Bar Terroir is a wine bar in Groentenmarkt, Ghent.
Bar Terroir sits steps from the vegetable market square, sourcing wines from small estates and pairing them with artisan cheeses and charcuterie plates.
Must order: Cheese plate with a Loire valley white: the bar curates the pairings and they rarely disappoint.
Tip: The private room with a Ghent towers view seats up to 15; book it for a wine dinner group.
Address: Groentenmarkt 15, 9000 Gent, Ghent
Vinogradoff is a wine shop and bar specialising in natural and biodynamic wines from Eastern Europe: Georgia, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Czech Republic alongside.
Wine focus: Eastern European and natural wines
Order: Georgian amber wine in a traditional qvevri style: skin-fermented, oxidative and unlike any European.
Tip: Shop-bar hybrid; most visits start with the staff recommending a region and end with buying a bottle home.
Win is a compact natural wine bar on Burgstraat near the Gravensteen castle, with a weekend brunch menu and an afternoon coffee service in a renovated room.
Wine focus: Natural wine and brunch cafe
Order: Afternoon glass of the current house natural red with home-made madeleines: the most Ghentian pre-dinner.
Tip: Open Wednesday to Saturday from 10:00; the brunch format on weekends is popular, book ahead.
Hey Frankie is a neighbourhood wine bar open Fridays to Sundays near Vrijdagmarkt. The list is natural-wine focused: growers who farm without pesticides.
Wine focus: Natural wine and wine shop
Order: Weekend natural wine pairing glass with bar snacks: the team selects from what arrived that week.
Tip: Open only three days a week; the Friday evening slot before a Vrijdagmarkt dinner is the sweet spot.
Allegro Moderato has one of the few wine terraces in Ghent with direct views of the medieval guild houses, focusing on Belgian and French grower wines.
Wine focus: Belgian and French wines with canal views
Order: Belgian natural wine by the glass with oysters: the Korenlei terrace turns this into a postcard.
Tip: The terrace fills fast on summer evenings; book a table and stay for dinner to hold it.
Volta's wine list is one of the most ambitious in Ghent, matching modern Belgian cooking with grower wines from across Europe in a converted turbine hall.
Wine focus: Modern European wines at a fine restaurant
Order: Ask the sommelier for the glass of the day: the team changes the by-the-glass selection nightly.
Tip: Walk-in seats at the bar are easier to get than a table booking; the park setting adds to the atmosphere.
Roots is a farm-to-table Patershol bistro that treats its natural wine list as seriously as its food. The optional wine pairing for the tasting menu brings.
Wine focus: Natural wine pairing at farm-to-table bistro
Order: Wine pairing with the seasonal menu: four to five small pours matched by the kitchen to each course.
Tip: One of the best-value wine pairings in Ghent; the pairing adds around €25 to a €45 tasting menu.
