Restaurant in Destelbergen, Belgium
Vegetable-led cooking that earns its price.
Bruun is the most accessible entry point to Michelin-recognised, vegetable-forward tasting menus in the Ghent orbit. Two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024–2025) and a 4.8 Google rating confirm consistent delivery at €€€ pricing. Book for a special occasion if you want a kitchen-led progression built around seasonal Flemish produce with Nordic technical precision.
Imagine a plate arriving at the table built almost entirely around vegetables — not as a concession to dietary preference, but as a deliberate creative choice. That is Bruun's opening statement, and it holds up through the meal. Chefs Ruben and Pieter De Maesschalck run a farm-to-table kitchen in Destelbergen that has earned consecutive Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025, alongside a 4.8 Google rating across 172 reviews. If you want a vegetable-forward tasting experience with Nordic technical influences in the Ghent orbit, Bruun is the right booking. If you need a grand sala, a famous address, or four-figure wine pairings, look elsewhere.
Bruun sits on Dendermondesteenweg in Destelbergen, a short drive east of Ghent. The kitchen philosophy is market-oriented in the most practical sense: the menu follows what is growing and what is ready, which means the progression of a meal here changes with the season rather than being fixed to a printed card. The We're Smart Green Guide, which specifically recognises restaurants that treat vegetables as the centre of the plate rather than a garnish, has highlighted Bruun's approach — a credential that carries more weight in this context than a generic fine-dining award because it tells you something specific about what you will actually eat.
The editorial angle that leading describes Bruun is tasting menu architecture: a sequence that moves from lighter, vegetable-focused appetisers toward more complex preparations, with the Nordic technical register shaping how ingredients are handled , fermentation, precise temperature control, careful acidity. This is not a restaurant where you order à la carte and build your own experience. The kitchen sets the direction, and your role as a diner is to follow the progression. For a special occasion, that format works well: the meal has a shape, a beginning and an end, and the rhythm of courses does the work of creating an occasion without requiring you to manage it.
The 4.8 rating from 172 verified Google reviewers is a meaningful signal at this price tier (€€€). It suggests consistent delivery rather than a restaurant coasting on a single strong night. The Michelin Plate , awarded in both 2024 and 2025 , confirms that the kitchen is operating at a level above casual dining without claiming the full star apparatus. For Destelbergen specifically, that puts Bruun in a different bracket from neighbourhood bistros while staying below the full-service intensity of starred houses in Ghent or Antwerp.
Guest profile that gets the most from Bruun is someone booking a celebration dinner who wants the meal to feel considered and progressive without crossing into the formality of a starred tasting room. A couple marking an anniversary, a birthday dinner for someone who takes food seriously, or a business meal where the setting needs to do some work , all of these fit. The format is less suited to groups who want to share dishes, order freely, or move at their own pace. The kitchen leads; the table follows.
For broader context on the Belgian farm-to-table category, it is worth knowing that this style of cooking , vegetables at the centre, Nordic technique applied to local produce , has become a recognisable movement in Flemish restaurants over the past decade. Bruun's We're Smart Green Guide recognition places it in a defined peer group alongside restaurants like Au Gré du Vent in Seneffe and Wein- und Tafelhaus in Trittenheim. Within Flanders, restaurants such as Vrijmoed in Ghent and Willem Hiele in Oudenburg occupy related creative territory, though with different price positioning and star credentials. Bruun's €€€ pricing makes it the more accessible entry point to this cooking style in the region.
If you are planning a broader Destelbergen or East Flanders trip, Pearl's full Destelbergen restaurants guide covers the full local picture, and the Destelbergen hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide are useful for building the rest of a visit. For high-end Flemish cooking in the wider region, Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem, Zilte in Antwerp, and Boury in Roeselare are the natural comparisons if you want to step up in ambition and price.
Reservations: Booking difficulty is rated Easy , you should not need to plan more than a week or two out, though weekends around special dates will move faster. Budget: €€€, which in Belgian fine-dining terms typically means €60–120 per head before wine; no specific per-head price is confirmed in available data so treat this as a guide. Dress: No formal dress code is confirmed, but the Michelin Plate level and €€€ pricing suggest smart-casual is the appropriate register. Address: Dendermondesteenweg 532, 9070 Destelbergen, Belgium.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bruun | Farm to table | €€€ | Easy |
| Boury | Modern Frlemish, Creative French | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Comme chez Soi | French - Belgian, Classic Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Vrijmoed | Modern Flemish, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| La Durée | French-Belgian, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Cuchara | Modern European, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
A quick look at how Bruun measures up.
Yes, it works well for a low-key special occasion where the food is the focus. The market-oriented, vegetable-forward cooking — recognised by two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) and the We're Smart Green Guide — gives the meal a sense of intention that generic celebration dinners lack. At €€€, it sits at a price point that feels considered rather than extravagant. For something grander and more formal, Vrijmoed in Ghent is the closer alternative.
Bar seating details are not confirmed in available information for Bruun. Given its farm-to-table format and the structured, vegetable-led kitchen approach described by the We're Smart Green Guide, the dining experience appears to be table-based. check the venue's official channels to clarify seating options before visiting.
At €€€, Bruun delivers genuine value for the category. Two consecutive Michelin Plates and recognition from the We're Smart Green Guide for creative vegetable cooking indicate consistent kitchen quality. If you are paying €€€ for conventional meat-centred fine dining, you are probably in the wrong room; if you want technically considered, market-driven cooking where vegetables are the actual star, the price holds up. Vrijmoed offers a comparable creative register at a similar price point in Ghent proper if proximity matters.
Based on the kitchen's market-oriented philosophy and its recognition from the We're Smart Green Guide and Michelin, the tasting format is likely the best way to experience how chefs Ruben and Pieter De Maesschalck construct a full narrative around vegetables. Specific menu structure and pricing are not confirmed publicly, so contact the restaurant to verify current format before booking.
Destelbergen itself has a limited dining scene, so the practical alternatives are in nearby Ghent: Vrijmoed is the most direct comparison for creative, vegetable-forward fine dining with stronger award credentials; Cuchara offers a different register for those who want something less structured. Boury in Roeselare is a step up in prestige and price if a special-occasion upgrade is on the table.
Dress code details are not confirmed for Bruun. Given its farm-to-table positioning and location in a suburban stretch of Destelbergen rather than a city-centre luxury address, the setting is likely relaxed rather than formal. Clean, neat clothing is a safe approach; there is no evidence of a strict dress requirement.
The kitchen's philosophy centres on vegetables, so leaning into vegetable-focused dishes is the point of the visit, not a workaround. The We're Smart Green Guide specifically highlights creative vegetable processing in both appetisers and main courses. Specific dishes and current menu items are not publicly confirmed, so the best move is to let the kitchen lead rather than arriving with a fixed order in mind.
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