is a must for foodies and cocktail lovers. In the heart of the Chatelain, the place has a Gatsby-like vibe, with smart interiors made of dark green-greyish walls, elegant couches and warm opaline globe light fixtures. Perfect for a night out with friends or a romantic evening. But let’s talk food.
Chef Paul-Antoine Bertin (whom you might remember from the Voo tv ads!) embraces the trend of “food to share” (Humphrey, Crab Club, etc) and it’s almost indecent that someone who’s only 21 years old can be so damn talented. By the way, ötap is a small sweet and delicate cookie from the Philippines so it comes as no surprise that the dishes served at Ötap are just as delicate. No detail is left to chance. The menu is seasonal and divided into ‘appetizers’, ‘meat’, ‘fish’, ‘sides’ and ‘desserts’. The small mezze-like dishes are meant to be shared -around 4-5 each, but no one will blame you if, like Joey Tribbiani, you don’t share food…
On our little family excursion, we tried the lukewarm Breton Artichokes served with a mustard vinaigrette. A tad too hard for my taste, but fresh and yummy all in all. The sea bream ceviche was more of a tartar than a Peruvian style ceviche, as the latter usually has a lot more ‘leche de tigre’ sauce. The codfish papillote is served with leek and spring onions and a heavenly umiboshi sauce. The homemade falafel were perfect but I would say my favorite picks came from the ‘sides’ list. The ricotta-stuffed zucchini flowers were smokey and absolutely delicious. Don’t recommend you share that one… The variety of broccoli were very surprising. A definite must, too. But at 7-12€ for a side/appetizer, 10-15€ for a meat/fish plate and 9€ a dessert, the final bill doesn’t come cheap. So be sure you take one of the perfect cocktails prepared by the mixologist to appease the effect. The ‘peach bull’ with sage, white peaches, elderflower and bourbon is my kind of drink, but many praise the shiso wasabi Gin & Tonic.
ÖTAP, 10 Place Albert Leemans, 1050 Ixelles, Open Tue-Sat from 4pm to 11pm
