A pocket reference to every starred, Bib'd or top-scored kitchen within reach of the city — read by score, by tier, or end-to-end.
The headline pick. Vrijmoed is the city's only two-star and tops the 2026 Gault&Millau Ten to Taste shortlist for Ghent at 17.5/20.[1][2]
Below that, three one-stars in city limits — OAK (16.5, the highest one-star score), Sensum (15.5, on the green outskirts), Publiek (15, the non-traditional star).[2] Two Bib Gourmands cover the value angle. For three stars within driving distance, the regional benchmark Hof van Cleve sits ~30 km southwest, now two stars under Floris Van Der Veken.[9] Souvenir's Brabantdam house closed in 2025; the casual successor is bistro Lubbi in Gentbrugge.[8]
Coverage: the Michelin Guide Belgium & Luxembourg 2025 (151 starred restaurants, 790 listings) is the current selection — a 2026 edition has not yet been published.[22] Gault&Millau Belux 2026 (23rd edition, 1,340+ addresses) has shipped.[20]
The city's only two-star. Chef trained eight years under Peter Goossens at Hof van Cleve before opening here in 2013. Tops the Gault&Millau "Ten to Taste Gent" 2026 list and is the obvious headline booking when you want the highest cooking inside the ring.[1][2]
A 24-seat 17C townhouse with a chef who often greets diners himself. The cooking pulls in North Sea clams, manioc and Asian notes against contemporary technique. Highest Gault&Millau score of any one-star inside city limits.[3][23][2]
Awarded its first star in 2023 — Ghent's sixth at the time. Set in a small castle on the edge of the green ring canal in Sint-Denijs-Westrem (not central). Regional Belgian classics with sauces that lean Asian. Sequel to Vinum & Sensum in Knokke; run by Dutch couple De Jaeger and Deborah Hellburg.[5][6][27]
Loft-bistro vibe, "rock 'n' roll" service, and a kitchen that consciously avoids truffles and caviar in favour of little-known vegetables. Of the Flemish Foodies trio, this is the one that earned the star while staying loose.[4][24]
Held three Michelin stars from 2005 to 2023 under Peter Goossens — Belgium's flagship table for nearly two decades. Goossens handed over on 1 January 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 kitchen most starred chefs in the area trained at or compete with.[25][10][9][26]
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.[7][2]
After eleven 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.[8]
Wood-fire counter cooking — a refrigerated case of seafood, plus turbot, lobster, txuleta steak, free-range guinea fowl. Refined fire-cooking at Bib prices, with a view of the Scheldt where the pumps used to be.[11][31]
Two ex-Bodo cooks running a small neighbourhood bistro by reservation only, with a weekly lunch and a monthly seasonal menu. Classic mother sauces — Mornay, Archiduc — done with care.[12]
Listed in the Michelin guide without a star or Bib, but holding meaningful Gault&Millau scores.
Patershol veteran, recently renovated, 15+ years in the neighbourhood. Modern, creative cooking with a subtle Asian twang.[15][29]
Sint-Amandsberg. Japanese-minimal interior with a kitchen that revolves around open fire, honest seasonal ingredients, foraging, fermentation, and produce from its own garden. Gault&Millau classifies it as "Creative".[16][30]
Hip, open kitchen, brunch and terrace at Edmond Van Beverenplein. Score rose from 14 to 14.5 the year of the Gault&Millau Gastro-Bistro of the Year award.[17]
Patershol. No-holds-barred cooking with a commitment to organic, locally sourced ingredients. Lunch from €35, dinner from €65 — democratic gourmet.[14]
Intimate room with an emphasis on umami, fermentation and open-fire cooking. Sits on the Gault&Millau "Ten to Taste Gent" 2026 list.[2]
Inside Pillows Hotel Reylof, in baron Olivier de Reylof's former townhouse. New gastronomic concept tied to a Dutch alumnus of three-star Inter Scaldes (twenty years under Jannis Brevet) — too new to be scored, but on the radar.[13][28]
Snack bar going since 1955 — natural wines, cocktails, sandwiches/burgers/pasta. Chosen as Flanders' Hotspot of the Year 2026.[21]
Paris-Brest with hazelnut praline + vanilla ice cream by Davy Devlieghere — tribute to Goossens, Geunes, Horseele. 16/20, three chef's hats.[18][19]
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]
A single ranked list — useful when Michelin's distinctions cut sideways across what Gault&Millau's local panel actually rates highest.[2]
| # | Restaurant | G&M 2026 | Michelin | Locale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vrijmoed | 17.5 | ★ ★ | Centre |
| 2 | OAK | 16.5 | ★ | Centre · Burgstraat |
| 3 | Sensum | 15.5 | ★ | Sint-Denijs-Westrem |
| 3 | Souvenir | 15.5 | ⚠ closed 2025 | was Brabantdam |
| 5 | Commotie | 15 | ▣ Selected | Sint-Amandsberg |
| 5 | Karel de Stoute | 15 | ▣ Selected | Patershol |
| 5 | Publiek | 15 | ★ | Ham 39 |
| 8 | Elders | 14.5 | G&M Gastro-Bistro 2025 | Edmond Van Beverenplein |
| 8 | Roots | 14.5 | ▣ Selected | Patershol |
| 8 | Rizoom | 14.5 | — | Nieuwewandeling |