Yes, we finally did it! Have dinner in The Jane. Be it in the Upper Room Bar, not (yet) the restaurant itself.
It was a tough job getting a reservation to The Jane which opened its doors early 2014. The in the meantime famous Dutch chefs Nick Bril and Sergio Herman are the tandem behind this concept. Sergio Herman, well known for his restaurant Pure C and Oud Sluis, the latter meantime closed and ‘replaced’ with The Jane and last but not least famous for his personal expression ‘sex on a plate’. Shortly after our visit, The Jane received its first Michelin star. Pretty impressive after being open for less than a year.
And was it worth it? Definitely so. The location, the interior, the food. All together an experience you want to go through at least once in a long while. We’ll definitely try out the restaurant itself at some point in time!
The location: the chapel of the former military hospital in Antwerp. When you walk towards the chapel you’ll think it used to be more a church than a chapel. It’s pretty impressive, already from the outside.
The interior: designed by Pieter Boon and also quite impressive. Downstairs a very stylish restaurant with the open kitchen in the back. Up the Upper Room Bar which is a mezzanine overlooking the restaurant and has a massive bar where you can see the spectacle of chefs applying the finishing touches to the gorgeous dishes that have been prepared by the kitchen downstairs. For a larger group, they also have a high table in a nook of the bar. What sticks with you is the impressive chandelier on the same level as the mezzanine hanging over the open restaurant, the ceiling as it looks like it was not renovated – it obviously has been kept in its old state in a very smart way, the diamant skull on the wall above the kitchen and the glass windows that have many little skulls blasted in them.
The food: the Upper Room Bar serves 14 à la carte small dishes of which you order a couple. Some of the dishes are meant to be shared. For larger groups the waiter will propose you a ‘menu’ but don’t feel obliged – if you want to try them all you can 😉 All dishes were nicely presented and delicious – the one a bit more taste bomb than the other. But obviously all interesting and yummie and definitely worth a try!
We look forward to our visit to the restaurant itself – once we can get a reservation that is. Both the restaurant and the bar are open for reservation 3 months in advance. And of course, following the opening and now probably also following the Michelin star, you need a lot of tries and a lot of patience. But…go for it as it’s not the average day food experience so spoil yourself to this special treat for sure!
THE JANE
Where | Site ‘t Groen Kwartier – Paradeplein 1 – 2018 Antwerp
Open | Tue – Sat
Closed | sunday & Monday & Belgian Bank holidays
Shots & Bites 