Debra

Forget half measures! After shaking up Ghent with the likes of J.E.F. and Aroy Aroy, Jason Blanckaert isn’t rising from the ashes – he’s setting them ablaze with Debra! Discerning diners will remember Flemish Foodie, the red-hot collective he led alongside Olly Ceulenaere and Kobe Desramaults, which set the culinary scene ablaze a few years ago. Now, the crew is back, this time teaming up with chef Gilles Bogaert (ex- Bar Bask ) to create a fiery restaurant out in Ghent’s Patershol neighborhood. It’s a chic little hideout, where Tatiana Geysen, Hannes Verniers, Benoit Brocorens and Jelle Devijver keep a close eye on things: cozy tables up front, a snug bar made for sharing secrets and a more intimate space at the back. The promise? Cuisine brimming with wild ambition and which packs a punch with every plate: luxurious langoustine tartare on toast pimped up with shellfish oil made from the heads, which landed with the same audacity as the deceptively simple glazed eel; then a generous chunk of monkfish, wrapped in an unexpected seaweed crust and elevated by a beurre blanc sauce, served with morels and fava beans; and for the grand finale… oysters and champagne. What a tour de force! · Euphemia Prynne