs about 120 minutes, and each seating starts on the dot, so latecomers can miss key moments.
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Knock, knock, knock! The curtain rises on the latest venture from Belgian-Korean chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre ( Air du temps , Anju , Correspondance), who has transformed the small space that used to house his restaurant San (and later Vertige), to create the intimate setting for Jayu: dimly lit alcoves, a beaded curtain and a twelve-seater wooden bar with a full view of the performance. Here, maître d’ Cyril Moreau (formerly a chef on luxury yachts) plays opposite chefs Sylvain Claes and Quentin Gilot (both from L’Air du temps) in a twelve-course choreography: flamboyant red mullet served bouillabaisse-style, in fish stock laced with gochujang and anise hyssop; daring cacio e pepe, Koreanized as noodles coated in a kimchi jus with daikon raddish and Petrossian caviar; and umami-esque rehydrated shiitake mushrooms paired with anise hyssop and sancho pepper. The show-stopping finale? The scene-stealing kkwabaegi (Korean twisted donut), to be swirled through a purple shiso emulsion – it’ll blow your mind! · Carole Scarole
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