This new Belgian bakery is a slice above the rest

Belgian pastry chef and chocolatier Joost Arijs has just opened a new bakery in Ghent, with interiors designed by Glenn Sestig Architects.  

The location's name, The Bakery, is straightforward but what it serves is not. Arijs drew on the mastery of flavour and aesthetics he showcases in the confections of his next-door cake and chocolate shop – where delicacies include a canary yellow, cloud-soft cake made from lemongrass and mango mousse, and pretty chocolate bars filled with gooey hazelnut filling – and translated it into bread and pastries. 

Loaves of sourdough, rye, brioche and baguettes are displayed in the chrome interiors like art objects. Alongside them are croissants, pain aux raisins, and other breakfast staples that have been baked to achieve the perfect blend of crunchiness and doughy softness. 

Pop in to enjoy breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack with a coffee at the bar, or take home a loaf of bread along with some of The Bakery’s compotes, jams and eggs.

Arijs worked with Glenn Sestig Architects to create The Bakery's sleek, chrome interiors. Sestig is best known for creating monolithic residential and commercial structures that blend 20th- and 21st-century styles (see more in the monograph Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary, which includes an essay by Wallpaper’s Ellie Stathaki). Here, brushed stainless steel and bread shelves in walnut are complemented by weighty black stools by Belgian designer Bram Vanderbeke that face windows looking out onto Ghent. 

These lustrous interiors, a unique marriage of industrial and natural materials, offer a striking backdrop to the richly textured loaves on display.

thebakery-joostarijs.be (opens in new tab)

Vlaanderenstraat 28, 9000 Gent, open Tuesday - Saturday, 8am – 6pm