Volta is a modern belgian brasserie fine-dining restaurant in Binnenstad, Ghent.
Housed in a converted turbine hall at Nieuwewandeling, Volta serves confident Belgian brasserie cooking with an upmarket edge and a wine list that rewards.
Must order: The seasonal set lunch, which delivers the kitchen's quality at its most accessible price.
Tip: The terrace along the canal is one of Ghent's finest outdoor dining spots on a warm evening.
Address: Nieuwewandeling 2b, 9000 Gent, Ghent
Ghent's most serious vegan fine-dining room: a sharing-plate format built around seasonal organic produce from local farms, served in a calm space opposite.
Order: The full sharing menu, timed to arrive in waves so you never have too much on the table at once.
Tip: Book Thursday through Saturday evenings for the full menu; the Sunday lunch is shorter but equally well-sourced.
A French-influenced bistro in a handsome historic building near Sint-Jakobs church on Steendam, with confident cooking that plays classical French technique.
Order: The fish main course, which shows the kitchen at its most focused and technically rigorous.
Tip: The lunch menu is shorter and represents excellent value against the dinner format.
Bib Gourmand-rated Bask converts a former petrol station into a fire-lit Basque asador, with turbot, txuleta and guinea fowl from their own farm.
Order: Txuleta from the Basque-style charcoal grill, served to share with market vegetables from their own farm.
Tip: Book the counter seats facing the asador for the full show; the smoke and theatrics are the point.
Bib Gourmand-rated bistro in Sint-Amandsberg run by two former colleagues, with a seasonally refreshed menu that leans on local producers strongly.
Order: The daily changing lunch menu, the most honest expression of what the kitchen is doing with today's delivery.
Tip: Call ahead to confirm this day's menu style; it shifts more frequently than most similarly-priced kitchens.
Ghent's most serious vegan fine-dining room: a sharing-plate format built around seasonal organic produce from local farms, served in a calm space opposite.
Order: The full sharing menu, timed to arrive in waves so you never have too much on the table at once.
Tip: Book Thursday through Saturday evenings for the full menu; the Sunday lunch is shorter but equally well-sourced.
A French-influenced bistro in a handsome historic building near Sint-Jakobs church on Steendam, with confident cooking that plays classical French technique.
Order: The fish main course, which shows the kitchen at its most focused and technically rigorous.
Tip: The lunch menu is shorter and represents excellent value against the dinner format.
Tucked inside the Hal 16 food hall at Dok Noord, Officina Raffaelli serves fresh Italian pizza and Tuscan regional dishes sourced as close to the Italian.
Order: The fresh pizzas and pasta dishes, where the Tuscan sourcing ethos shows most clearly.
Tip: Combine a meal here with a beer from Dok Brewing Company next door for the full Dok Noord experience.
A Michelin Guide-listed creative restaurant in Sint-Amandsberg, where the kitchen takes seasonal Belgian produce in directions that borrow from across Europe.
Order: The menu of the day, which changes frequently and tracks the kitchen's best current thinking.
Tip: The Friday lunch is the one daytime service and often has more availability than the evening slots.
