Revisit - Restaurant The Chick (Mechelen-Belgium) floats on higher spheres

Our editor in chief Wim De Schutter is a passionate foodie who has visited more than 1000 restaurants both at home and abroad. He loves honest and accessible food concepts as well as fine dining with a good glass of wine. The world of food & wine is his favorite playground that he continues to discover every day. He likes to share his experiences and his best addresses with you.

Under the impetus of a zealous city council, Mechelen has undergone a veritable metamorphosis. The once-sleepy provincial town has grown into an attractive, beautiful and dynamic entity. The hotel and catering industry in Mechelen is growing along with it. One of the pioneers in this story are the men and women behind The Chick. Mehdi Mathlouthi, co-owner and entrepreneur from Mechelen, together with partner Elsje Van den Bogaert, moulds their restaurant into a gastronomic pearl.

The story of The Chick began a few years ago before the first corona waves to their story. It seems like an eternity ago. Other times sport they would say in Holland. Behind the team of The Chick is a dynamic team of Mechelen entrepreneurs who were able to get their hands on a beautiful historic building in the, literally, shadow of the Saint Rombout Tower. In 2017, the Mechelen church factory sold the congregation chapel and the adjoining Canons’ residence. With a lot of diligent work, the entire building was converted into an architectural gem. The restaurant is located on the ground floor in a large open space where the kitchen team also gets a central role. Later in the evening you can take the stairs to The Cellar where the cheeses of the famous Mechelen affineur Schockaert are maturing for tasting with the better glass.

The Chick 2.0

Today, however, we had come to assess back the cuisine of The Chick. Shortly after its opening, we were guests once before. In the then concept of The Chick, the chicken, whether of Malines origin or not, played a prominent role. Nomen est omen. Yet they soon felt that their concept rather limited than that it gave them wings. Pun intended. Today they resolutely pull the card of the refined gastronomy according to Mehdi Mathlouthi with the absolute ambition to make steps in this and to climb. Of course we were more than curious to experience this at first hand.

Our diligent host Mehdi, once seated at the low dining tables with a beautiful view of the rest of the place, comes to tell us that from now on we can leave the daily stress behind. That seems to us a good plan. It is reinforced by the approach of the team. Here no stress of choice of an overcrowded menu but hand over the keys of your taste buds to the team of The Chick. The only choice that arises is whether we want to taste the chef’s signature dish and whether we want to add Schockaert’s cheeses. We already indulged in the former, for the cheese we’ll gladly return another time, at The Cellar.

Fresh openers and beautiful wine suggestions

With the aperitif, a Negroni made to order and a nice sharp sour cocktail, we were served some tasty bites of Iberico Bellota and anchovies with vadouvan. Excellent opener. Before the banquet could start, the chef gave us two more bites: a beautiful Fine Claire oyster with fresh granite Hierbas. Full hit. The accompanying chicken club called ‘CFC Chicken Tandoori’ may, despite the nice packaging, be scrapped from us. Not surprising enough in terms of taste especially in combination with the refined oyster.

Mehdi, who in addition to being a business owner also has a tremendous passion for wine, then arrived with a first beautiful wine. A South African Chardonnay but ‘not as we know them’ . Here he drew the card of the domain Kruger – nothing to do with the park of the same name – with their wine ‘Walker Bay‘. Johan Kruger does have some letters of nobility: in 2005 he became Young South-African winemaker of the year and gained a lot of experience in Burgundy. Kruger, married to a Belgian, provides a fresh Chardonnay with this wine made in the cool climate side of South Africa.

Flavor bombs with respect for product

This would prove ideal with the first dish the Steak Sandwich. A delicious Ciabatta sandwich with raw and fried tartare of prawn, txogitxu sirloin steak, fresh granny smith and lumpfish eggs. Wow, just thinking back on it now makes my mouth water again. This dish is worth a detour, as they would say in Michelin: the crispness of the bread combined with the creaminess of the tartare. Great!

The kitchen team immediately comes up with a new surprise: Mussels! Yes, it’s the season of mussels but of course here they come with a ferme twist. Not only does the whole thing present itself as a picture, the espuma of beurre noisette that accompanies young mussels literally and figuratively makes you lick your fingers. That’s what the dish is for: a delicious dip and drip fest!

For the next dish, Mehdi will once again source the wine from one of his favorite regions; Burgundy. Maison Chanzy brings with this Rully and Rosey 2020 a delicious wine that will give the necessary ‘fatness’ and gastronomic feeling to the open ravioli of oxtail. This dish is another absolute flavor bomb. The ravioli is beautifully al dente, comes with a deep flavor from the oxtail meat but still contains a beautiful acidity due to the compote of blackberry that is underneath these layers. Danger of being spooned out!

Mehdi then comes to surprise us with the news that the chef has provided another intermediate dish that was not on the menu. We then get excited about that. Especially since the 100% vegetable dish is flavored in such a way that it doesn’t require fish or meat. Nice contre-pied of the team!

Time to bring in the main courses. Starting with a beautiful piece of sea bass, perfectly cooked, with a succulent beurre blanc and compote of roasted sardines and baby fennel. Once again, the team shows its culinary prowess in the combination of the sour, salty and sweet.

And then the fireworks had yet to begin, even though some serious arrows had already been fired. The ‘creative chef’ Taha Oulichki, who had the opportunity to work at Likoké for four years under the wings of Piet Huysentruyt, came to our table to proudly present his signature dish: langoustine twice different. This dish is served at the table with a tartare of langoustine on the one hand and a home-made ice cream with dashi on the other hand. The combination of raw and fried langoustine works brilliantly. And above all, once again they let the product speak for itself in all its splendor. This is a signature dish for a reason!

To close out the wondrous evening, one rightly knows at The Chick, that dessert is perhaps one of the most important courses. In the end, it’s the final chord that lingers at the end. Driven by pastry chef Tom Arijs (ex Auberge Napoleon and The Glorious), a delicious tompouce with cheesecake and sherbet of raspberry is served. My partner then goes overstag for the cheeses of Schockaert. Both again an unadulterated hit.

Conclusion

The Chick has taken advantage of the corona period to kick their restaurant experience into fifth gear. Away from the better chicken work, enter the refined gastronomy. Host Mehdi turns out to be not only a passionate sommelier, with an eye for delicious matching wines, but also a driven entrepreneur. Together with his partner, hostess and entrepreneur Elsje, he put together a team of young culinary talents from the better culinary houses (‘t Zilte, Likoké, The Glorious). The ‘leading chef’ Ruben Van Sandvoet shows his full skills together with these talents. This results in a deliciously refined gastronomic experience that shows regularity throughout the service and excels in a number of top dishes. The combination of working with quality products together with innovative flavors and elaboration makes for a wonderful culinary experience. We would love to come back.

Address: Sint-Romboutskerkhof 2, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium
Opening hours: