The best bistros and brasseries Flandres belges

In a contemporary, sober and welcoming interior, opening onto a busy city street, Gerda and Luc Deklerck have been welcoming loyal customers since 1995. Here, homemade food takes pride of place, right down to the preparation of the smallest cake. The menu evolves with the seasons, offering classic dishes such as sole, skate, shrimp croquettes, veal kidneys, mashed potatoes with beaten milk, shrimp and poached egg. The speciality? Steak tartare prepared in front of you. Sophisticated wine list.

Just a stone's throw from the sea wall, this is one of the most charming addresses on the coast! Open from breakfast to aperitif, t'Koethuis is famous for its waffles (they're always among the best on the coast), but its brasserie menu doesn't leave you indifferent either. You can enjoy pasta, salad or solettes. While the interior is warm and inviting in winter, it's the courtyard - all decked out in flowers and lit up at night - that steals the show. Little do we know that the restaurant's rather banal façade conceals this marvel.

An institution in De Panne! This quality brasserie offers its sunny terrace or a cosy interior. You can enjoy traditional dishes, improved tapas, accompanied by delicious cocktails or a beer from the large variety offered. The planks of assorted tapas, but also the salads with generous and copious compositions, the meats cooked to perfection. Add to this a smiling team, good advice and low prices, which makes it a very popular address. It is better to reserve.

Three mills, but above all a pepper mill in this brasserie which opens its window to snack lovers. Inside, the tables show that it is always possible to enjoy the dishes on the menu, which are mostly steaks and other butchers' pieces served with great generosity, in every sense of the word. Here, it's "à la bonne franquette" and that's also why we like this small restaurant, very nice. Fries are obviously king here, cooked according to the rules.

Impossible to miss Rubens, this great restaurant, brasserie, tea room, with the imposing terrace (180 places) and with the majestic façade. Here, each one will find its happiness. That it is right to drink a drink and to eat a waffle the afternoon, or to appreciate a full meal, you will be welcome. Grilled meats, fish, croquettes with shrimps and mussels in season, a french cuisine of good level. Do not hesitate to taste the house speciality: the coast with the bone roasted on stone of lava, Béarnaise sauce, with a beautiful view released on the sea.

De stokerij is translated as "the distillery" and, obviously, this pre-industrial building used to be a brewery-distillery. You have to admit that the walls are quite magical, as are the plates. Fusion cuisine in a trendy place, where the little icons on the menu indicate tapas and dishes that are vegetarian, dairy, gluten-free, sugar-free and so on. Their specialty is a twist on carbonnade. Instead of beef, pork cheek is used with a sauce made with Sint-Bernardus 12 beer, a real treat! And don't forget to try one of the house beers.

Push open the door of La Différence, this pretty brasserie on the Grand'Place, one of the city's finest restaurants. Here, you can enjoy French-Belgian cuisine at reasonable prices in an Art Deco setting, marked by superb ceiling heights. Don't miss the spiral staircase. The à la carte scampi à la diabolique appetizer is excellent, while the main course of pork cheek cassolette à la Double Ronsische, pain d'épice and chicory salad is a taste of the country. The atmosphere is friendly.

Unique in Belgium, this rotunda sits at the end of a jetty that plunges more than 300 meters into the sea. Built in 1894, destroyed and restored more than once, the jetty is currently being restored to its 1930s appearance. In the meantime, you can still enjoy its restaurant, with its 360-degree panorama of the sea and beach. You can follow the rhythm of the tides while enjoying honest brasserie dishes, devouring a waffle after a stroll or just having a coffee or a drink for fun. A coastal icon!

After an informative tour of the Kasteel Brouwerij brewery, come and sit on the large patio terrace. Start by ordering one of the 29 beers on draught. The restaurant team will then prepare a dish for you on a charcoal grill. We especially like the sharing dishes. Don't leave without trying the homemade ice cream. An upmarket brasserie that has kept its friendly and authentic spirit! You'll definitely come back!

The Kaffee Damast is a friendly, trendy bistro. It's the perfect place for an aperitif with tapas, a brasserie dish or even a simple coffee break. Even if you're not planning to visit the Texture museum (which would be a mistake, after all...), drop in for a visit to this designer brasserie, which is pleasant and sometimes even musical. Concerts are regularly held here, including the VlazzJazzJamsession on the^3rd Sunday of the month.

The Hotel Damier, with its rococo facade, offers gourmet dining of the highest quality, tastefully decorated by the De Coene brothers in shades of green and wood that blend perfectly with the green plants and paintings. Large chandeliers, a soaring glass ceiling and wooden floors shape this noble room. The very nouvelle cuisine plates are colorful assemblages as delicious as they are beautiful! Aesthetically pleasing, with emulsion sauces alongside meats and fish cooked to perfection. Brasserie dishes, on the other hand, are less sophisticated.

Take the time to explore your purchases from the bookstore by sitting down at the Arhus café. Here you can enjoy iced tea, high quality teas and homemade desserts. You can even have lunch here and choose from current suggestions such as homemade stew, mushroom risotto or three-coloured pasta with fine vegetables. The place is bright and spacious. For the music lovers who dare, a piano is freely available... A delicious moment for those who read with moment of exception and sharing.

Here everything is fresh and combined with great skill by chef Jonas Aernout and his team. The dishes are changed regularly so that you can always enjoy seasonal products. Among the dishes to share are the famous nachos with spicy tomatoes, Italian ham, croquettes, mini-pizzas or fried shrimps. At lunchtime, you can also try more traditional dishes such as fillet of sea bass with buttermilk purée or beef tartar. A very high quality place.