Attitude Belgitude in Belgium for Foodies

For Willem Hiele★, the North Sea is both an endless source of inspiration and a playground in which he can lose himself every day. Products such as mussels, shrimps and seasonal vegetables grown in his own backyard or foraged in the dunes, are cooked in creative ways to extract their deepest flavours. By the beginning of summer 2022 Willem will have relocated his original restaurant – housed in his parents’ former fisherman’s cottage – to a brutalist villa from 1975 in Oudenburg (near Ostend). With room for just 24 guests, diners can expect to have the same seafood-led, fresh and local menu, cooking on open fire, raw beauty and many unexpected multi-sensory surprises. We can hardly wait to find out what this Flemish Viking has in store for us. Check the restaurant’s website for more details on the opening.

Nothing at Cuchara★★ is conventional. Ever the food rebel, chef Jan Tournier shares his vision on the future of cooking with an avant-garde set menu of 16 courses. Japanese-inspired cuisine is served by extremely competent staff against the backdrop of a contemporary yet unconventional (black!) interior. Jan and his team have succeeded in combining food, design and music into one multi-sensory universe.

Oak★ is a top-class restaurant with a living-room vibe run by Marcelo Ballardin, a proud chef with Brazilian and Italian roots, serving bold flavour combinations in unexpected textures. From the internationally inspired amuse-bouches to the after-dinner cocktail, Oak seizes every opportunity to delight its guests. With amazing food at moderate prices, you can already guess what the downside will be here: it’s not easy to get a table.

Pure and unspoiled, or ‘Pristine’, that’s what acclaimed chef Sergio Herman named his latest restaurant in Antwerp. If you’re up for sampling his take on typical Zeeland seafood paired with unmistakably Italian flavours, then plan a visit to Le Pristine. The bar or cafe is open all day long for walk-ins, serving a nice selection of wines, cocktails and bar food to share.