40 mid-range places in Ghent, editor-picked. The comfortable everyday-good restaurants in Ghent, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All Ghent food.
40 places
Order Praline selection box: six to eight seasonal pralines with unusual flavour pairings that change regularly.
Joost Arijs won best patisserie in Belgium from Gault and Millau: the showcase holds intricate tarts, entremets and seasonal pralines year-round.
Gruut is Ghent's own city brewery, producing five herb beers from a medieval recipe that has never used a single hop. Instead, a blend of herbs.
Order Country sourdough loaf: 24-hour fermentation, open crumb, caramelised crust.
Pastry chef and chocolatier Joost Arijs opened this specialist sourdough bakery in 2022, with slow-fermented wheat, rye and multigrain loaves.
Order Filter coffee of the day: WAY rotates single-origins every few weeks with precise tasting notes.
WAY is run by Belgian barista champion Charlene De Buysere in a converted warehouse at Dok Noord, rotating single-origin filters every few weeks in Ghent.
WAY is run by Charlene De Buysere, a Belgian barista and brewing champion. Belgium's first Diedrich IR12 roaster produces light and medium single-origins.
Dok Brewing occupies the converted Hal 16 metal workshop at Dok Noord with 30 taps: house brews alongside Belgian craft guest beers. The long communal.
Order Seasonal praline gift box: six pieces, flavours announced weekly on Instagram, always unexpected.
Marijn Coertjens opened his patisserie at the foot of the Gravensteen in 2016. The pralines are built on unusual flavour combinations; the seasonal pastry.
Order Flat white with the seasonal single-origin espresso: well-extracted, properly textured milk.
Cafe Labath is the city's best-known specialty cafe, occupying a corner building steps from Sint-Michielsbrug with floor-to-ceiling windows and a big-city.
Order Classic frites with andalouse sauce: the house sauce is tangier than most and justifies the queue.
Sergio Herman's upmarket frites counter at the Groentenmarkt has marble counters and stainless sauces pumped from brass-spigot barrels. The frites are fried.
Order Seasonal praline tasting box of six: ask for the team's current recommendation.
Marijn Coertjens' shop near the Gravensteen produces what Gault and Millau considers the best pralines in Ghent. The seasonal praline range changes monthly.
A sample of Ghent hotels from our booking partner, who list 102 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.
Getaway Studios Gent
A stay at Getaway Studios Gent places you in the heart of Ghent, within a 5-minute walk of Episcopal Palace...
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Quartier Leonard
A stay at Quartier Leonard places you in the heart of Ghent, within a 5-minute walk of Van Eyck Swimming Po...
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Treck Hostel
With a stay at Treck Hostel in Ghent (Brugse Poort), you'll be within a 15-minute walk of Dr. Guislain Muse...
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Hotel Campanile Gent
When you stay at Hotel Campanile Gent in Ghent, you'll be in the business district, within a 15-minute walk...
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ibis budget Gent Centrum Dampoort
Centrally located in Ghent, ibis budget Gent Centrum Dampoort is within a 15-minute walk of St. Bavo's Abbe...
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La Ducale 'B&B'
With a stay at La Ducale 'B&B' in Ghent, you'll be within a 5-minute walk of Castle of Gerald the Devil and...
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B&B Hotel Gent Centrum
A stay at B&B Hotel Gent Centrum places you in the heart of Ghent, steps from University Auditorium and Hot...
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Flandria Hotel
A stay at Flandria Hotel places you in the heart of Ghent, within a 5-minute walk of Episcopal Palace and C...
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Hostel Uppelink
A stay at Hostel Uppelink places you in the heart of Ghent, steps from St. Michael's Bridge and St. Michael...
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KaBa Hostel
With a stay at KaBa Hostel in Ghent, you'll be within a 5-minute walk of St. Anne's Church and Protestant C...
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Europahotel Gent
With a stay at Europahotel Gent in Ghent (Rijsenbergwijk), you'll be within a 15-minute walk of Blaarmeerse...
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Hotel de Flandre
A stay at Hotel de Flandre places you in the heart of Ghent, steps from St. Michael's Church and 2 minutes ...
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Also compare: Zen Hotels in Ghent from USD 140/night · Minor Hotels in Ghent · Holidu in Ghent from USD 78/night
Stays are listed by our booking partners, not editor picks. We earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
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. Located in Binnenstad.
Order The full sharing menu, timed in waves so the table never feels overcrowded with plates.
Soul Kitchen opposite the Bijloke park serves plant-based fine dining in a sharing format: seasonal, organic, locally sourced produce treated with the same.
Order Slow coffee on V60: the house blend of Brazilian and Ethiopian beans, brewed with patience.
Vandekerckhove has roasted coffee in Ghent since 1854. The fifth-generation family roasts on-site and the bar brews espressos and slow coffees daily.
Vandekerckhove has roasted coffee on the Brabantdam since 1854. The fifth-generation family roasts on a visible drum roaster inside the shop. The house blend.
Order A by-the-glass flight from the chalkboard list paired with a cheese-and-charcuterie board.
Wijnbar ONA on the corner of Bagattenstraat and Nederkouter is Ona Van Reybrouck and Arne De Wilde's intimate natural-wine spot, opened in 2015.
Order A wild saison from the Belgium tap list alongside a glass of natural white: the pairing is the Edelrot house.
Edelrot functions as both a natural wine bar and a wild beer bar: the list includes wild-fermented saisons, spontaneous lambics and Belgian farmhouse ales.
Order The by-the-glass rotation: the team changes the pours weekly and always has something unexpected open.
Chubby Cheeks is a convivial bar-restaurant where a young team serves unusual natural wines by the glass alongside inventive small plates in a relaxed space.
Order Ask the bar team to pour a glass from the current natural skin-contact white: the house selections change.
Edelrot is a natural wine bar and bottle shop next to the Belfort tower, focusing on low-intervention, natural-process and skin-contact wines by the glass.
The Dok Noord complex concentrates several brewing and beer retail operations in one cluster, ideal for sampling by flight on a Saturday afternoon.
Vinogradoff on the Ajuinlei specialises in natural and biodynamic wines from Eastern Europe: Georgia, Slovenia and Hungary, a rare focus in Belgian wine bars.
Hotsy Totsy has injected Ghent with blues and jazz since the 1970s: the Claus brothers bar hosts live music most evenings from September to June.
Order Green curry with chicken: the in-house paste.
Le Baan Thai has anchored Thai cooking in the Patershol since 1988 and earned the 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand for a short menu run. Priced at €€.
Order Whatever the kitchen is most excited about that day, usually stated by the staff unprompted at the table.
Bib Gourmand-recognised bistro in Sint-Amandsberg run by two former colleagues who built a seasonal French-Belgian menu around local suppliers.
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 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 Gentse bolus: the city's sticky caramel spiral bun in its most authentic current form.
Baba Jacquet is a 30-year-old family bakery reinvented as a brunch bar: the gentse bolus (caramel spiral bun) is the best version in the city today.
Order Sourdough tartine: house bread spread with local butter and seasonal market toppings.
Pain Perdu bakes wood-fired sourdough daily and serves it as tartines, sandwiches and toast across its full breakfast and lunch menu. The large rear garden.
Order Avocado sourdough tartine with poached egg: the bread is the reason to come.
Pain Perdu bakes wood-fired sourdough and runs a sunny rear garden that has made this Walpoortstraat cafe one of Ghent's most loved brunch destinations.
Order Oat flat white with the seasonal espresso blend: the non-dairy execution here is among the best in the city.
Full Circle was one of Belgium's first fully plant-based specialty coffee bars, with oat or rice milk for all drinks and vegan pastries throughout.
Order Rhubarb soda: the house-made pink fizz that has become a Ghent food signature.
BOON is a vegetarian lunch bar at the foot of the Gravensteen. Located in Patershol. Order the rhubarb soda. Specialty: vegetarian lunch and seasonal salads.
Full Circle was one of Belgium's first fully plant-based specialty roasters. Located in Zuidstationstraat. Priced at €€. At Zuidstationstraat 5.
Order Max beer (Delirium Tremens in the 1-litre glass): one shoe goes in the basket, one stays on your foot.
De Dulle Griet has over 500 Belgian beers and one famous ritual: surrender a shoe to the bar when ordering the Max, a 1-litre glass of Delirium Tremens.
Order Georgian amber wine flight: three pours from different qvevri producers that show how dramatically the style.
Vinogradoff specialises in natural and biodynamic wines from Eastern Europe, with by-the-glass pours from its bar-shop on the Ajuinlei near the Korenlei.
Order Belgian natural wine by the glass at the window seat: the light through the giant corner windows is the best.
By day a specialty coffee bar, Cafe Labath transitions to wine and Belgian beer by early evening at its corner near Sint-Michielsbrug in the centre.
Order Ask for a producer flight: three glasses from one region, poured side by side to show terroir differences.
ONA is a wine bar near the Kouter square with a carefully compiled list of authentic European wines from smaller producers. The format is intimate: a few bar.
Order Wine pairing with the seasonal menu: four to five small pours matched by the kitchen to each course.
Roots is a farm-to-table Patershol bistro that treats its natural wine list as seriously as its food. Priced at €€. At Vrouwebroersstraat 5.
De Dulle Griet is not a brewery but is the city's most complete reference for Belgian beer styles, with a 500-bottle list covering every major category.
Win on Burgstraat near the Gravensteen serves low-intervention natural wines by the glass in a small bar that feels genuinely off the tourist circuit.
Order The full set menu, which shows the kitchen's texture and flavour-contrast discipline across multiple courses.
Epiphany's Kitchen serves 100% gluten-free vegan cooking on Burgstraat with optional meat or fish add-ons for mixed-preference groups to share.
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.
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