The story
Kruidtuin delivers a light seasonal cuisine in Ghent, centered on fresh produce from local growers. The kitchen adapts its menu rapidly to honor the availability of regional ingredients.
The kitchen constructs its menu around the daily output of suppliers and bioboeren. This reliance on immediate availability forces the light seasonal cuisine to evolve constantly, rejecting a static list in favor of ingredients at their absolute peak. The focus spans meat, fish, and vegetables with equal rigor. This approach earned three radishes from We're Smart Green Guide.
Fixed menus guide guests through structured courses. Current offerings feature courgette accompanied by Zeeland mussels and egg yolk, or pladijs served with hand-peeled shrimp and young carrots. Evening guests might select wulk served with tomato and cucumber crisps, or hoevekip paired with sucrine lettuce and girolle mushrooms. Dessert features mountain avens ice cream or a cheese selection with chutney.
A beautiful garden sits behind the restaurant, offering a quiet escape from the city. Inside, the atmosphere stays cozy and flexible, handling everything from individual lunches to private dinners for twenty guests. The drink list reflects the same honesty, focusing on organic and natural wines. Recommendations point to Gamay from Beaujolais and Pinot noir from Austria, selected to match the brightness of the food.
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Relax and take a deep breath: Toon Deseyne comes in peace. At the slender Kruidtuin, a sober mansion not far from the Lys River, the Ghent chef invites you in for a soothing meal. The tone is set from the very first bite of sourdough bread: homemade, still warm, with caraway and fennel seeds. What’s next? Baby cabbage grilled on the plancha topped with a soft-boiled egg and mustard leaf; blue ling paired with a divine shrimp sauce, plus salt-cooked celeriac, fermented red cabbage and scallop coral to complete the picture; then picanha escorted by roasted portobello and salsify, plus aniseed mushrooms, fermented garlic and crunchy nuts. We finish as we started, with a sourdough bread, chestnut and pear ice cream. // Romy Van Helden
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