7 Best Restaurants in Vlaamse Ardennen, Ghent and the Leie

A seasoned performer. This classy restaurant, run by owners Marniek and Christine, has been dishing up imaginative takes on classic bistro dishes since 1999. A back-garden terrace makes for a quiet escape, while the understated interior sets a refined mood for some sophisticated cooking. 

You'll find an absolute sea of bakeries selling mattentaarts, the iconic local curd pastry that errs decidedly on the sweet and dry side. Everyone has their favorite bakery, though the more mean-spirited might argue there's little difference in quality. Nevertheless, this artisanal bakers high up on Vestin is well-loved by locals, and makes a fine pick-me-up when walking the Muur.   

This café-bar on the market square is popular among cyclists, as any glance at its walls—festooned in photos, jerseys, and memorabilia from the Tour of Flanders—will tell you. Owned by a former professional rider, Frederik Penne, it's a good spot to grab a coffee, a beer, or a few ideas for places to pedal in the area. 

This charming redbrick eatery on the corner of Collegestraat rings all the right bells. There is nothing too adventurous here; French and Flemish crowd-pleasers are the order of the day, from cordon bleu and stoofvlees to fillet of Mechelse koekoek (a local breed of chicken from Mechelen). But the result is pleasing and the quality consistent. 

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.