Restaurant in Ath, Belgium
Michelin star in a city that rewards planning.
Quai n°4 earned its first Michelin star in 2025 and represents one of Belgium's stronger value cases at the €€€ tier: classical French technique applied with genuine creativity, a 4.8 Google rating across 348 reviews, and a room that rewards a weekend booking. Hard to get into — plan three to four weeks ahead, and further for Saturdays.
At the €€€ price point, Quai n°4 is one of the more considered spending decisions in the Belgian fine dining circuit — you are getting a Michelin-starred kitchen (awarded 2025) without the four-zero-euro-per-head tariff that comes with the country's €€€€ tier. For food-focused travellers willing to seek out Ath, a small Wallonian city roughly 50 kilometres southwest of Brussels, the value proposition here is genuinely strong. The question is not whether the cooking is serious — it is , but whether the format and the journey suit your plans.
Quai n°4 sits on Quai Saint-Jacques, facing the canal that runs through the centre of Ath. The room operates in a green and gold colour scheme that reads as considered rather than showy: this is a fine dining interior that signals ambition without the stiffness of a heritage dining room. The setting is compact and intimate, which means the atmosphere lands differently depending on when you arrive. Early evening on a weekday, it is quiet and focused. On a weekend, the room fills with what the Michelin inspectors describe as a fine dining crowd, and the energy shifts accordingly. If the physical environment matters to you as much as the plate, book for the weekend , the room performs better with people in it.
Quai n°4 is the project of two chefs who trained at Ath Catering School and subsequently worked together before becoming business partners and brothers-in-law. That shared history shows in the coherence of the menu. The cooking reads as classically grounded , real stocks, butter, bisques , with a creative instinct applied to composition rather than technique for its own sake. The Michelin inspectors single out the balance between classicism and creativity, and the example they give is instructive: calf's sweetbread cooked in butter, flanked by langoustine and a creamy bisque made from the langoustine heads. This is not fusion or novelty; it is a kitchen that knows how classical French technique operates and is applying it with precision and personality.
The pastry side of the kitchen is handled by one of the partners and is described by Michelin as demonstrating a virtuoso technique , a genuine flourish rather than an afterthought. At €€€ tier, desserts that stand on their own terms matter. This is not a restaurant where the savoury menu outpaces the sweet course.
Quai n°4 has a Google rating of 4.8 across 348 reviews, which at that volume is a reliable signal rather than a small-sample outlier. This is a restaurant that consistently performs for its guests, not one that divides opinion. That consistency, combined with the 2025 Michelin star, makes booking difficult. Pearl rates this as hard to secure: plan at minimum three to four weeks ahead, and further in advance for weekend slots, which tend to go first given the room's atmosphere advantage on busier evenings.
Ath itself is not a city with a deep dining infrastructure, so the practical calculus is different here than in Brussels or Ghent. If you are building a day around the meal, note that Ath has limited hotel options; most visitors travelling from Brussels or the Flemish cities treat this as a dinner destination and return the same evening. Check our full Ath hotels guide if you want to stay over, and our full Ath bars guide for what to do before or after. For broader context on what the city's food scene offers, our full Ath restaurants guide covers the field.
For those exploring Belgium's broader fine dining circuit, useful comparisons within the country include Bozar Restaurant in Brussels, Zilte in Antwerp, and Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem at the higher end. Closer in style and price positioning are d'Eugénie à Emilie in Baudour and L' Inattendu in Ath itself. Internationally, the cooking at Quai n°4 will resonate with guests who appreciate what kitchens like Maison Lameloise in Chagny do with classical French foundations.
Yes, with a clear condition: this is a destination restaurant in a city that requires deliberate planning to reach. If you are already in Ath, the answer is direct. If you are travelling from Brussels or Ghent, the Michelin star and the €€€ rather than €€€€ pricing make the trip a rational one for anyone who takes modern French-grounded cooking seriously. The 4.8 Google rating at 348 reviews suggests this is not a kitchen that delivers only on special occasions , it performs consistently, which is what a destination meal at this price tier needs to do to justify the effort.
For wine and experience context beyond the meal, explore our Ath wineries guide and our Ath experiences guide.
Quai Saint-Jacques 4, 7800 Ath, Belgium. Michelin 1 Star (2025). Google: 4.8 (348 reviews). Price: €€€. Booking: Hard , reserve 3–4 weeks minimum.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quai n°4 | Michelin 1 Star (2025); After studying at Ath Catering School, then working together (and becoming brothers-in-law), for the last few years Maxence Bouralha and Charles-Maxime Legrand have been business partners and are going from strength to strength at Quai N°4. Their fashionable eatery, which sports a tasteful green and gold colour scheme, attracts a fine dining crowd who flocks here to sample subtle recipes, founded on the chefs’ experience honed in high-flying establishments. They have a knack for striking the right balance between classicism and creativity. For example, they may flank calf’s sweetbread cooked in butter with langoustine and a creamy bisque of langoustine heads for added depth and intensity. Intelligent cuisine that hits the spot every time, paired with subtle sauces. Remember to save space for the desserts crafted by Charles-Maxime, whose virtuoso technique adds a genuine flourish and a refreshing finale to this feast. | €€€ | — |
| Boury | Michelin 3 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Comme chez Soi | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Vrijmoed | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| La Durée | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Cuchara | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
A quick look at how Quai n°4 measures up.
Book 3–4 weeks out minimum — this is a 2025 Michelin-starred restaurant in a small city, and the dining room fills. The cooking runs on a classicism-meets-creativity axis: expect technique-driven dishes like butter-cooked calf's sweetbread with langoustine bisque rather than anything experimental. Save room for dessert; pastry is a genuine strength here, not an afterthought. Ath itself requires a deliberate trip, so pair your visit with a reason to be in the area or treat it as the reason itself.
Bar or counter dining is not documented in the available venue information for Quai n°4. Given its Michelin-starred, fine dining positioning at the €€€ price point, the format is almost certainly table-only. check the venue's official channels to confirm seating options before assuming flexibility.
There are no other Michelin-starred restaurants in Ath itself, which makes Quai n°4 the clear option if you want starred cooking in the city. For comparable Belgian fine dining with a longer track record, Comme chez Soi in Brussels and Boury in Roeselare are the reference points — both at higher price tiers and with multi-star credentials. If you are willing to travel, those offer more choices; if you are in Ath, Quai n°4 is the destination.
The venue data does not specify a dress code, but the green and gold room, Michelin star, and €€€ pricing signal a formal-leaning atmosphere. Treat it as you would any one-star restaurant in Belgium: neat, polished casual at minimum — jacket optional but not out of place. Trainers and very casual dress would likely feel mismatched with the room.
Yes, with a caveat: the value case holds if you are making a deliberate trip or already in the Ath area. At €€€ with a 2025 Michelin star, a Google rating of 4.8 across 348 reviews, and cooking described by Michelin as intelligent and consistently precise, the quality-to-price ratio is strong by Belgian fine dining standards. If you are comparing it to Comme chez Soi or Boury, those carry more prestige — but they also cost more and are harder to book. Quai n°4 is the sharper value play.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
