The best restaurants Gent

This young restaurant, which opened just a few years ago, has already earned its Michelin star and won the hearts of the people of Ghent. Chef Olly Ceulenaere breaks the codes of the luxury gastronomic world by imposing a simplicity that is in his nature. The cuisine is modern and refreshing, relying on local and seasonal ingredients to create wonderful and creative dishes. Since then, it has become a reference point in Ghent, as much for its high-flying dishes as for the friendliness of the place and the team.

Pulpo is a brand-new restaurant in the center of Ghent (which already had a sign near the station), offering either gourmet tapas to share or Mediterranean-inspired dishes. The octopus a la gallega is revisited with a sweet potato purée (albeit a little greasy), while the Italian burrata is hearty. The pasta is particularly good. The decor is very cosy and well cared for, the place convivial with little cushions and studied acid colors. Summer terrace to make the most of fine weather.

Gastronomic restaurant set in two beautiful rooms with antique floors, right in the center of town. Here you can enjoy cuisine created with organic, sustainable, seasonal ingredients grown by small local producers. You can opt for dishes or tapas to share (or order as starters), which is more convivial and allows you to try several dishes. The pheasant with cognac sauce and vegetables is perfect in winter. We regret that the menu is not translated into English or French, and that the welcome is a little cold.

Housed in the majestic former Bourse building on the Kouter, on the border between the Zuid and the Kuip, this brasserie enjoys a good reputation with the locals. We put our trust in them, sit down, look up to enjoy the setting and set our sights on light, tasty Franco-Belgian cuisine, a handful of dishes, salads and pastas that are classic (like the grey shrimp salad with fresh chive vinaigrette and French fries) but well executed. We come here above all for the setting, especially in summer with the beautiful terrace along the water.

Open since December 2019, this Thai restaurant is already sold out every weekend evening in its first month. And with good reason: the dishes are exquisite, the setting attractive, the prices reasonable, the location central. This Thai family offers dishes faithful to the country's subtle culinary tradition. For starters, the Tom Yam Kung, a sweet-and-sour soup with lemongrass-infused shrimp, was perfectly balanced. For the main course, the steamed duck with vegetables, Thai basil, red curry pineapple and coconut milk was simply divine.

This is one of Ghent's most popular restaurants. Oak's contemporary cuisine draws inspiration from the world's best recipes to create fresh seasonal dishes using emulsions, glazes and other sophisticated transformations to create subtle flavors. The menu is fixed and changes daily according to Chef Marcelo's inspiration. The elaborate menu is difficult to decipher in Dutch, so simply let your taste buds guide you and enjoy. Reservations essential, as this is a sought-after table.

The people of Ghent flock here every Sunday. It's a real old-fashioned kiosk, but where flowers and newspapers have given way to a veritable oyster bar, where you can enjoy oysters standing up or at the counter, accompanied by a glass of wine. This is the heart of Ghent. It's the place to meet and strut your stuff on the Kouter. The oysters, on the other hand, come from France, not from Belgium. But who cares, we'll have a few fines de claires d'Oléron with a good dry white wine to fill up on vitamins and iodine.

In this 15th century building where money was controlled, everything is home-made and the cuisine is fusion. The specialty is the fish waterzooi à la Gantoise, rather classic. But there is also a lot of exoticism. For example, the prawns with chilli and honey represent Thailand, and the beef carpaccio displays Italian flavors. In the same spirit, the crocodile fillet with coconut sauce rubs shoulders with the kangaroo fillet with shallot and port sauce or the chicken with moambé, a Congolese specialty. Vegetarian dishes are not to be outdone either.

A pleasant little restaurant that offers a choice of many pasta dishes and salads. The place is well known to students and the atmosphere is young and relaxed, the queue is long at mealtimes, try to go there off-beat, the kitchen is open non-stop. Some of the regulars at the place say they serve the best spaghetti in town. Without exaggerating, the dishes are good and the prices are low, that's what we ask! If the children become impatient, there are colouring books and pencils to keep them occupied.

The trendy, gourmet Belgian pizzeria chain has opened a restaurant in Ghent. The particularity: the dough is made with beer yeast, and the topping combinations are surprising, some of them veggie. The restaurant offers a beer pairing with the menu, or how to choose the best Belgian beer to go with the chosen pizza. Inside, admire the bricks dating back to the inn's ^17th-century construction, and the woodwork and green plants that contrast with the industrial loft look of the walls.

Ghent is a city where vegetarianism is developing at a high gastronomic level. This establishment opened in 2017 proves it: during the day, you can have a coffee or a tea, but at noon it is the salads that attract the locals for a vegetarian break. You can try for example the Boon: lettuce - white rice - beans - daikon - pomegranate seeds - tofu - Chinese cabbage - edamame - fried onions - soy sauce. A real pleasure, in a nice warm and trendy setting. The whole at really democratic prices. You can quickly make it your lunchtime canteen.

The institution in the district of Saint-Amandsberg, close to the Saint-Bavon Abbey, has a huge terrace. We linger there to have a drink or eat an extraordinary waterzooi. The house guarantees that all products are fresh of the day! In season, we run there mainly for mussels, the other house specialty. Mussel season? From July to Easter, pretty much! The house is over fifty years old and serves the many local beers as they should be. The right address to taste the local specialities in this area.

With its world maps, objects from the four corners of the globe and a stuffed zebra on the wall, the journey begins when you push the door. This exotico-tropical trip can be found on the menu through tapas to share, fusion dishes and original salads (Cajun chicken wrap with guacamole, Mac Marrakech burger with lamb...), but there are also timeless Flemish cuisine with beer. The exotic cocktails are also exotic. In summer, terrace and pretty interior court. We bet here on the eccentric decoration, but the plate is creative and affordable.

Here you are in the^2nd living room of a couple who know how to handle vegetarian ingredients with delight and beauty. It's also ethically conscious, since, as its name suggests, the restaurant is locavore, sourcing from local biodynamic farms according to the seasons. It's a cool, intimate Brooklyn-style place, with democratic prices and delicious plates. The weekly menu includes soup, bruschetta with hummus, salad, quiche, gratin and a veggie burger. You'll quickly make it your favorite cantine.