I was not into chocolate desserts until I had the chocolate caramel souffle with fleur de sel, vanilla ice cream and olive oil at Soma. This cozy fine dining restaurant sits rights in the beating heart of Antwerp but you will probably just walk past it because it’s not in a lot of tourist guides. I try not to misuse the term hidden gem but in this case I’m very happy to…

Frédéric Castro and Adriana Zafiris are life and business partners and they work their magic in both serving you and making the most intensely flavored, well seasoned dishes. I have no idea how they alternate and get the job done but I find it a true pleasure to discover the cooking talent and hospitality mindset of them both. Cuisine à quatre mains in other words…

They offer an à la carte formula that you can turn into your own 3 or 4-course menu. On the plate, a combination of Colombian, French, Belgian and Greek inspirations – that’s where the roots of this couple originate. They change the menu to the rhythm of the seasons, but there are two crowd favorites that are always available. The chocolate souffle that I mentioned earlier and the fried foie gras with puffed onion, Banyuls sauce and kataifi crunch. It is such a crowd-pleaser that it sometimes gets ordered as a dessert as well!

Tables fill up quickly, reserving ahead is highly recommended!