Antwerp : Upper room bar restaurant at The Jane
Sergio Herman is the Chef who rocks at the moment. Former chef of Oud Sluis (3*), he owns the 2 Belgian coolest culinary scenes: The Jane and Pure c. And I must say that Sergio is very talented and smart.
He successfully created The Jane, the most glamorous and trendiest restaurant in Belgium, daring settling down his kitchen in a former Chapel decorated by Piet Boon where he offers high quality cuisine, together with his right hand chef Nick Bril.
At the Mezzanine, you will find the Upper Room Bar, where you can taste some of the delicious tapas, crazy cocktails and special beers while enjoying the view overlooking the huge PSLAB chandelier.
All this takes place in a unique setting – especially for a Michelin starred chef! – where the music is played by trendy DJs, and the atmosphere has a fragrant scent of incense. Both floors are divine places where each dish has fun and delicate flavors exhausted by Sergio Herman’s visual genius. Overall, the details of fun and one-of-a-kind decoration (stained glasses with tattoo inspirations, giant skull-shaped neon light …) this original place promises you a unique evening, where gastronomy meets show, and will take you on an extraordinary journey.
Food lovers who likewise appreciate good design may want to bookmark The Jane restaurant in Belgium, after it was named the Best Overall Restaurant at the seventh edition of the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards in London Thursday night.
Diners at The Jane will recognize its past as the chapel of a former military hospital in the architectural skeleton of the building, with its second-story balcony, soaring stained glass windows and towering dome.
But in place of pews, saints and crucifixes, the Dutch designers at Piet Boon hung an illuminating skull from the ceiling; inserted window panes featuring plates of drumsticks, hardboiled eggs and smiling sunflowers; and replaced uncomfortable wood benches with leather sofas and chaises.
And where once priests worshipped upon the altar, chef Sergio Herman — who helmed the now shuttered, triple Michelin-starred restaurant Oud Sluis in the Netherlands — cooks in a glass-enclosed kitchen.
Other big winners at the RBDA include Australia’s Archie Rose Distilling Co. for Best International Bar, and the Tom Dixon-designed Dandelyan at the Mondrian Hotel in London, which won the title of Best Overall Bar with its green marble bar and flamingo pink, leather banquettes.
Less than a year after opening, head bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana also snagged the title of International Bartender of the Year for his botanics-inspired concoctions at the industry event Tales of the Cocktail.
At the seventh edition of the awards, a panel of judges made up of chefs, hoteliers, designers, editors and general tastemakers looked at more than 860 submissions from 70 countries.
Recognizable names include Marcus Wareing, Yannick Alleno and Martin Kemp, among dozens of others.
Food and beverage spaces eligible for consideration include ships, airports, museums, food trucks, pop-ups and traditional dining establishments.
