Restaurant in Comblain-au-Pont, Belgium
Michelin-noted, river-side, easy to book.
Un Max de Goût holds a 2024 Michelin Plate and a 4.6 Google rating from nearly 400 reviews, making it the strongest fine-dining case for a deliberate trip to the Ourthe valley. Chef Maxime Zimmer's creative modern cuisine at the €€€ tier sits below Belgium's starred circuit in price but not in ambition. A weekend lunch with the river alongside is the value-optimised visit.
Getting a table at Un Max de Goût is genuinely easy by the standards of Belgian fine dining — book a week or two in advance and you should be fine. The harder question is whether the restaurant justifies a deliberate trip to Comblain-au-Pont, a small town in the Ourthe valley that most Belgian diners pass through rather than plan around. The short answer: yes, for the right occasion and at the right time of year. Michelin awarded the restaurant a Plate in 2024, and with a Google rating of 4.6 across nearly 400 reviews, the quality signal is consistent. Chef Maxime Zimmer is cooking creative modern cuisine with a local-produce focus, and the Ourthe riverfront setting adds genuine atmosphere. This is a destination worth building an evening — or a long Sunday lunch , around.
The restaurant sits directly on the Quai de l'Ourthe, and the river is a real asset rather than a marketing line. Michelin's own assessment notes that the Ourthe running alongside the building reinforces the contemporary elegance inside , a rare case where the exterior and interior work together rather than compete. The dining room reads as a serious but not stiff space, suited to a celebration dinner or a considered date rather than a casual weeknight meal.
On the plate, Zimmer's approach is rooted in flavoursome local ingredients, with a creative layer that keeps things from feeling like a direct bistro. Michelin describes his cooking as a youthful take on classic foundations that stimulates rather than reassures , which in practice means you should expect dishes with a point of view rather than comfort-food execution. The cuisine type is listed as Modern Cuisine at the €€€ price tier, which positions it below the €€€€ bracket occupied by most of Belgium's Michelin-starred rooms. That gap matters when you are deciding where to spend your money.
The editorial angle worth examining here is whether lunch or dinner is the smarter visit. In Belgian fine-dining restaurants at the €€€ tier, lunch often delivers most of the kitchen's quality at a lower price point, and the midday light along the Ourthe would make the riverside setting considerably more vivid than an evening visit in winter. If you are calculating value per euro, a weekend lunch , particularly in spring or early summer when the Ourthe valley is at its most appealing , is likely to outperform a midweek dinner on almost every dimension: setting, atmosphere, and probably price. Autumn is also worth considering; the valley light in October is a genuine reason to time your visit.
Dinner, by contrast, is the format to choose if you want the full special-occasion register: unhurried pacing, a longer wine list exploration, and the kind of evening that stretches across several hours. For a significant birthday, anniversary, or a business dinner where the environment needs to do some work, the evening format earns its keep. Neither format is a wrong choice, but they serve different needs and budgets.
Un Max de Goût is a strong match for couples or small groups planning a celebration in the Liège province who want something more considered than a brasserie but do not need the full formality of a Michelin-starred room. It is also a good answer for diners who have already worked through the starred options in Brussels and Liège and want to explore what is happening in the wider Wallonian countryside. For solo diners or anyone on a tighter schedule, the logistics of getting to Comblain-au-Pont are worth factoring in , this is not a restaurant you will stumble into after a museum visit.
Groups should be aware that seat count data is not available, so contacting the restaurant directly before assembling a large party is sensible. The €€€ pricing suggests this is a restaurant where a full dinner with wine will register as a treat rather than an everyday spend, but it should not feel punishing compared to the €€€€ options across Belgium's fine-dining circuit.
Reservations: Book by phone or in person; no website is currently listed, so direct contact is the only confirmed route. Availability is generally accessible , this is not a restaurant requiring months of lead time. Dress: Smart casual is appropriate given the contemporary setting and Michelin recognition; no dress code is formally specified. Budget: €€€ tier; expect a meaningful spend for dinner with wine, but meaningfully less than the €€€€ restaurants in Belgium's starred circuit. Getting there: Comblain-au-Pont is a drive from Liège (roughly 25 km along the Ourthe valley) and has no major public transport connections, so arriving by car is the practical choice for most visitors. Leading timing: Spring and early summer for the riverfront setting at its leading; autumn for the valley light. Weekend lunch for value; evening for occasion dining.
If you are planning a wider trip around this visit, Pearl has guides to help: our full Comblain-au-Pont restaurants guide, our full Comblain-au-Pont hotels guide, our full Comblain-au-Pont bars guide, our full Comblain-au-Pont wineries guide, and our full Comblain-au-Pont experiences guide.
For broader context on Belgium's modern cuisine circuit, see Pearl profiles for Boury in Roeselare, Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem, Zilte in Antwerp, L'air du temps in Liernu, Bozar Restaurant in Brussels, Willem Hiele in Oudenburg, Bartholomeus in Heist, Castor in Beveren, Cuchara in Lommel, d'Eugénie à Emilie in Baudour, De Jonkman in Sint-Kruis, Frantzén in Stockholm, and FZN by Björn Frantzén in Dubai.
Seat count data is not publicly available, so contact the restaurant directly before planning a group visit. Given the €€€ price tier and the riverside setting in a small town, this is more naturally suited to parties of two to six than large celebrations. For bigger groups in the Liège area, it is worth confirming capacity in advance.
At the €€€ tier with a 2024 Michelin Plate and a 4.6 Google rating from nearly 400 reviews, the price-to-quality ratio compares favourably against Belgium's €€€€ fine-dining circuit. You are paying for creative modern cuisine with local produce, a distinctive riverside setting, and a kitchen with clear technical ambitions , all at a price point below the starred rooms in Brussels, Bruges, and Ghent. Worth it, especially for a weekend lunch when you get the full experience without the dinner premium.
No bar seating is confirmed in available data. The restaurant presents as a sit-down dining destination rather than a drop-in drinking venue. If a casual visit is your priority, Comblain-au-Pont is better served by checking our Comblain-au-Pont bars guide for alternatives.
Specific dishes are not confirmed in available data, so ordering specifics cannot be recommended here. What Michelin's assessment does make clear is that the kitchen focuses on flavoursome local specialties given a creative, contemporary treatment. Ask your server what is driven by the current season , that is almost certainly where the kitchen's strongest work sits, given the local-produce emphasis.
Menu format details are not confirmed in available data. Given the Michelin Plate recognition and the creative approach Michelin describes, a multi-course format would make sense here, but whether a tasting menu is offered or priced separately cannot be confirmed. Contact the restaurant directly to clarify options before booking, particularly for a special occasion where format matters.
Yes, this is one of the more compelling options for a special occasion in the Liège province: a riverside setting that adds genuine atmosphere, a kitchen with Michelin recognition, and a price tier that makes it feel like a treat without the full commitment of a €€€€ room. For an anniversary or significant birthday, an evening booking works well. For a celebratory lunch where the setting and daylight work in your favour, weekend afternoon is the stronger call.
Comblain-au-Pont has very limited fine-dining competition, which is part of what makes Un Max de Goût worth the trip. For comparable modern cuisine experiences in Belgium, consider L'air du temps in Liernu for a Wallonian alternative, or Bozar Restaurant in Brussels if you want a city-based option. See our full Comblain-au-Pont restaurants guide for the complete local picture.
Booking difficulty is rated as easy. One to two weeks in advance should secure most dates; popular weekend slots in spring and summer may fill faster given the seasonal draw of the Ourthe valley setting. This is not a restaurant that requires the months-out planning typical of Belgium's starred rooms , but do not leave it to the day before for a Friday or Saturday evening.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Un Max de Goût | Modern Cuisine | €€€ | Easy |
| Boury | Modern Frlemish, Creative French | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Comme chez Soi | French - Belgian, Classic Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Castor | Modern European, Modern French | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Cuchara | Modern European, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| De Jonkman | Modern Flemish, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
What to weigh when choosing between Un Max de Goût and alternatives.
No group capacity data is confirmed in available records, so call the restaurant directly at Quai de l'Ourthe 17 to discuss your party size before assuming availability. At €€€ with a Michelin Plate, this is not a venue built around high-volume covers, so larger groups should check early and be flexible on timing.
At €€€, Un Max de Goût earns its price point: Michelin awarded it a Plate in 2024, citing Maxime Zimmer's creative reworking of local specialties as genuinely flavour-driven rather than decorative. For the Liège province, that combination of riverside setting and Michelin-recognised cooking at this tier is hard to replicate without driving to Liège city itself. If €€€ is your ceiling and you want a destination meal, this delivers.
Bar seating is not confirmed in the available venue data. Given the restaurant's contemporary dining format and Michelin recognition, a table booking is the expected format — check the venue's official channels to ask about informal seating options.
Specific dishes are not documented here, but Michelin's 2024 assessment points to Maxime Zimmer's creative handling of local regional specialties as the core strength. Order with that in mind: whatever references the Ourthe valley or Belgian seasonal produce is likely where Zimmer's cooking is sharpest.
Menu format and pricing structure are not confirmed in the venue data, so it is worth asking directly when you book. At €€€ with a Michelin Plate, a tasting or set-menu format is plausible, and Zimmer's focus on creative, flavour-led cooking suits that structure — but confirm before assuming it is on offer.
Yes — this is one of the stronger options in the province for a celebration dinner. The Michelin Plate, Zimmer's cuisine, and the Ourthe riverfront setting all point toward a meal that feels considered rather than routine. Couples and small groups marking an occasion will find it a better fit than a large party looking for a buzzy room.
Comblain-au-Pont has limited direct competition at this tier, which is part of why Un Max de Goût draws from across the province. For Michelin-star ambition in Belgium, Boury or Comme chez Soi are in a higher bracket. Closer to the Liège region, the better comparison is whether you want a destination drive to a Michelin Plate setting or a city-based alternative with easier logistics.
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