september-2011

~ le petit déjeuner ~
Breakfast in Brussels
with Leo Cendrowicz
A.M. SWEET
nestled in a tiny street behind the hip rue Dansaert,
among ultra-trendy modern furniture and designer
clothes shops and the historic Taverne Greenwich,
A.M. Sweet suggests a throwback to a discreet yet
quirky world of tea, jam, exquisite pastries and
curious silver spoons.
It is named aft er the co-owner, Dutch-born Anne
Marie Schram, a Godiva store manager with – as the
name suggests – an incredibly sweet tooth. Buying the
then-crumbling townhouse with her Belgian architect
husband, Gilbert, in 2000, allowed her to fulfi ll a
childhood dream of opening a cosy tea house. “We
wanted a place where time could stop for a moment,”
Anne Marie says.
A.M. Sweet is certainly snug: there are just four small
metal tables on the ground fl oor. However, up the
narrow, creaking staircase are two salons with
armchairs, couches and a more lounge/library feel.
The ground fl oor also stocks an enticing array of
Mariage Frères teas and Laurent Gerbaud chocolates
around the counter, alongside homemade confectionary
that includes marshmallows, calissons de Provence and
almond dragées. Meanwhile, Anne Marie and Gilbert
still cheerfully oversee proceedings, along with their
friendly dog, Cézanne.
Decorated with eclectic art and artifacts (carved
wooden puppets, Anne Marie’s grandfather’s antique
spoon collection) while a soundtrack of jazz and blues
standards plays soft ly in the background, it off ers a
gentle, soothing and civilised path back into life the
morning aft er.
The menu includes 10 pages devoted to detailed
descriptions of almost 50 teas on off er (from €2.50).
We went for Fuji-Yama green tea and the Bourbon
vanilla. Brioche, eggs, yoghurts and other nibbles are
included in the breakfast menu (around €8), but a plate
with an assortment of fi ve of Anne Marie’s cakes
(€7.50) – including delicious gingerbread cheesecake, a
lemon meringue and a rhubarb tart – is particularly
worth the detour.
A.M. Sweet, rue des Chartreux 4, 1000, +32 (0)2 513 51 31,
noon-6.30pm Tues, 9.30am-6.30pm Wed-Sat
Leo Cendrowicz is Time magazine’s Brussels correspondent
36 metropolitan
Petit déjeuner à Bruxelles avec Leo Cendrowicz
blotti dans une ruelle proche de la très
branchée rue Dansaert, entre magasins über
tendance de meubles modernes, boutiques de
vêtements de créateurs et la vénérable Taverne
Greenwich, A.M. Sweet rappelle le monde
des salons de thé d’antan, avec ses confi tures
savoureuses, pâtisseries exquises et curieuses
cuillers en argent.
Ce charmant établissement porte les
initiales de sa cofondatrice néerlandaise,
Anne-Marie Schram, gérante d’une boutique
Godiva avec, comme le nom l’indique, un
gros faible pour les sucreries. En 2000, avec
Gilbert, son architecte de mari, elle achète
cette maison de ville en ruine afi n de réaliser
un rêve d’enfant : ouvrir un petit salon de