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 to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
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.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Mustard
Tip from the editors. The bread is not decorative: it dissolves into the braise and thickens the sauce. Do not skip it.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
'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: Gentse waterzooi with chicken: the stock is rich, the vegetables are cooked right through.
Tip: Book at least two days ahead; the room is tiny and fills weeks ahead in summer.
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.
Order: All-you-can-eat spareribs with the house sauce: the price is fixed, the refills are real.
Tip: Book for Sunday lunch; the all-you-can-eat format fills the room and walk-ins are turned away most evenings.
Pakhuis fills a converted 19th-century warehouse behind a central alley. The cavernous glass-roofed interior keeps a menu of daily-fresh oysters, moules.
Order: Moules frites: the mussels arrive in a deep cast-iron pot and the frites alongside are fried to order.
Tip: Book ahead for weekend dinner; the warehouse vibe is worth it for a big-group celebration.
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