The story
BASK occupies a former petrol station on the Edward Pynaertkaai, a canal-side street in Gent. The space revolves around an open kitchen where the asador – a wood-fired grill – takes centre stage. The industrial past is not disguised; instead, it frames the direct, unfussy approach that defines the restaurant.
“No shortcuts. No excuses.” That motto runs through everything at BASK. The team sources the best available products – turbot, lobster, guinea fowl from their own farm, and txuleta beef – and lets fire do the rest. Each dish is stripped to its essence, always linked to the embers. The restaurant’s own words: “What is cooked over embers reaches the heart.”
Guests sit at the counter or at tables arranged around the open kitchen, watching the cooking process unfold. The atmosphere is welcoming but focused: the goal is for every guest to feel at home and fully immersed in the story of the food. That story is one of connection, product, and craft – a vision that has earned BASK a Michelin Recommended distinction.
Spanish contemporary cooking is the backbone, but the kitchen moves freely within that frame. The menu changes with the seasons and the catch, always driven by what the fire can do to a piece of fish, shellfish, or poultry. The asador is the constant, lending a deep, smoky resonance to every plate. There are no elaborate twists – just precision, patience, and the best ingredients.
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History
Inside this old gas station (self-service water station, an open kitchen), you get three chefs for the price of one: entrepreneur Sam D’Huyvetter (The Dudes), fish-focused Gilles Bogaert (Taxi’s) and grill master Jordin Michiels (also ex-Taxi’s), who have got the barbecue blazing at full whack and are fired up with a focus on fresh produce, hot embers and a hearty dose of good vibes like you’d get in Spanish Basque Country. On the menu, more than half of the 30 or so regular dishes come from the sea (lobster, oysters, salted anchovies from the Bay of Biscay), plus a selection of pintxos to whet the appetite: pimientos de Padrón, chipirons (baby squid) with sobrassada, and chistorra. What next? Wonderfully juicy turbot grilled asado-style, served with patatas bravas, piquillo or mashed potatoes; then a Dame Blanche sundae, made up of three quenelles of sheep’s milk ice cream generously covered in chocolate cider sauce. The cherry on top? The team has its very own farm in Loué in France. Sam goes there every month and even raises poultry and pigs with his father-in-law! // Anika Kane
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