DOOR73

The Verdict

If you have already dined at Oak Gent and want a more relaxed, sharing-format version of that kitchen's sensibility, DOOR73 is the right next step. Book here for a social, plate-passing dinner rather than a structured tasting experience.

Portrait

DOOR73 functions as the annex to Oak, the restaurant where chef Marcelo Ballardin built his reputation in Gent. Eric Ivanidis, who served as Ballardin's sous-chef at Oak, runs the kitchen here. That lineage matters for the returning visitor: the technical grounding is genuine, drawn from a serious kitchen, but the format at DOOR73 is deliberately looser; sharing plates built around international comfort references rather than a linear tasting progression.

The sharing format changes how you should approach a second visit. On a first trip, the instinct is to spread across categories. Coming back, you can be more deliberate: the vegetable-forward options, flagged consistently as a strength in the Michelin recognition notes, reward attention. A menu that takes vegetables seriously across both starters and mains is less common at this price point in Gent than it should be, it gives the kitchen a way to rotate with the season in ways that protein-anchored menus cannot.

Spatially, DOOR73 sits on Hoogstraat 73 in central Gent. The address puts it within easy reach of the historic core without sitting in the most tourist-dense stretch. The sharing-plate format naturally encourages a certain room energy, tables tend to stay longer, order in waves, the pace is driven by the kitchen's rhythm rather than a set tasting clock. If you are returning after a first visit, consider where you sit: a position closer to the kitchen pass, if available, lets you track the flow of dishes and time your ordering without having to flag service repeatedly.

The counter or bar-adjacent seating at sharing-plate restaurants like DOOR73 changes the experience in a specific way. You are not watching a chef compose a single tasting sequence for you, you are seeing a kitchen manage many simultaneous sharing-plate orders, which is a different discipline. Sitting close to the action here is less about ceremony and more about reading momentum: when the kitchen is firing well, proximity helps you lean into it. It also tends to generate more direct interaction with the team, which at a restaurant of this size and ambition is often where the most useful ordering guidance comes from.

On the Michelin recognition: a Plate in both 2024 and 2025 signals consistent quality without the weight of star expectations. For the returning visitor, this is actually useful framing, it means the kitchen is cooking to a reliable standard, not swinging for creative reinvention each season. You can come back with confidence that the execution will be there.

For context against Belgium's broader modern cuisine scene, DOOR73 occupies a different register than destination-level restaurants like Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem or Boury in Roeselare, is not competing with Zilte in Antwerp for top-table status. It is a neighbourhood-anchored, sharing-format restaurant with serious kitchen credentials, closer in spirit to Publiek than to Oak's parent-level ambition. That positioning is a feature, not a limitation.

If you are planning a wider Gent dining trip, DOOR73 pairs well as a mid-week or early-evening option alongside a more formal meal elsewhere. For the full picture of what the city offers, see our full Gent restaurants guide. DOOR73 does not appear to require weeks of advance planning, though weekends in Gent's dining core fill faster than the difficulty rating might suggest. If you are visiting on a Friday or Saturday evening, book at least a week ahead. Midweek is more flexible. No booking method is confirmed in our data, check the restaurant directly or via standard Gent reservation platforms.

Practical Details

Explore More in Gent and Belgium

• Our full Gent restaurants guide
• Our full Gent hotels guide
• Our full Gent bars guide
• Our full Gent wineries guide
• Our full Gent experiences guide
• Bozar Restaurant in Brussels
• Willem Hiele in Oudenburg
• d'Eugénie à Emilie in Baudour
• Frantzén in Stockholm
• Maison Lameloise in Chagny