Bistros, trattorias and the everyday places where Ghent actually eats.
Bistros, trattorias, taverns and neighbourhood rooms: the mid-tier places where Ghent actually eats.
21 places
Order Moules frites: the mussels arrive in a deep cast-iron pot and the frites alongside are fried to order.
Pakhuis fills a converted 19th-century warehouse behind a central alley. The cavernous glass-roofed interior keeps a menu of daily-fresh oysters, moules.
Order All-you-can-eat spareribs with the house sauce: the price is fixed, the refills are real.
Amadeus is Ghent's most committed rib restaurant, piling all-you-can-eat spareribs onto wooden boards for tables that stretch across its belfry-square.
Order Pork cheek stew: buttery and intense, with frites and salad included.
Memee Gusta runs a grandmother-recipe kitchen in a cosy vintage room near the castle. The signature pork cheek stew is cooked low and slow in a deep brown.
Order The Otomat house pizza: Duvel yeast dough with seasonal toppings and a crisp edge.
Otomat makes pizza dough with Duvel beer yeast, giving the base a bready depth. Around 20 Belgian beers on tap and original toppings make it unmissable.
Order Kaasplank (cheese board) with a local Belgian beer while your laundry runs.
Wasbar is a launderette and bar rolled into one: leave your washing in the machines and order beer, coffee or charcuterie at the bar while you wait.
Order Meatball of the day on stoemp: whatever the chef has stuffed into the ball changes weekly.
Chef Wim Ballieu built a restaurant around the meatball, stuffing oversized balls with seasonal fillings and serving them on stoemp or a simple salad.
Order Gentse waterzooi: the chicken version, made to the family recipe with the creamiest stock in the city.
Du Progres has been run by three generations of the De Baets family and remains one of the most honest Belgian brasseries in the city. Waterzooi, stoverij.
Order Patatas bravas with the house aioli: crunchy outside, fluffy inside, sauce perfectly balanced.
Casa de las Tapas has been feeding the Patershol cobblestones with Spanish-style small plates for years. The menu runs from jambon iberico to patatas bravas.
Order Customise-your-own spring roll bowl: pick proteins, sauces and sides from the menu board.
Knees to Chin makes fresh Vietnamese spring rolls to order: rice paper wrappers filled with seasonal greens, herbs and your choice of protein. Lactose-free.
Order Gentse stoverij with frites: the beef stew is the neighbourhood classic and this version does it justice.
Vrijdagsgevoel occupies the most prominent corner of Ghent's historic Friday market square. Open seven days a week, it serves brasserie classics, Ghent.
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Order Seasonal fish from the market with local vegetable sides: the kitchen changes with what arrives each morning.
Allegro Moderato occupies a canal-side house on the Korenlei, with views of the guild houses across the Leie. The kitchen produces carefully plated modern.
Order Gentse waterzooi with chicken: the stock is rich, the vegetables are cooked right through.
't Klokhuys runs out of a narrow Patershol house and is one of the most cited places in the city for Gentse waterzooi. The room seats fewer than 30 people.
Order Green curry with chicken, the kitchen makes its own paste daily.
Le Baan Thai has been the Patershol reference for Thai cuisine for 37 years and holds a 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand, with green and red curries on a short.
Order Seasonal lunch plate: the kitchen focuses on locally sourced ingredients, changing with market availability.
Haddok at Kompasplein near the Oude Dokken serves easy lunches with locally sourced ingredients, natural wines and a large waterfront patio.
Order The seasonal salad composition: grain base, roasted root vegetables, ferment and herb oil.
BOON sits at the castle end of Burgstraat and serves a vegetarian lunch and early dinner menu in a room that feels like a design studio. Priced at €€.
Order Txuleton for two: a massive bone-in Basque rib-eye, charred outside and rare within.
Bar Bask does one thing: charcoal-grilled meat and fish in the Basque tradition. A short card changes with market supply, anchored by txuleton dry-aged beef.
Order Ham-cheese crepe with mustard: simple, made with good buckwheat batter and the right amount of crisp edge.
Et Alors near the Graslei on Jan Breydelstraat serves sweet and savoury crepes with seasonal bistro plates, transitioning to wines and cocktails by evening.
Order Vegan bowl of the day: grain, roasted veg, legume and herb sauce, filling and under €12.
Greenway is the most central fully vegan fast-casual restaurant in Ghent, with a rotating menu of wraps, bowls and hot plates made entirely from plants.
Order Seasonal small plates board: three or four dishes from the list, chosen to share, changes weekly.
Lokaal built its reputation on a menu that is 80 per cent vegetarian but never feels restricted. The daily changing board of seasonal Belgian small plates.
Order Soup of the day: always made from what the kitchen has just unpacked from the weekly farm delivery.
Karoot keeps a short seasonal menu of Belgian farm-to-table dishes in a low-key neighbourhood room. The lunch formula is a two-course set with soup and main.
Order Four-course plant tasting menu: the most complete argument for serious vegan cooking in the city.
Soul Kitchen is the standard-bearer for vegan fine-casual cooking in Ghent, running a changing tasting menu entirely from plants. The kitchen treats root.
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