The plates that define Ghent: what they are, and where to eat the canonical version.
The plates that define Ghent. what they are, where they came from, and where to eat the canonical version.
Waterzooi van vis is Ghent's oldest civic dish: white-broth fish stew with North Sea catch, leeks, carrots and potatoes simmered in a cream-enriched vegetable stock, served in deep bowls with crusty bread.
Where: 't Klokhuys, Amadeus Gent 1, Pakhuis
Price: €18-26
Stoverij met frites is the canonical Ghent pub dish: beef slow-braised in Flemish dark beer with onion and bay leaf, darkened with a mustard-spread slice of bread on top, served over a cone of double-fried frites.
Where: 't Klokhuys, Amadeus Gent 2, Pakhuis
Price: €16-24
The cuberdon is a pointed purple sugar-gum cone in violet-raspberry syrup, produced in East Flanders: firm on the outside, liquid at the core, and sold from competing stalls on the Groentenmarkt since the 19th century.
Where: Cuberdon Stalls at Groentenmarkt, Bobonne Cuberdon, De Echte Gentse Neuzen
Price: €1-2 per piece
Ghent mustard from Tierenteyn-Verlent is drawn fresh from a wooden barrel in the 1790 Groentenmarkt shop: sharper and more aromatic than any industrial version, used in stoverij and across Flemish kitchens.
Where: Tierenteyn-Verlent Mustard Shop
Price: €3-8 per jar
Gruut Inferno is Ghent's herbal amber ale brewed without hops using a medieval gruit recipe of bay laurel, sweet gale and juniper at the Gruut Stadsbrouwerij on Rembert Dodoensdreef.
Where: Gruut Stadsbrouwerij, Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant
Price: €3-5 per glass
White asparagus from the Mechelen-Ghent growing belt, poached in salted water and served with browned butter or Hollandaise sauce: the signature spring dish of Flemish brasseries from late April through May.
Where: Vrijmoed, Publiek, Bask
Price: €18-28 as a main
Zeeland mussels steamed in white wine, shallots and parsley then served in the cooking pot alongside double-fried Flemish frites with mayonnaise: the canonical Belgian brasserie dish available in Ghent from late July.
Where: Pakhuis, 't Klokhuys
Price: €20-28
Belgian speculoos is a spiced shortcrust biscuit with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and dark brown sugar: crispier than the Dutch version, carved from wooden moulds at Ghent bakeries.
Where: The Bakery by Joost Arijs, Himschoot Bakery
Price: €0.50-1.50 per biscuit
The Liege waffle is a yeast-leavened brioche waffle studded with pearl sugar that caramelises on the iron: chewier and more filling than the Brussels waffle, sold at street stalls and bakeries across Ghent.
Where: Waffles and Beer, Vrijdagmarkt
Price: €2-4
Belgian jenever is the ancestor of gin: a malt-wine spirit redistilled with juniper and botanicals, either served young (jonge jenever) or aged (oude jenever) in ceramic bolleke glasses at specialist jenever bars.
Where: 't Dreupelkot, Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant
Price: €2-5 per glass
Belgian praline: a shell of dark or milk couverture chocolate encasing a filling of butter ganache, gianduja or praliné cream, made by Ghent chocolatiers including Joost Arijs patisserie on the Vlaanderenstraat.
Where: The Bakery by Joost Arijs
Price: €1.50-4 per praline
Waterzooi van vis is Ghent's oldest civic dish: white-broth fish stew with North Sea catch, leeks, carrots and potatoes simmered in a cream-enriched vegetable stock, served in deep bowls with crusty bread.
History: Waterzooi dates to medieval Ghent when the Leie and Schelde rivers ran through the city and freshwater fish were the available protein. The name combines 'water' and 'zooien', a dialect verb for simmering. By the 15th century waterzooi was the dish of Ghent's guild feasts. The original recipe used freshwater fish; as rivers were diverted and city growth reduced the catch, cooks shifted to chicken (waterzooi van kip), but the fish version is the authentic Ghentian one. Every brasserie from the Graslei to the Patershol serves a version.
Where to try it: 't Klokhuys, Amadeus Gent 1, Pakhuis
Watch out for: Fish, Dairy, Gluten
Stoverij met frites is the canonical Ghent pub dish: beef slow-braised in Flemish dark beer with onion and bay leaf, darkened with a mustard-spread slice of bread on top, served over a cone of double-fried frites.
History: Stoverij is the Ghent dialect name for the Flemish beef-and-beer braise known elsewhere as carbonade flamande. The dish uses dark Flemish ales and is distinguished from the Bruges and Antwerp versions by the use of Ghent mustard from Tierenteyn-Verlent in the bread crust on top. Every brown cafe in Ghent serves it; the version at 't Klokhuys uses Gruut amber for the braise. The dish is at its most authentic when eaten in the Patershol or the Vrijdagmarkt brasseries.
Where to try it: 't Klokhuys, Amadeus Gent 2, Pakhuis
Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy, Mustard
The cuberdon is a pointed purple sugar-gum cone in violet-raspberry syrup, produced in East Flanders: firm on the outside, liquid at the core, and sold from competing stalls on the Groentenmarkt since the 19th century.
History: The cuberdon was developed by a Ghent apothecary in the early 1800s as a sugar-and-gum pastille. The violet flavour and pointed cone shape became the Ghent standard. The stalls near the Groentenmarkt are famously competitive; the two main vendors have a standing rivalry for the best recipe that Ghent locals follow closely. The sweet is often called 'Gentse neuzen' (Ghent noses) for the shape of the cone. Bobonne Cuberdon in the old town is the principal artisan producer.
Where to try it: Cuberdon Stalls at Groentenmarkt, Bobonne Cuberdon, De Echte Gentse Neuzen
Watch out for: None typically (check specific batch)
Ghent mustard from Tierenteyn-Verlent is drawn fresh from a wooden barrel in the 1790 Groentenmarkt shop: sharper and more aromatic than any industrial version, used in stoverij and across Flemish kitchens.
History: Tierenteyn-Verlent has occupied the same shop on the Groentenmarkt since 1790, making Ghent mustard from Belgian mustard seeds ground on traditional stone wheels. The shop has survived revolutions, industrial food production and two world wars without changing the recipe. The mustard's distinctive character comes from the stone grinding, which keeps the seeds cooler than industrial rollers, preserving the volatile aromatics. Locals bring their own jars for refills; the shop sells mustard by weight from the barrel.
Where to try it: Tierenteyn-Verlent Mustard Shop
Watch out for: Mustard
Gruut Inferno is Ghent's herbal amber ale brewed without hops using a medieval gruit recipe of bay laurel, sweet gale and juniper at the Gruut Stadsbrouwerij on Rembert Dodoensdreef.
History: Before hops became universal in northern European brewing around the 12th century, ale was bittered and flavoured with a mixture of herbs called gruit. The Ghent city authority held the exclusive right (gruitage) to supply gruit to local brewers, making it a significant civic monopoly. The modern Gruut Stadsbrouwerij, founded in 2009, revives this pre-hop tradition using historical herb combinations. Gruut Inferno is the brewery's strongest and most aromatic beer, with a bitter-herbal character unlike any hop-bittered ale.
Where to try it: Gruut Stadsbrouwerij, Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant
Watch out for: Gluten
White asparagus from the Mechelen-Ghent growing belt, poached in salted water and served with browned butter or Hollandaise sauce: the signature spring dish of Flemish brasseries from late April through May.
History: White asparagus cultivation in Flanders dates to the 16th century when the sandy soils of the Mechelen-Sint-Katelijne-Waver belt were found to produce the most tender and mildest spears in Belgium. The season lasts only six weeks; the arrival of white asparagus at Ghent's Groentenmarkt signals the start of spring in the city's kitchen calendar. Flemish white asparagus are earthed-up to prevent the sunlight that would make them turn green; the result is sweeter and less fibrous than the green variety. Every Patershol brasserie adds it to the menu in season.
Where to try it: Vrijmoed, Publiek, Bask
Watch out for: Dairy (Hollandaise), Egg (Hollandaise)
Zeeland mussels steamed in white wine, shallots and parsley then served in the cooking pot alongside double-fried Flemish frites with mayonnaise: the canonical Belgian brasserie dish available in Ghent from late July.
History: Zeeland mussels arrive at Ghent's Groentenmarkt fishmongers from late July when the first harvest comes in from the Zealand beds in the Netherlands. Mosselen met friet is the Belgian national brasserie dish; in Ghent it is most closely associated with the Pakhuis brasserie at the Schuurkenstraat, which serves it as its headline seasonal dish. The combination of steamed mussels and double-fried frites dates to mid-20th century Belgian brasserie culture, when Zeeland mussels became reliably available to inland Flemish cities by rail.
Where to try it: Pakhuis, 't Klokhuys
Watch out for: Shellfish, Dairy, Gluten
Belgian speculoos is a spiced shortcrust biscuit with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and dark brown sugar: crispier than the Dutch version, carved from wooden moulds at Ghent bakeries.
History: Speculoos is the spiced biscuit of the Low Countries, with roots in the 5th December Sinterklaas tradition when biscuits shaped as bishops, windmills and animals were given to children. The Belgian version, produced industrially by Lotus since 1932, is flatter and spicier than the Dutch speculaas. Artisan versions at Ghent's Patisserie Joost Arijs use hand-carved wooden moulds and a house spice blend with higher cinnamon and cardamom ratios. The biscuit is at its peak around Christmas but sold year-round.
Where to try it: The Bakery by Joost Arijs, Himschoot Bakery
Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
The Liege waffle is a yeast-leavened brioche waffle studded with pearl sugar that caramelises on the iron: chewier and more filling than the Brussels waffle, sold at street stalls and bakeries across Ghent.
History: The Liege waffle dates to 18th-century Liege in the Walloon region of Belgium. The recipe uses a brioche dough enriched with eggs and butter, with coarse pearl sugar worked in before pressing on the heated iron. The pearl sugar creates caramelised pockets on the outside. In Ghent the Liege waffle coexists with the Brussels variant at market stalls; the Gentse Feesten street stalls serve both, but the Liege version is more popular for eating while walking.
Where to try it: Waffles and Beer, Vrijdagmarkt
Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Belgian jenever is the ancestor of gin: a malt-wine spirit redistilled with juniper and botanicals, either served young (jonge jenever) or aged (oude jenever) in ceramic bolleke glasses at specialist jenever bars.
History: Jenever has been produced in Ghent since the 17th century when Flemish distillers developed malt wine-based spirits flavoured with juniper. The Belgian Jenever received Protected Geographical Indication status from the EU in 2008. Ghent's 't Dreupelkot on the Groentenmarkt is Belgium's most focused jenever bar: 100+ varieties, serving only in ceramic bolleke glasses, with no beer, wine or cocktails. The bar has served solely jenever since it opened in the 1980s.
Where to try it: 't Dreupelkot, Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant
Watch out for: Gluten (malt base)
Belgian praline: a shell of dark or milk couverture chocolate encasing a filling of butter ganache, gianduja or praliné cream, made by Ghent chocolatiers including Joost Arijs patisserie on the Vlaanderenstraat.
History: The Belgian praline was invented in Brussels in 1912 by Jean Neuhaus, who created the first filled chocolate shell at his pharmacy. The technology spread to Flemish chocolatiers and became the defining Belgian confection. In Ghent, the most technically advanced praline work is at Patisserie Joost Arijs on Vlaanderenstraat, which uses Valrhona and Michel Cluizel single-origin couverture for shells and local cream for ganaches. The Ghent Chocolate and Praline tour offered by local operators visits both industrial and artisan producers.
Where to try it: The Bakery by Joost Arijs
Watch out for: Dairy, Egg, Tree nuts (common)
Ghent's signature dishes include Waterzooi van Vis, Stoverij met Frites, Cuberdon (Gentse Neuzen), Tierenteyn Ghent Mustard, Gruut Inferno (Herbal Beer). See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.