Restaurant in Gent, Belgium
Vegetable-forward Michelin star, book mid-week.
Publiek holds a Michelin star in both 2024 and 2025, runs a vegetable-forward modern kitchen built on direct producer relationships, and sits at the €€€ tier — making it one of Gent's best-value fine dining options at its level. Chef Olly Ceulenaere's whole-plant sourcing philosophy produces light, precisely flavoured dishes with strong internal logic. Book three to four weeks out minimum; this is a hard reservation.
Publiek holds a Michelin star for the second consecutive year (2024 and 2025), operates at a €€€ price point in the heart of Gent, and draws a consistent 4.7 from 647 Google reviews. That combination makes it one of the harder reservations to secure in the city. If you've been once and want to return, or you're planning your first visit, targeting a mid-week booking well in advance is the practical move. Weekend tables at a one-star Gent address at this price tier fill fast — plan at least three to four weeks out.
The kitchen at Publiek is built around a direct sourcing philosophy that shapes every plate. Chef Olly Ceulenaere works closely with local vegetable growers not simply to source produce, but to determine how the entire plant can be used based on taste and texture. That means the menu reflects what growers are producing now, in the current season, and you'll see that thinking in dishes like celeriac with mushroom and beef tartare, open ravioli with skrei and yellow carrot, and turkey topping with salsify and parsley. These aren't flourishes , they are the structural logic of the menu. The sourcing relationship determines the combinations, and the combinations are where Publiek earns its reputation.
The flavour profile that defines Publiek is light and refreshing with strong vegetable focus and precise consistency. This is not a kitchen chasing richness or weight. The tartare dish, for example, arrives with celeriac as an equal partner to the beef, not a garnish. The skrei and yellow carrot pairing in the open ravioli shows the same thinking: two ingredients that justify each other on taste grounds, not as a visual gesture. If you ate here before and found the approach compelling, the current seasonal menu will push further into root vegetables and winter produce, which means the combinations with salsify and parsley in the turkey dish are particularly worth your attention right now.
For a returning visitor, the practical question is whether the kitchen's consistency holds across visits. The Michelin assessors evidently think so, having awarded the star in both 2024 and 2025. The Google review base of 647 at 4.7 is also a signal worth noting , that volume of reviews at that score points to consistent execution rather than a handful of exceptional nights skewing the average.
Whole-plant cooking from direct producer relationships is increasingly common at this level in Belgium, but Publiek's version has a specific character: it's applied with a flavour-first rather than a waste-reduction logic. Ceulenaere and his growers are asking what tastes good from the whole plant, not just what can be rescued. That distinction matters for what ends up on your plate. The vegetable element in every dish is there because it works, and that produces a lightness and internal coherence that is harder to achieve when sourcing is more diffuse. At €€€, you are paying partly for this sourcing structure, and the menu reflects it honestly.
For context across Belgian fine dining, this approach places Publiek in a group of kitchens making sourcing relationships the primary creative constraint. Willem Hiele in Oudenburg operates with similar producer proximity but leans into coastal and fermented flavours rather than vegetable-forward lightness. Boury in Roeselare works at a higher price tier with a more classical technique base. Publiek sits between those poles , artisan sourcing discipline with a modern, vegetable-led palate , and does so at a price that remains accessible for the star level.
| Detail | Publiek | Vrijmoed | Souvenir |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price tier | €€€ | €€€€ | €€€ |
| Michelin stars | 1 (2025) | 2 (2025) | No star |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | Very hard | Moderate |
| Kitchen style | Vegetable-forward modern | Modern Flemish, creative | Modern Flemish, creative |
| Address | Ham 39, 9000 Gent | Vlaanderenstraat, Gent | Gent city centre |
Booking method, hours, dress code, and seat count are not confirmed in Pearl's current data. Contact the venue directly via their address at Ham 39, 9000 Gent to check availability and confirm current service times before planning your visit.
See the full comparison section below for how Publiek sits against Vrijmoed, Oak Gent, and other Gent alternatives. For broader Gent planning, use our full Gent restaurants guide, our Gent hotels guide, and our Gent bars guide. For Michelin-level Belgian dining beyond Gent, Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem, Zilte in Antwerp, and Bozar Restaurant in Brussels each offer a different register of the country's fine dining range.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publiek | Modern Cuisine | €€€ | Hard |
| Vrijmoed | Modern Flemish, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Oak Gent | Modern European | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Souvenir | Modern Flemish, Creative | €€€ | Unknown |
| Bar Bask | Basque, Spanish Contemporary | €€€ | Unknown |
| DOOR73 | Modern Cuisine | €€€ | Unknown |
How Publiek stacks up against the competition.
No bar-dining option is confirmed in available venue data for Publiek. At this Michelin-starred level in Gent, the format is almost certainly table-only with a structured tasting menu. Contact them directly at Ham 39 to confirm seating configurations before assuming flexibility.
Publiek's two consecutive Michelin stars (2024–2025) and €€€ pricing put it in smart-casual-to-dressed-up territory. The kitchen philosophy is produce-led and relatively unfussy in tone, so you don't need black tie, but trainers and jeans would feel out of place. Aim for the same register you'd bring to any other one-star in Belgium.
Solo dining at a Michelin-starred tasting menu in Belgium is uncommon but not impossible. Publiek's menu structure, centred on vegetable-focused dishes and whole-plant combinations, works well for a single diner who wants to eat attentively. Call ahead to check counter or single-seat availability, since €€€ tasting menus at this level often price the solo experience more sharply.
At €€€, Publiek delivers two straight years of Michelin recognition (2024 and 2025) built on a consistent, vegetable-forward approach with dishes like celeriac with mushroom and beef tartare, open ravioli with skrei and yellow carrot, and turkey with salsify and parsley. If that produce-led format appeals, the price point is fair for the category in Gent. If you want a richer, protein-led menu, look at Vrijmoed instead.
The kitchen is built around whole-plant cooking from direct relationships with local vegetable growers, so expect vegetables to lead almost every plate — this is not a minor detail but the core of what Olly Ceulenaere does. Book mid-week if you want the best shot at a reservation. The address is Ham 39, 9000 Gent, and at €€€ with a Michelin star, you should plan the meal as your anchor commitment for that evening.
The kitchen's existing focus on vegetables and whole-plant sourcing means plant-based or pescatarian restrictions are structurally easier here than at many comparable one-stars. That said, dishes like the beef tartare and turkey confirm this is not a vegetarian restaurant. Contact Publiek directly at Ham 39 before booking to discuss specific dietary needs — no online booking or contact details are listed in current venue data.
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