An absolutely unique dining experience at No. 36 of the world, where the chef is also a DJ at Tomorrowland: Restaurant The Jane (19. July 2024)
I have been looking to dine at ‘The Jane’ for quite a few years, but somehow, every time I went to Tomorrowland, I was too late to book a table, and it was booked out already. This time I knew early, and I booked my table in January, resp. wrote them an email that I want to dine them in July. And I got lucky – and it started very promising. There is one tasting menu called “Jane’s Flavours” (EUR 295.00) and you don’t get to pick it. It’s that, or nothing. But you’re free to chose if you want the wine pairing, “Jane’s Inimitables” (EUR 150.00) or not, and, of course, I had to give it a try.
The evening starts with a dish prepared at your table with a hot coal and the bonito is charred with it …
… to serve you a “bonito, fermented strawberry, binchotan, kamiel, verbena”, which is absolutely refreshing and a lovely way to get into the dinner. The green strawberries really add to the dish and the bonito is delicious.
But it gets even better with the next bite, which resembles sushi a bit. The “mackerel, amae-ebi, umeboshi, koshihikari, wasabi” was outstandingly delicious. When you eat it, there is a whole party going on in your mouth – a party of deliciousness and flavour. Truly something, which makes your tastebuds dance.
Next in line was “West-Vlaams rood, burrata, sorghum, spruce, smoked eel”, which was also rather delicious. I hadn’t really put down Antwerp as a seafood city (although, it does make sense given it’s a port city), but I do admit the amuse bouches were exquisite.
As a next course, you would get some “bread, smoked butter, salted butter, olive oil, sea salt”, which was nice. Both butters were rather intense, so, definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but I must admit, I loved it. The smokey butter was delicious, and so was the salted butter. The olive oil was of good quality and went perfectly with the sea salt.
Then it was time for the last amuse bouche, a “sea urchin flan, ginger, yacón, North Sea crab, celeriac”, which was absolutely nice. The combination of the smoothness of the flan with the crunchiness of the celeriac was great – and flavourwise, the crab with the sea urchin was a strong combination of happiness in your mouth.
Next in line was the “hamachi ‘dry-aged’, langoustine, vanilla, green asparagus, rhubarb”, which I liked quite a lot. The smoothness of the flan at the bottom with the slight sweetness of the rhubarb ‘soup’ and the langoustine was exquisite.
However, the second part of the dish, the “hamachi ‘dry-aged’, Japanese mustard, black sesame, sea weed” was much more than that – to me, this was mindblowingly delicious. The moment you get the combination of flavours on your tastebud, it’s just outstanding. The intensity, the refinedness, the aromas – just beautiful.
I was not so sure what to think of the “Salmon Loch Duart, razor clam, shiso, zucchini, vin jaune”, but I must say, the razor clams added really a nice textural element to the dish and gave it a bit more of a bite. The salmon was nice, no question, but personally, it was lacking that ‘special’ by its own. However, in combination with the other flavours, it worked more than perfectly. What I totally loved with this dish, and quite a few others, is the fact that they leave the saucier on your table, and you get to enjoy more of the sauce if you want to – and they are amazingly tasty.
Usually, I find mullet rather dull, however, the “red mullet, squid, saffron, aubergine, Stoffels tomato” turned out to be surprisingly good. I enjoyed the combination of flavours and textures, and even the cooked tomato (usually, something I don’t entirely enjoy) was great.
Next in line was the “European lobster, sweet onion, leek, artichoke, lovage”, which was served as a tartlet as the first part of the dish. And while it was a bit big to be eaten in one bite, it was actually lovely.
What really worked a charm was the second part of the dish, the “European lobster, grey shrimp, béarnaise, spinach”. The sauce was based on the lobster remains, and was absolutely mouthwatering. Also here, luckily, they left the saucier.
The main course was an interesting choice. You don’t get chicken too often as a main course these days anymore, so, I was rather curious how this would turn out to be. The “Bresse chicken, girolle, turnip, Herve, ramson, hay” was actually full of flavour and truly enjoyable. What I enjoyed is that they used every bit of the chicken, so the little thing you can see on top of it is chicken skin – and it was delicious.
The second part of the course was “Bresse chicken, cappellacci, Madeira, truffle”, which was incredibly intense in flavour. Something I absolutely loved – however, I can imagine that it is way too intense for quite a few people, because it is truly intense in flavour, but delicious.
And the third part of the menu was the “brioche prepared in chicken fat with chicken butter and chicken skin crumbles”. So, basically chicken with chicken with chicken. And while it almost sounded a bit perverted, it was delicious. Pure sin in terms of calories, but let me tell you, that was something worth commiting a sin for.
The first dessert was “matcha, kiwi, Granny Smith, black garlic, kohlrabi”, of which I had forgotten to take a picture. But it was actually lovely. Kohlrabi ice cream is not necessarily an ‘intuitive’ choice, however, it turned out to be quite amazing really. It was refreshing, but didn’t have the herbal flavour of kohlrabi too much, and in combination with the sourness of the Granny Smith and the sweetness of the kiwi, it turned out to be an incredibly well-balanced dessert.
The second dessert that evening was the “Nocturne, beetroot, Nevado, hazelnut, muscovado”, which was also rather enjoyable. Personally, a bit too much on the chocolate side of things, but definitely enjoyable.
The “cheese selection” (+ EUR 30) was nice – and what I liked most, was the fact that they actually listened to my comments that I prefer cheese, which is on the stronger side of flavours – and they made sure that there were no ‘boring’ cheeses.
In combination with the honey from the honey comb, it was truly a perfect ending to a marvelous dining experience.
Besides the absolutely outstanding dining experience, they do everything right in terms of overall experience – the place is located in a former church and has been remodelled to fit a fine dining restaurant. It’s absolutely gorgeous and you cannot stop looking at the ceiling and the chandelier.
On top of that, the staff is truly amazing – and that is true for every single waiter and waitress that evening including the sommelier. I loved that they had mentally saved the information that I prefer red wine for the wine pairing, and for the main course, they served three different red wines instead of just one – and that was just amazing. Because the wines were outstanding, the fact that they really pay attention in the beginning, and that they would go out of their ways to make something like that happen was just absolutely lovely.
Last but not least, the place also looks lovely from the outside. And the absolute surprise was when the chef himself showed up in the very end, mentioning he just came from Tomorrowland, and will be DJ-ing there the next day. I didn’t make it to Tomorrowland in time to listen to the Day Break Sessions, but definitely superbly cool. And, everyone was just friendly, relaxed, up for a conversation – it was marvellous!
To me, The Jane is not on the cheap side of things, but let me tell you, it’s definitely worth dining here – the food experience is outstanding, the staff is marvellous, and the interior is beautiful. Make sure to book your table a good 6 months in advance, though. So, this is, in my experience, definitely a place one has to go back to to experience it again, and again.
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Contact Details:
Restaurant The Jane
Paradeplein 1
2018 Antwerpen (BE)
Tel.: +32 38 08 44 65
E-Mail: contact@thejaneantwerp.com
Homepage: http://www.thejaneantwerp.com
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
