The Jane

The Jane is chef Nick Bril's tasting-menu restaurant in a converted harbor warehouse on Limastraat, in Antwerp's Eilandje district. It began in the former chapel of the city's military hospital and holds two Michelin stars.

Bril opened The Jane with Sergio Herman in 2014 in the old church of the military hospital in the Groen Kwartier, a setting that brought it a prize as one of the most beautiful restaurants in the world. Bril later ran it on his own as A Nick Bril Concept. Later he left the chapel for a warehouse in the Montevideo residence on the Eilandje, and the Michelin Guide wrote that he had traded his imposing church for it. Gault&Millau has named it the best restaurant of Antwerp.

The cooking is creative, with Asian influences and big-boned flavors. Langoustine is cooked on the plancha and served with a beurre blanc of vin jaune, smoked butter and vine-leaf oil, beside braised endive and perilla. Gobbetto prawns come with foie gras and Akitakomachi rice, and beef from old dairy cows is paired with black sesame and celeriac. Three menus lead through the kitchen: The Jane at Noon, The Jane's Experience and The Jane's Signature.

The new room is minimalist, light and elegant, with the kitchen at its center and a counter for those who want to sit at the chef's table. Bril's DJ turntables and works of art stand among the tables, a sign of how much music belongs to the evening. The Jane reached the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2024. Moving from a church to a warehouse kept the drama of the space while bringing the cooks closer to the guests.