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Order Moules frites: the mussels arrive in a deep cast-iron pot and the frites alongside are fried to order.
Pakhuis occupies a converted warehouse behind a historic alley in central Ghent.
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Order Gentse waterzooi with chicken: the stock is rich, the vegetables are cooked right through.
't Klokhuys is an authentic Patershol brasserie with mirror-and-blackboard interiors, serving stoverij, waterzooi and zurkelplets without compromise.
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Order The all-you-can-eat spareribs format, which is the reason most tables are booked before the week starts.
Amadeus in Patershol built its reputation on all-you-can-eat spareribs served in warm candlelit rooms since it opened in the city's oldest quarter.
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Order The seasonal set lunch, which gives the kitchen's quality at its best accessible price.
Volta occupies a converted turbine hall on Nieuwewandeling, serving confident Belgian brasserie cooking with a well-annotated wine list and a canal-side.
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Order Two or three sharing plates of whatever the kitchen is most animated about; the staff will tell you honestly.
50 fifty runs a bistronomy sharing-plate format on Ottogracht with vegetable-led seasonal plates rated 4.8 out of 5 by local reviewers.
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Order Six-course dinner menu with wine pairing: West Flemish seasonal sourcing at its fullest expression.
Roots is a Michelin-listed gastro-bistro in Patershol where chef Kim Devisschere's West Flemish heritage drives menus that change with the seasons.
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Order The weekend brunch menu, when the kitchen is fully focused and the water view is at its best.
Haddok near the Oude Dokken waterfront at Dok Noord serves contemporary Belgian brunch and lunch plates with water views and a convivial mood.
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Order The brunch menu on weekends, which is when the kitchen is operating at its most concentrated.
Modest is a central Ghent brunch spot with a seasonal menu that stays sharply focused on quality and never tries to overcomplicate its offer.
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Order The weekend brunch menu, which brings the Parisian concept into the sharpest focus.
Et Alors near the Graslei brings Parisian bistro energy to Ghent: animated room, seasonal French-Belgian food and a weekend brunch worth booking.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Order The Purs vegetarian tasting menu, seven courses built around single seasonal vegetables.
Two Michelin stars in central Ghent: chef Michaël Vrijmoed pushes Belgian produce through fermentation and global technique, with a dedicated Purs vegetarian.
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Order The five-course dinner menu, where the vegetable-led cooking is most focused.
One Michelin star in a loft-style bistro on Ham street: Olly Ceulenaere champions lesser-known Belgian vegetables and local produce at every turn.
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Order The six-course dinner menu with wine pairing, where the produce quality is given room to speak at length.
Michelin Guide-listed bistronomic gem in Patershol: Kim Devisschere applies rigorous seasonal sourcing and West Flemish heritage to five-course menus.
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Order The six-course menu on a Wednesday or Thursday, when the kitchen is at full concentration.
Inside the Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof on Hoogstraat, chef Paul de Groote runs a five or six-course tasting menu rooted in classical French technique.
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Order The seasonal set lunch, which delivers the kitchen's quality at its most accessible price.
Housed in a converted turbine hall at Nieuwewandeling, Volta serves confident Belgian brasserie cooking with an upmarket edge and a wine list that rewards.
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Order The daily changing lunch menu, the most honest expression of what the kitchen is doing with today's delivery.
Bib Gourmand-rated bistro in Sint-Amandsberg run by two former colleagues, with a seasonally refreshed menu that leans on local producers strongly.
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Order The fish main course, which shows the kitchen at its most focused and technically rigorous.
A French-influenced bistro in a handsome historic building near Sint-Jakobs church on Steendam, with confident cooking that plays classical French technique.
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Order The menu of the day, which changes frequently and tracks the kitchen's best current thinking.
A Michelin Guide-listed creative restaurant in Sint-Amandsberg, where the kitchen takes seasonal Belgian produce in directions that borrow from across Europe.
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Order The weekend brunch menu, which pushes the kitchen into more playful territory than the regular dinner service.
Alix is a warmly decorated coach house near Sint-Pieters station serving seasonal Belgian cooking with a French accent in an honest, personal dining room.
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Order Delirium Tremens in the Max glass: surrender your shoe as collateral, as tradition demands.
De Dulle Griet on the Vrijdagmarkt has 500 Belgian beers and stays open late on weekends: the shoe-collateral Max glass ritual is the late-night centrepiece.
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Order Gruut Amber on draught at the waterside terrace: the most Ghentian beer in the most Ghentian spot.
Waterhuis aan de Bierkant is a canal-side brown pub with 170 Belgian beers and 14 on draught, open until midnight, with a Graslei waterside terrace.
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Vinogradoff on the Ajuinlei specialises in natural and biodynamic wines from Eastern Europe: Georgia, Slovenia and Hungary, a rare focus in Belgian wine bars.
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WAY is run by Belgian barista champion Charlene De Buysere at Dok Noord: a championship-level roastery-cafe that the tourist trail rarely discovers.
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Order Frites with stoverij and the house tartar sauce: under €6 for a full cone that doubles as a meal.
Frituur Tartaar is a city-centre friterie between the monuments and shopping streets, serving Ghent stoverij stew on hand-cut frites with a homemade tartar.
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Order Violet cuberdons: a bag of ten pieces eaten on the walk to the Gravensteen, the most Ghentian budget snack.
The competing cuberdon vendors near the Groentenmarkt sell Ghent's signature sweet: pointed purple gum-and-sugar cones at about a euro from rival stalls.
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Order Weekend brunch menu: the Parisian-Belgian plates at their most confident on a Saturday or Sunday morning.
Et Alors near the Graslei serves sweet and savoury crepes and bistro plates on weekend mornings: a Parisian-Belgian brunch hybrid that rewards booking ahead.
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Order Weekend brunch menu: the kitchen is fully focused and the dock view at Dok Noord is at its finest.
Haddok at Kompasplein serves easy weekend brunch with locally sourced ingredients, natural wines and a large patio overlooking the Oude Dokken waterfront.
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Order Weekend brunch menu: when the kitchen is at full concentration and the seasonal produce focus is clearest.
Modest is a central Ghent brunch and lunch spot serving extravagant seasonal plates with locally grown ingredients from farms within 20km of the city.
