Brussels’ Humus & Hortense is ‘world’s best vegan restaurant’

Humus & Hortense in Ixelles was named the Best Vegan Restaurant in the World at the We’re Smart Taste Summit in Amsterdam yesterday. It also came in number seven on the list of Best Vegetable Restaurants in the World, an assessment of all restaurants’ use of veggies.

Flemish chef Nicolas Decloedt’s dishes are inspired by healthy creativity,” says We’re Smart. “They are fresh and light, rich in taste and completely in the spirit of the times. He works with herbs and vegetables from his own garden and from local producers and serves local beers and natural cocktails and wines.”

Decloedt (pictured) was also named Vegetable Chef of the Year by Gault&Millau last autumn. Before opening Humus & Hortense in 2017, he had trained in some of Belgium’s finest restaurants, including In de Wulf, Bon Bon and Le chalet de la Forêt.

Seasonal only

The secret of Humus & Hortense’s success, he told Het Laatste Nieuws last year, is that “we work only with seasonal produce. Everything is organic and local, from suppliers who we trust. The wine is also from organic farmers, and even the interior is as natural as possible.”

We’re Smart is based in Belgium and is dedicated to providing guidance for ecological and sustainable approaches to food. Along with its annual awards, it produces a digital Smart Green Guide to help consumers find restaurants in 38 countries across the world that put sustainability, vegetables and organics first.

Three more Belgian restaurants came in the top 10 of Best Vegetable Restaurants in the World: Vrijmoed in Ghent is at number two, Graanmarkt 13 in Antwerp is at number five, and Arabelle Meirlaen in Marchin is at number eight. Number one on the list is Xavier Pellicer in Barcelona.

Photo courtesy Humus & Hortense/Facebook