TL;DR. If you want the highest cooking inside Ghent, Vrijmoed (2 Michelin stars, Gault&Millau 17.5/20) is the city's only two-star and the obvious headline pick[1][2]. For one-stars, OAK leads on the Gault&Millau axis (16.5/20), Publiek for produce-driven minimalism, Sensum for the castle-and-Asian-sauces angle on the green outskirts[2][3][4][5]. For value, Bar Bask (Bib Gourmand, Asador grill) and Boris & Maurice (Bib Gourmand, French bistro) are the official "good food, fair price" picks[11][12]. Souvenir's Brabantdam location closed in 2025 — the team now runs bistro Lubbi in Gentbrugge[8]. Driving 30 km southwest to Hof van Cleve buys you the regional benchmark — now 2 stars under successor chef Floris Van Der Veken, down from three under Peter Goossens[9][10].
Coverage note: the Michelin Guide Belgium & Luxembourg 2025 is the current selection (151 starred restaurants across 790 listings); a 2026 edition has not yet been published as of April 2026[22]. Gault&Millau Belux 2026 (the 23rd edition, 1,340+ addresses) has shipped, so all G&M scores below are 2026[20].
★★ Two Michelin stars (in Ghent)
| Restaurant | Chef | G&M 2026 | Address | What it is |
|---|
| Vrijmoed |
Michaël Vrijmoed |
17.5/20 |
Vlaanderenstraat 22, 9000 Gent |
The city's only two-star. Vegetable-forward fine dining; chef trained under Peter Goossens at Hof van Cleve. Top of the Gault&Millau "Ten to Taste Gent" 2026 list.[1][2] |
★ One Michelin star (in Ghent)
| Restaurant | Chef | G&M 2026 | Address | Angle |
|---|
| OAK |
Marcelo Ballardin |
16.5/20 |
Burgstraat 16, 9000 Gent |
24-seat 17C townhouse. Italian-Brazilian roots feed contemporary cuisine with surprising flavour combinations — North Sea clams, Asian notes, manioc. Highest G&M score of any one-star in city limits.[3][23][2] |
| Publiek |
Olly Ceulenaere |
15/20 |
Ham 39, 9000 Gent |
Loft-bistro vibe, "rock 'n' roll" service. Champion of little-known vegetables; consciously avoids truffles and caviar. The non-traditional star.[4][24] |
| Sensum |
Maurice de Jaeger |
15.5/20 |
Kortrijksesteenweg 1026, 9051 Gent (Sint-Denijs-Westrem) |
Castle on the green ring-canal edge, ⚠ not central. Awarded its first star in 2023 (sixth in Ghent at the time); regional classics with Asian-tinged sauces. Sequel to Vinum & Sensum (Knokke).[5][6][27] |
⚠ Closed / moved (2025)
| Restaurant | Status | Notes |
|---|
| Souvenir |
Closed at Brabantdam (2025) |
Held one Michelin star and a Michelin Green Star for sustainable gastronomy under Vilhjalmur Sigurdarson; G&M 2026 still lists it at 15.5/20. After 11 years, the team closed the Brabantdam house in 2025 — they now run bistro Lubbi (former hospital, Kliniekstraat, Gentbrugge) plus catering arm Le Petit Garçon. If you wanted the Souvenir experience, it isn't available; the casual successor is.[7][8][2] |
★★ Two stars, ~30 km from Ghent (the regional benchmark)
| Restaurant | Chef | Stars now | Address | Why it matters |
|---|
| Hof van Cleve |
Floris Van Der Veken |
★★ (was ★★★) |
Kruisem, East Flanders (≈30 km SW of Ghent) |
Held three stars from 2005 to 2023 under Peter Goossens — Belgium's flagship table for nearly two decades. Goossens handed over on 1 Jan 2024; Michelin reset the listing to two stars under Van Der Veken in the 2024 guide. Still the closest top-tier benchmark to Ghent and the place every starred chef in the area trained at or competes with.[25][10][9][26] |
Bib Gourmand (Michelin "good food, good value")
| Restaurant | Address | Style |
|---|
| Bar Bask |
Ghent (former gas station, near the Scheldt) |
Basque-inspired Asador grill. Wood-fire over a counter of seafood plus turbot, lobster, txuleta steak, free-range guinea fowl. Refined fire-cooking at Bib prices.[11][31] |
| Boris & Maurice |
Antwerpsesteenweg 329, 9040 Sint-Amandsberg |
French-leaning neighbourhood bistro by reservation only. Two ex-Bodo cooks; weekly lunch, monthly seasonal menu, classic mother sauces (Mornay, Archiduc).[12] |
Michelin Selected (Plate) + strong G&M scores
Listed in the Michelin guide without a star or Bib, but holding meaningful Gault&Millau scores — the "next tier down" worth booking.
| Restaurant | Chef | G&M 2026 | Where / what |
|---|
| Karel de Stoute |
Thomas De Muynck |
15/20 |
Patershol (Vrouwebroersstraat 2). Modern, creative fare with subtle Asian touches; recently renovated, 15+ years in the neighbourhood.[15][29] |
| Commotie |
Thomas Gellynck |
15/20 |
Sint-Amandsberg. Open fire, fermentation, foraging, own garden — Japanese-minimal interior. "Creative" cuisine per G&M.[16][30] |
| Elders |
Tom Pauweleyn |
14.5/20 |
Edmond Van Beverenplein 16. Gault&Millau Gastro-Bistro of the Year 2025. Hip, open kitchen, brunch and terrace — score rose from 14 to 14.5 the year of the award.[17] |
| Roots |
Kim Devisschere |
14.5/20 |
Patershol (Vrouwebroersstraat 5). Bistronomic tasting menus, organic and local; lunch from €35, dinner from €65 — democratic gourmet.[14] |
| Rizoom |
Yves Kerckhoffs |
14.5/20 |
Nieuwewandeling 62. Intimate; emphasis on umami, fermentation and open-fire cooking.[2] |
| LOF |
concept by Paul de Groote (NL, ex-Inter Scaldes) |
— |
Inside Pillows Hotel Reylof, in baron Olivier de Reylof's former townhouse. New gastronomic concept tied to a 3-star Dutch alumnus (20 years at the 3-star Inter Scaldes under Jannis Brevet).[13][28] |
Gault&Millau 2026 awards relevant to Ghent
| Award | Winner | Notes |
|---|
| H!P (trendy/hip) — Flanders |
Martino (Ghent) |
Snack bar going since 1955 — natural wines, cocktails, sandwiches/burgers/pasta. Chosen as Flanders' Hotspot of the Year 2026.[21] |
| Dessert of the Year |
Le Julien (Aalter-Lotenhulle, ≈25 km west of Ghent) |
Paris-Brest with hazelnut praline + vanilla ice cream by Davy Devlieghere — tribute to mentors Goossens, Geunes, Horseele. 16/20, 3 chef's hats. Worth the drive if you're chasing the 2026 G&M map.[18][19] |
| Chef of the Year (national, not Ghent) |
Karen Torosyan, Bozar (Brussels) |
Recognised for "obsessive pursuit of perfection" on classical dishes — useful context: this is who the Ghent two-star benchmark is now measured against nationally.[20] |
Ghent's Gault&Millau "Ten to Taste" 2026, ranked
G&M's curated ten-restaurant Ghent shortlist for the 2026 guide. Useful as a single ranked list when Michelin's distinctions cut sideways across what locals actually consider the best tables.[2]
Sources [2] for all scores in this table; Michelin distinctions per the official guide listings cited above.