The Top 100 Places to Eat Near VAS
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Rank 1. VAS
Franco-Belgian French
A corner building near the Gentseweg highway that somehow pulls off genuinely elegant, with warm materials and a color scheme someone thought about. This Franco-Belgian restaurant runs a menu that tips classical toward the contemporary without making a show of it, duck cooked rare with champagne sauce and sea buckthorn being the kind of thing that sounds fussy but arrives feeling natural. The front-of-house team is the sort that makes a table feel like the best seat in the room.
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Rank 2. 't Korennaer
Modern French
A Michelin-starred modern French restaurant in Sint-Niklaas where the chef pulls from Japanese and North African flavors without making a fuss about it. Trusted local suppliers, from a specific butcher to a specific asparagus grower, keep the ingredients doing most of the talking. The room is genuinely stylish, the terrace inviting, and the whole thing carries a warmth that doesn't usually come with this level of cooking.
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Rank 4. Nova
Basque
A Basque barbecue grill anchors the open kitchen of this calm, stylish townhouse tucked into a working-class neighborhood near the Grand Place. The surprise menu follows whatever the market brought that morning, with the chef working closely with local producers and running a low-waste kitchen. Counter seats let you watch it all come together. Selected by the Michelin Guide.
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Rank 5. Hofke van Bazel
Contemporary French
The wine cellar is visible through a glass panel in the floor, which sets the tone. This one-Michelin-star restaurant in the Flemish countryside runs on produce the chef tends in his own kitchen garden down the road, and seasonal vegetables form the backbone of creative French contemporary cooking. The room leans romantic, the garden terrace leans northern Italian, and the caviar bar sits somewhere in between, daring you to order.
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Rank 6. Kokovin
French
A garden patio shaded and sociable anchors this French restaurant on the edge of Sint-Niklaas, where cooking swings comfortably between classical and contemporary. The room runs on genuine hospitality, with the front-of-house half of the family steering guests through a wine list she clearly knows well. The kitchen, manned by the other two, leans into comfort without apologizing for it: good sole, fat shrimp fritters, duckling with proper fries.
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Rank 7. Tafeltje Rond
Classic French
Parquet floors, a black-and-white palette, and tables set with the kind of care that makes you sit up straighter: this Parisian-style brasserie in Beveren leans hard into old-school French romance. The chef works classic Gallic territory, tournedos Rossini and seabass in a salt crust, and has a habit of leaving the kitchen to finish dishes tableside and chat. Set menu at lunch, à la carte in the evening.
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Rank 9. Trattoria Bazalia
Italian
A patio overlooking the church of St Peter's sets the tone for this Italian trattoria, the more casual sibling of a Michelin-starred neighbor in the same building. The kitchen leans on ingredients from Puglia but roams freely across Italian regions, landing on classics like vitello tonnato and ossobuco alongside more composed plates. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand, which tracks for a place that takes the cooking seriously without the stiff shoulders.
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Rank 10. Het Moment
Modern French
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Rank 11. Sense
Modern French
A Michelin-starred fine dining room in a quiet Flemish town, where the pared-back elegance of the space lets the cooking do the talking. The chef's approach is minimalist in spirit but classical in technique, running from spit-roasting to Binchotan grilling, with the kind of food-and-wine pairings that make you want to take notes. Dress well and expect a long, unhurried evening.
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Rank 12. Wilford T
Modern French
The restaurant shares a building with Wilford X, a working exhibition gallery, and the art stays on the walls rather than the plates, though the chef does finish dishes tableside if the mood strikes. It's a modern French dining room with the calm, spare feel of somewhere that takes ingredients seriously, pairing them in combinations that sound odd on paper and tend to work in practice. The crowd arrives expecting to be surprised, which is usually the point.
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Rank 13. De Ceder
Franco-Belgian French
A Berkel meat slicer and the father-in-law's old bicycle share wall space with vintage black-and-white photos, which sets the tone for this Franco-Belgian restaurant that has been an old-school institution in the Beveren area. The chef cooks à la minute, leaning on classic technique while folding in Asian spices when the mood strikes. A B&B sits upstairs for anyone who handles the wine list a little too enthusiastically.
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Rank 14. Le Cirque
Modern New American
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The wood-burning stove in the corner isn't decorative; the open kitchen runs on actual fire, and you can watch the whole operation from your seat. This friendly bistro in Bornem earns its Michelin Bib Gourmand with set menus that slide Flemish classics toward Asian and Mediterranean territory without making a fuss about it. The portions are generous in a way that feels deliberate rather than accidental, and the front of house runs like someone actually enjoys the job.
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Rank 16. Misera
Modern French
An open kitchen and counter take up most of the room at this modern French restaurant in Antwerp's Nieuw Zuid, so you watch every plate being built whether you planned to or not. Nicolas Misera holds a Michelin star for cooking that leans hard on fish and shellfish, with classical bones and sauces that quietly steal the show. Everything is à la carte, which feels almost radical at this level.
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Rank 17. Nebo
Modern French
The name means "sky" in Croatian, a quiet nod to the chef's father and his own Michelin-starred restaurant. This is a polished fine-dining room in Antwerp's Nieuw Zuid district, where an à la carte menu leans on classical French technique with enough unconventional turns to keep things interesting. The sommelier holds a master credential, and the wine list shows it. Nebo holds a Michelin star.
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Rank 18. Bar Misera
Seafood
Tightly packed tables, wine bottles wedged wherever they'll fit, and a menu built around sharing plates with a heavy lean toward seafood: Bar Misera is the kind of casual, slightly chaotic bistro that Nieuw Zuid locals seem to treat as a second living room. The format is snacks first, larger plates to follow, with sides chosen separately. The fish comes bright and acidic, the kind of cooking that makes you slow down.
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The view from the top floor of the Museum aan de Stroom takes in the whole Antwerp skyline, which is a strong opening move for a three-Michelin-star creative restaurant. Viki Geunes runs a stripped-back room, elegant and quiet except for an old record player adding a jazzy hum, and builds dishes that are intricate without fussing about it. The kind of place where the sauces alone warrant a moment of silence.
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Rank 20. Hertog Jan at Botanic
Asian New American
Concrete walls and muted grey tones set the scene for this intimate two-Michelin-star creative restaurant inside Antwerp's Botanic Sanctuary Hotel. The chef's Asian obsessions run through everything, and the kitchen asks guests not to post photos, which somehow makes the meal feel more like a secret. The cooking follows the motto "simplicity isn't simple," which is either profound or a warning that dinner will take a while, probably both.
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A converted warehouse on the Vlaamse Kaai that still feels like one, in the way only a good renovation manages. This modern restaurant runs lunch menus and a five-course dinner, built around food that pairs smoky and sweet without apology. The sourdough is made in-house and sold at the door, which tells you where the kitchen's head is at. Picked up a spot in the Michelin Guide.
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Dishes still arrive under a cloche, lifted tableside with a formality that most kitchens abandoned decades ago. This is a classic fine dining restaurant inside a handsome old Antwerp townhouse, where the chef has held a Michelin star since the mid-eighties and shows no signs of slowing down. Pig's trotters share the menu with langoustines, Bresse chicken swims in morel cream, and the sauces do the real work throughout.
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Rank 23. BÚN
Vietnamese
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Nick Bril's two-Michelin-starred restaurant moved from a grand church to a converted warehouse on the Eilandje, and the shift shows: the room is minimalist and airy, with serious art on the walls and the chef's DJ turntables sitting right there in the open kitchen. The cooking is creative and internationally minded, built on mature ingredients, last-minute grilling, and sauces with real backbone. Dress well and come hungry.
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Rank 25. Bistrot du Nord
Traditional French
Vintage floor tiles, wall mirrors, and wood paneling give this Michelin-starred Antwerp bistro the look of a French brasserie that time politely forgot to update. The chef runs a tight classical French menu, with a particular affection for the offal-and-tripe end of the spectrum, handled with the kind of technique that makes you wonder why everyone else abandoned it. Book ahead; the room fills fast with people who already know.
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Rank 26. Fine Fleur
Modern French
The kitchen team works behind smoked glass, visible but unhurried, while a young front-of-house crew moves with the kind of easy confidence that suggests they enjoy being here. Fine Fleur is a fine dining restaurant inside the Botanic Sanctuary Hotel, and holds a Michelin star for modern French cooking with a Dutch edge: gutsy sauces, exotic flavors, and a pastry chef who clearly has something to prove. Jacob Jan Boerma and Thomas Diepersloot are behind it.
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Rank 27. Nathan
Modern French
Marble surfaces and dark wood set the tone before a single plate arrives, and the room has the composed confidence of somewhere that has thought hard about everything. This Michelin-starred fine dining spot in Antwerp runs on classical French technique bent toward something more playful, where familiar flavors get sharpened by acidic Asian notes. The chef's plating is precise enough to make you feel slightly guilty picking up a fork.
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Rank 28. InVINcible
Bistro French
A wine-forward French bistro where counter seats face the open kitchen and you can taste a glass before committing, which is either hospitality or smart salesmanship, probably both. The cooking runs to big, unapologetic Gallic territory: bone marrow butters, veal kidneys, whole fish in salt crust for two. The kind of food that makes you order another glass without noticing you've done it.
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Rank 29. Ninja
Middle Eastern
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Rank 30. The Butcher's Son
Steakhouse
The Butcher's Son sits inside the De Koninck brewery, sharing a building with a bakery, a chocolatier, and the butcher's shop where the chef once worked, which tells you something about how seriously he takes his sourcing. This is a Michelin-starred restaurant where red meat is the heart of it, though the kitchen drifts cheerfully into surf-and-turf territory. The industrial-loft room makes it feel looser than the cooking actually is.
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Fourteen seats, a short menu, and a chef who treats Belgian comfort food as a starting point rather than a destination. Bar Pêche is a tiny modern restaurant where stoemp and sausage gets quietly reimagined, and the cordon bleu arrives with Italian ham and truffle cheese. The room is relaxed, the ideas are not, and the booking list fills up in a way that suggests word got around some time ago.
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Rank 32. Bizim Kebap
Turkish
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Rank 33. Pont-Neuf
Seafood
A dockside terrace on the Antwerp waterfront sets the mood at this Michelin-starred seafood restaurant, where the kitchen leans hard into North Sea produce. The chef's approach is about restraint, letting a perfectly poached brill or a golden butter-fried fillet carry the plate, with sauces arriving as quiet support rather than the main event. Flemish good taste, Italian wine, and a Barbera d'Alba already open on the counter.
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Rank 34. SoCal Tacos
Mexican
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Pop art canvases inspired by the CoBrA movement cover the walls, setting the tone for a sharing-plates spot that leans casual but pulls it together with a proper bar program. The menu hops across continents without apology, lobster rolls alongside pâté en croûte, a beef entrecôte, tarte Tatin for the finish. Leopoldplaats regulars seem to treat it as a standing arrangement rather than a one-off.
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Rank 36. Les Années Folles
Modern French
The website insists "this isn't a restaurant," which is a bold claim for a place serving modern French-Belgian tasting menus inside a 1920s building with parquet floors and period wooden mouldings. The chef is quietly obsessed with sauces and spices, and has a way with a knife that shows in the plating. He also comes out of the kitchen to serve you himself, which either charms or unsettles, depending on your disposition.
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A Michelin-starred spot hiding behind an unremarkable front door in Antwerp, Bloesem seats a handful of people around a counter and one shared table for a single set menu of around fifteen courses. The kitchen leans seasonal and a little playful, textures shifting dish to dish in ways that feel deliberate rather than showy. The host handles pairings, alcoholic or not, with enough enthusiasm that you'll probably let her choose.
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Rank 38. Cotmeh
Turkish
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Rank 39. Izumi
Japanese
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Rank 40. Non Solo Tè
French
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Rank 41. Dabba King
Indian
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Rank 43. Plump
Smash burger American
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The vol-au-vent and steak tartare have been on the menu long enough to feel like the point, not the legacy. This is a smart, traditional restaurant where the kitchen leans into fire and seasonal produce, and the wine cellar runs deep on Burgundy and Tuscany. The room is elegant without being stiff, the kind of place where Waasmunster regulars occupy the same tables week after week and nobody seems in a hurry to leave.
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Rank 45. Cantine
Mediterranean
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Rank 46. Ukiyo
Modern Japanese
A former presbytery turned contemporary restaurant, Ukiyo pairs French technique with a genuine obsession with Japan, visible across both the à la carte and an omakase menu. The setting runs from a sleek cocktail bar through a polished dining room and out to a manicured garden. Ponzu-sauced fish and rare Anjou pigeon with morel gravy suggest the kitchen means it. The kind of place that takes pampering seriously, in a building that was once devoted to a different kind of devotion.
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Rank 47. Les Saveurs de Yamada
Japanese
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Rank 48. Ni Shifu
Sichuan
The chili oil here is the real opening statement: Sichuan cooking in full, unapologetic form, with a menu long enough to cause genuine decision paralysis. This casual, no-frills restaurant in Antwerp earns its Michelin Bib Gourmand on the strength of honest, fiery Chinese cooking, the kind that has regulars leaning over bowls of rich fish soup or pork braised in fermented black beans. Loud, lively, and very easy to spend too little money at.
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Rank 49. Andy Roasters
Coffee
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Rank 51. Kato
Sushi
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Rank 52. Funk
Vegan Bakery
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Rank 53. Noung Inle
Burmese Noodles
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Rank 55. Taqueria Rico
Mexican
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Rank 58. Leo Antwerpen
Artisanal Bakery
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Rank 59. Qin
Cantonese
Chinese lanterns and dark wood set the mood at this Cantonese restaurant inside Hotel De Keyser, where the kitchen's calling card is an extensive roster of house-made dim sum. The menu runs from Xiao Long Bao to Sichuan pepper duck to a classic hotpot, the last requiring a reservation, which feels appropriately ceremonious. The cooking skews traditional with just enough modern adjustment to keep things from feeling like a history lesson.
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Rank 64. Camion
Vegetarian
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Rank 65. Mimis
Cretan Greek
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Rank 68. Glou Glou
Fusion French
A cozy, convivial wine bar and small-plates spot on a quiet Antwerp square, Glou Glou takes its name from the sound of natural wine pouring freely, which sets the tone for the whole evening. The sommelier steers the glass side; the kitchen does Franco-Asian-Italian tapas, loose and generous in spirit. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and booking ahead is less a suggestion than a practical necessity.
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Rank 69. Mario
Italian
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Rank 70. Soixante
Polish Eastern European
Tables packed close enough that you'll learn your neighbor's business, and a window that makes the whole thing look like a dare. This is a creative restaurant where the chef's Polish roots steer the menu toward earthy, tangy combinations that tend to surprise. Pearl barley stands in for risotto rice, squid ink involved. The wine cellar is taken seriously, which the room's cosy, nostalgic clutter doesn't necessarily suggest it would be.
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A former linen factory in Zele that now turns out Michelin-starred modern cuisine, the kind where every vegetable arrives as though it was measured with a ruler. The chef's cooking is classical at its core, with quiet creative detours that keep things interesting. Dishes favor a few strong ingredients and let them do the arguing, which takes more confidence than it looks. Small, spare room; the food is doing the decorating.
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Rank 75. Chingu
Korean
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Rank 77. Picniq
Korean
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Rank 78. El Gato Gordo
Mexican
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Rank 79. Osaka
Japanese
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Rank 80. Jimmyz Burger
American
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Rank 81. Little Bún
Vietnamese
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Rank 83. De SmaakNatie
Italian
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Rank 84. Marché-Couverts
French
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Marble details and a serious wine cellar set the scene at this two-Michelin-star fine dining room in a quiet Belgian town that gives away nothing from the outside. Thierry Theys cooks with the kind of technical precision that makes each dish feel both considered and alive, pairing unexpected flavors in ways that hold together. Wines by the glass and an absurdly good petit-four spread at the end make it hard to argue with dessert.
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Rank 89. Normo
Coffee
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Rank 90. Bar Ami
Mexican
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Rank 91. Bistrot De Pottenbrug
Franco-Belgian French
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Rank 93. Shuk
Middle Eastern
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Rank 94. Nives
Bakery
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Rank 96. Neon
Creative French
A former teacher training college canteen is now a Michelin-starred fine dining room where the chef, Nils Proost, treats a whole North Sea fish or a full carcass the way other kitchens treat a prime cut: nothing leaves without becoming something. Fermentation, zero waste, and five seasonal menus drive the cooking. The result is creative French with deep regional roots, in a town most people drive through on the way somewhere else.
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Rank 97. Bar(t)-à-vin
French
The meat hooks are still on the wall and the old butcher's tiles are still glazed in color, which tells you most of what you need to know about this Franco-Belgian bistro tucked into a former slaughterhouse. The menu is short and Gallic and cooked without fuss. Bart co-owns and runs the floor on weekends, and his wine knowledge is the kind you want applied directly to your glass.
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A restored farmstead tucked into the Kontich countryside is not where you'd expect to find a Michelin-starred tasting menu, which is partly the point. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the fields, old beams frame the room, and the kitchen frames each dish around a single clean flavor rather than a crowd of them. The wine pairings are taken seriously enough to interest people who take wine seriously.
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Rank 99. Cannolo
Sicilian
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Rank 100. Napoleon
French
A French restaurant near the station in Hulst with a distinctly Burgundian soul: generous portions, classical preparations, and a wine list broad enough to keep the table busy. North Sea sole and scampi come out the traditional way, nothing fussed over. The host runs the room warmly, and regulars seem to treat the place as a standing arrangement rather than an occasional outing.