Her colossal-sized goat cheese salad is made up of a pile of crisp lettuce, whole witloof leaves, cucumber slices, tomato halves, a quartered hard-boiled egg and smoked bacon. Underneath the honey-covered bacon bits lies a thick slice of toasted bread smothered in creamy, salty goat cheese. A sprinkling of fresh parsley adds to the presentation.

Another friend orders the one-and-only dish listed as “highly recommended” on the menu: scampi in an Italian cream sauce. I can see why it’s one of the house favourites; her six giant scampi come cloaked in a creamy tomato sauce with a subtle spicy kick to it. Next to this is a salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, grated carrots and light dressing. As accompaniment, she has her pick from bread, pasta or fries and wisely opts for the fries. They’re golden, crispy, hand-cut and come with a pot of thick mayonnaise.

Meanwhile, I’m using spoon and fork to scoff down a giant bowl of linguine with bacon. In addition to the bacon, the pasta is coated in a cream sauce flavoured with nutmeg and cheese, lightly browned under a grill oven. There’s half an egg shell resting atop the cheese, filled with runny yolk. It’s delicious comfort food on this blustery winter evening.

Our appetites fully satisfied, we take the opportunity to kick back with our after-dinner drinks and look around the establishment. It’s trendy and modern but surprisingly cosy, the whole place aglow in orange lighting. And even though it’s packed, our server (the owner) is collected and friendly.

C’est Fou is near Gent-Sint-Pieters train station and is equally popular on weekdays, when students from the nearby schools line up to order sandwiches at lunchtime. And after class, as well, when they pick up full meals from the takeaway menu.

But not only students appreciate a good price-quality ratio. We put down less than €18 apiece for our yummy, filling dinners and two drinks each.

www.cestfou.be

Groot-Brittanniëlaan 51, Ghent
09.233.32.20

Mon-Fri 11.00-14.00 & 18.00-23.00; Sat 18.30-23.00

Mains: €8-€18

Quality food so fresh it’s fit for mums-to-be

Contact Bite at flandersbite@gmail.com