3 Best Restaurants in Oudenaarde, Vlaamse Ardennen

Perched over the road from the river, this waterfront café-restaurant is a popular brunch spot, dishing up warm soups, casseroles, and plenty of breakfast treats, from shakshouka to salmon brioche. Even its coffees are on the indulgent side: latte with honey and stroopwaffel, anyone? 

This historic building, opposite the town hall, makes for a winning impression. It has also recently taken on new owners, who understand the beauty in classic Flemish cooking (think: americain, eel in green sauce, and so on) alongside some simple sharing plates. The setting is as impeccable as ever, however, gazing out across the square from an elegant mansion house. 

You enter Margaretha's through one of the oldest buildings still standing in Oudenaarde, a Romanesque patrician tower built in the 12th century. It has a rich past: this was once an almshouse, then a school, and it takes its name from Margarita de Palma, Charles V's illegitimate daughter who went on to rule the Netherlands and was said to have lived here at one point. So much history and yet it doesn't detract from a dining experience that rarely lets up, from a fine selection of game to a series of set menus that always surprises.