Comus et Gasteria, Brussels

One February Sunday afternoon, I was walking along Quai aux Briques, and felt the need of a hot chocolate. I walked into what I thought was a normal cafe, sat down, ordered a hot chocolate, which duly arrived with cream and a couple of chocolates on the side.

It was only when I’d warmed up and had a few tastes of the hot chocolate that I realised I was actually in an ice cream parlour. Intrigued, I looked at the menu. There was rosemary, lavender, ginger & jasmine, lemongrass, chilli & chocolate and all sorts of flavours. I ordered a scoop of lavender ice cream just to try it, and fell in love there and then. I ordered a half litre to take away and stash in the freezer, and became a regular customer from that point onwards.

The owner, Michel, is passionate about his flavours, and genuinely open to feedback from customers, or new ideas for flavours. And his ice creams are a treat for the palate. The rosemary ice cream is absolutely perfect after an Indian meal, as it is not too sweet to spoil the flavours of a good curry. At €6 for a half litre it was a bargain.

I used to buy many a gift of a tub to take to dinner parties and surprise the host, and the boxes were always well received.