Restaurant in Corbion, Belgium
Two Bib Gourmands. Fair price. Book it.
Des Ardennes in Corbion holds back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) and a Google rating of 4.7 from 559 reviews, making it the most credentialled traditional Belgian table in the area at the €€ price tier. Book in autumn or early winter to align with the Ardennes game season. Booking is easy and the value case is clear.
Des Ardennes in Corbion earns two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) and a Google rating of 4.7 across 559 reviews, which is a strong signal in a rural Walloon setting where tourist traffic can dilute quality. At the €€ price point, it is one of the more compelling cases for traditional Belgian cuisine in the Ardennes region, and if you are planning a visit to the Bouillon area, it should be your first call before looking further afield. Booking is direct, the price is accessible, and the Bib Gourmand recognition confirms the kitchen delivers quality above what the bill suggests.
Des Ardennes sits on Rue de la Hate in Corbion, a quiet village in the Belgian Ardennes close to Bouillon and the Semois river valley. The setting shapes the experience: this is not a destination restaurant in an urban dining corridor, it is a traditional Belgian table in a place where the surrounding landscape shifts meaningfully with the seasons. That matters when you are deciding when to go. The Ardennes kitchen calendar runs on what the region produces, and traditional cuisine here means the menu responds to what autumn forests, winter game seasons, and spring river valleys provide. Coming in late autumn or winter, when the Ardennes is historically game country, puts you in the leading position to eat what this kitchen does most naturally. Summer visits are perfectly valid, but the menu will read differently.
The atmosphere at Des Ardennes is warm and unhurried rather than formal or charged with urban energy. At the €€ price tier, you are not walking into a hushed tasting-menu room with theatrical plating. Expect a room that feels genuinely local, with the kind of ambient energy you find in family-run Walloon restaurants: conversation at a moderate level, service that is attentive without being choreographed, and a pace that suits a long lunch or an unhurried dinner. For a special occasion in this part of Belgium, that register is often exactly right. It is a more grounded and personal setting than you would find at a €€€€ table in Brussels or Bruges, and for some occasions, that intimacy is preferable to ceremony.
Chef Gratien Leroy is named on the record, and two back-to-back Bib Gourmands indicate the kitchen has been consistent, not lucky. Michelin's Bib Gourmand designation is awarded specifically for good quality cooking at a price that delivers value — it is not a consolation prize below a star, it is a different endorsement that specifically rewards the price-to-quality ratio. Retaining it in consecutive years is a sign the kitchen is not drifting.
For a traditional cuisine restaurant in the Belgian Ardennes, the seasonal rotation is not a marketing concept — it is the operating logic of the kitchen. The Ardennes has a long association with game cookery: venison, wild boar, and hare appear on regional menus from September through January. If that style of cooking is what draws you, the October-to-December window is the period that aligns most directly with what the season and the tradition make available. Spring brings lighter preparations built around river fish, fresh vegetables, and herbs from the valley. The menu in high summer will be fresher and lighter still, but game-forward cookery is the regional signature and the most compelling reason to time a visit carefully. Check the current menu before booking if a specific seasonal focus matters to your decision.
For travellers combining Des Ardennes with a wider Ardennes itinerary, this seasonal logic also applies to when the village of Corbion itself is most rewarding. Autumn colour and the hunting season create a coherent experience across the region, and a dinner at Des Ardennes fits naturally into a two- or three-night stay around Bouillon. See our full Corbion restaurants guide, our full Corbion hotels guide, and our full Corbion experiences guide if you are building a trip around the area. You can also browse our full Corbion bars guide and our full Corbion wineries guide for what else is nearby.
At €€, Des Ardennes is accessible for a special occasion without requiring the financial commitment of a starred restaurant. If you are marking a birthday, anniversary, or significant dinner in the Ardennes region, the combination of Bib Gourmand credentials and a genuinely local setting gives you confidence without overspending. For the same occasion at a higher budget in Belgium, you would be looking at tables like Boury in Roeselare, Zilte in Antwerp, or Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem , all operating at €€€€ with Michelin star recognition. Des Ardennes is not competing with those rooms; it is the right choice when the occasion calls for quality without ceremony, and when the Ardennes setting is itself part of what you are celebrating. For comparable traditional cuisine experiences at the Bib Gourmand level in other French-speaking regions, Cave à Vin & à Manger in Narbonne and Auberge Grand'Maison in Mûr-de-Bretagne offer a useful frame of reference for what this recognition tier typically delivers.
Address: Rue de la Hate 1, 6838 Bouillon (Corbion), Belgium. Cuisine: Traditional Belgian. Chef: Gratien Leroy. Price tier: €€ (Bib Gourmand , good value by Michelin's own standard). Booking difficulty: Easy. Booking window: For a standard midweek dinner, a few days' notice should be sufficient; for weekend tables during the game season (October to December) or holiday periods, book one to two weeks ahead to avoid missing availability. Dress: No dress code data available; traditional Belgian regional restaurants at this tier are typically smart-casual. Groups: No seat count is published; contact the restaurant directly for large-group enquiries.
See the comparison section below.
If Des Ardennes is your entry point into Belgian dining and you want to explore the broader category, Bozar Restaurant in Brussels and L'air du Temps in Liernu represent different points on the Belgian quality spectrum. For Wallonian and Ardennes-adjacent cooking, d'Eugénie à Emilie in Baudour is another reference worth checking. Elsewhere in Belgium, Bartholomeus in Heist and Willem Hiele in Oudenburg show what the coastal end of the Belgian table looks like at a higher budget tier.
No specific menu data is available, but the Bib Gourmand recognition and traditional cuisine classification point toward honest regional cooking. In the Ardennes, that means game preparations in autumn and winter are the safest bet for eating what the kitchen does leading. Check the current seasonal menu before visiting and prioritise whatever reflects the time of year.
At €€ and with an easy booking situation, Des Ardennes is a reasonable solo option, particularly for a long lunch. The traditional setting and unhurried pace suit solo diners who want to eat well without the pressure of a formal tasting-menu room. It is a more relaxed proposition than a starred table in Brussels would be.
No tasting menu structure is confirmed in the available data. At €€ with Bib Gourmand status, the value case for whatever format the kitchen offers is already established by the Michelin designation. If a tasting menu is available, at this price tier it is almost certainly worth it on value grounds. Confirm the current format when booking.
Seat count and private dining data are not published. For groups of six or more, contact the restaurant directly and book at least two to three weeks ahead, especially during the October-to-December game season when the restaurant is likely to be at its busiest.
Des Ardennes is the primary Bib Gourmand-recognised option in the immediate Corbion area. For a step up in formality and budget, the comparison table below covers €€€€ Belgian restaurants worth considering as alternatives for a different type of occasion. See also our full Corbion restaurants guide for other local options.
Yes. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards at the €€ price tier is a direct endorsement of the value proposition. Michelin awards the Bib specifically when a kitchen delivers quality cooking at a price below what you would expect to pay for that standard. At this price point, and with a Google rating of 4.7 across 559 reviews, the answer is clearly yes.
Yes, with the right expectations. This is not a formal tasting-menu occasion with theatrical service; it is a warm, locally rooted Ardennes restaurant that delivers quality at an accessible price. For a low-key anniversary dinner, a birthday lunch in the Bouillon area, or a celebration that calls for genuine regional cooking rather than a grand urban stage, it works well. If the occasion demands more ceremony, consider a €€€€ table like Castor or Cuchara instead.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Ardennes | Traditional 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 Des Ardennes and alternatives.
The menu at Des Ardennes is grounded in traditional Belgian cuisine, so focus on whatever reflects the current season — that is how the kitchen operates. Chef Gratien Leroy's approach is ingredient-led and regionally rooted, so dishes tied to the Ardennes larder (game, freshwater fish, foraged elements) are the safe bet. Avoid ordering against the grain of what a Bib Gourmand-level kitchen does well: this is not a place for fusion or elaborate showmanship.
At €€ with a traditional cuisine format, Des Ardennes is a low-pressure solo option — no tasting menu commitment, no minimum spend, and a village setting that doesn't carry the social performance pressure of a city restaurant. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards signal consistent quality, so you're not gambling on a single visit. If solo dining in a formal tasting-menu environment worries you, this format is a better fit than something like a starred counter experience.
The venue data does not confirm a tasting menu format at Des Ardennes, so don't plan around one. What is confirmed is a €€ price range and Bib Gourmand recognition — meaning good cooking at a price that doesn't require justification. If a structured multi-course progression is what you're after, a starred Belgian restaurant will serve that format more explicitly.
Nothing in the available data confirms private dining or dedicated group facilities at Des Ardennes. Given its village location in Corbion and traditional format, it is likely a mid-sized dining room rather than a large event space. For groups of 6 or more, check the venue's official channels to confirm capacity and any set menu arrangements before assuming flexibility.
Corbion is a small village, so direct local competition is limited. For comparable value-driven Belgian cooking elsewhere in the country, Castor and Cuchara offer different regional perspectives at accessible price points. If you're willing to travel further for a step up in formality, De Jonkman in Bruges or Comme chez Soi in Brussels operate at a different register — but the €€ Bib Gourmand case for Des Ardennes is hard to match in this part of the Ardennes.
At €€ with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025, Des Ardennes delivers clear value — Bib Gourmand is specifically awarded for good cooking at a moderate price, so the award is itself the answer. You are not paying a premium for ambience or prestige; you are paying for honest, competent traditional Belgian cooking in a quiet Ardennes village. If that is what you want, yes.
Yes, with realistic expectations. At €€, it is accessible for a birthday or anniversary without the financial weight of a starred restaurant, and the Bib Gourmand credential means the food will hold up. The setting in Corbion near the Semois valley adds some atmosphere. That said, if the occasion calls for a formal tasting menu, dedicated sommelier service, or a private dining room, a starred venue will serve that better.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
