Restaurant Gillis Ghent

Restaurant Gillis sits at Hoogstraat 23, a five-minute walk from Saint Nicholas' Church. It holds an Excellence Award from Wine Spectator and ranks at no. 30 on the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants list.

The kitchen focuses on Mediterranean seafood and modern steak preparation. While the room runs smart, it avoids the stiff, rehearsed feeling of its peers near the Ghent Belfry. Most diners gravitate toward the standard steakhouse experience, yet the Mediterranean menu here is more than an afterthought. It provides a necessary counterpoint to the heavier, traditional fare found at the Vrijdagmarkt, making this the rare spot that succeeds as both a specialist grill and a place for lighter coastal cooking.