Restaurant in Koksijde, Belgium
Michelin-noted Belgian cooking at accessible prices.
De Huifkar is Koksijde's clearest value case for Michelin-noted dining, holding a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025 at a €€ price point. The relaxed atmosphere and traditional Belgian cooking suit a coast visit where you want quality without a tasting menu commitment. Book a few days out, lean into the season, and compare it against the area's pricier €€€ options before deciding.
If you are weighing up where to eat in Koksijde and want Michelin-recognised traditional cooking without the €€€ price tag that comes with Nils, Mondieu, or De Normandie, De Huifkar is the clearest answer. It holds a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, carries a 4.4 Google rating across 556 reviews, and sits at a €€ price point. That combination is rare on the Belgian coast. Book it when you want a credentialled, low-friction meal without a high-end tasting menu commitment.
De Huifkar reads as a traditional Belgian address in the proper sense: the kind of room where the ambient energy is unhurried rather than theatrical, where conversation carries without competing against a DJ set or a crowded bar. The mood sits closer to a neighbourhood dining room than a destination restaurant, which is exactly its value proposition. If you are arriving from the beach or after a day on the dunes, you do not need to recalibrate your expectations in the way you might before walking into a room like Zilte in Antwerp or Boury in Roeselare. The atmosphere here is relaxed but not perfunctory. The Michelin Plate designation signals that quality in the kitchen is taken seriously, even if the room does not announce that fact loudly.
For the food-focused traveller visiting Koksijde, De Huifkar offers a grounded entry point into the local cooking style without demanding the full commitment of a tasting menu format. Traditional cuisine at this level on the Belgian coast tends to lean on seasonal produce and the rhythms of what is good in a given month, so what you find on the menu in summer will look different from what is available in autumn or winter. That matters when you are planning a visit. If you are here in late summer or early autumn, you are likely to find the kitchen working with the coastal and regional produce at its peak. A winter visit shifts the balance toward richer, more comfort-driven preparations. Neither window is wrong; they are just different meals.
The seasonal rotation question is worth thinking through before you book. Koksijde's tourist season peaks in July and August, which brings more visitors to the area and more competition for tables across every category. If your schedule is flexible, a visit in May, June, or September gives you the town in a calmer state and the kitchen working with spring-into-summer or early autumn produce. The Belgian coast in shoulder season has a very different feel from peak summer, and for a venue like De Huifkar, that translates to a more relaxed dining room and produce that often has more range and depth than the height of summer.
Winter visits to Koksijde are a specific choice, popular with Belgians who like the coast out of season. De Huifkar's traditional cooking format suits that register well. Braised preparations, richer stocks, and heartier ingredients tend to dominate menus in the region during colder months, and a traditional Belgian kitchen at the €€ level is well-suited to that kind of cooking. If you are coming to the Belgian coast in winter and want a reliable, Michelin-noted dinner rather than a high-stakes gastronomic evening, De Huifkar is worth prioritising in your planning. For more ambitious winter cooking in the region, Willem Hiele Lunch & Gastentafel operates at a different level of ambition, and Willem Hiele in Oudenburg is worth the short drive for a more immersive experience.
If you are building a multi-day itinerary around the Belgian coast and West Flanders, De Huifkar works well as a mid-week or arrival-night dinner rather than the centrepiece booking. Reserve your highest-stakes reservation for somewhere like Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem if you are travelling specifically for food, or Vrijmoed in Gent if you want a modern Flemish approach with serious wine depth. De Huifkar fills the slot of a dependable, recognisably Belgian dinner that does not require you to plan six weeks in advance or clear your credit card.
For context on what Michelin Plate recognition means at this level: it is not a star, but it is a meaningful signal that the Michelin inspectors found the cooking worth noting. Across Belgium, traditional cuisine at this price tier is well-represented in the Michelin guide, and venues like Cave à Vin & à Manger in Narbonne or Coto de Quevedo Evolución in Spain show that traditional cuisine with Michelin recognition at mid-range pricing is a category the guide takes seriously across Europe. At De Huifkar, that recognition at the €€ level represents the clearest value signal on the Koksijde dining circuit.
De Huifkar is located at Koninklijke Baan 142, Koksijde. Price range is €€, making it one of the more accessible Michelin-noted options in the area. Booking is direct, with no evidence of the weeks-in-advance lead time required at the higher-end venues in town. For context on what else is open nearby, see our full Koksijde restaurants guide, hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences.
Quick reference: Michelin Plate 2024 & 2025 | 4.4 Google (556 reviews) | €€ | Traditional Cuisine | Koninklijke Baan 142, Koksijde | Booking: easy.
Booking a few days to a week in advance is generally sufficient. De Huifkar does not carry the booking pressure of the €€€ venues in Koksijde like Nils or Mondieu, where longer lead times are advisable, particularly in peak summer. In July and August, add a few extra days of buffer. Shoulder season visits in May, June, or September are easier to secure with shorter notice.
It works well for a low-key celebration or a birthday dinner where you want quality without a formal tasting menu experience. The Michelin Plate recognition and 4.4 Google rating give it enough credibility to feel like a considered choice. If you want a more formally special occasion in Koksijde, De Normandie or Nils at €€€ carry more occasion weight. De Huifkar is the right call if the occasion is more about good food and relaxed company than a ceremonial dining experience.
There is no confirmed bar seating information in our data for De Huifkar. Given its traditional Belgian dining format and mid-range positioning, it is more likely structured as a sit-down restaurant rather than a bar-dining venue. Contact the restaurant directly before assuming that option is available.
Arrive knowing you are getting Michelin-noted traditional Belgian cooking at a €€ price point, which is a genuinely good deal on the Koksijde dining circuit. The atmosphere is relaxed rather than formal. What the kitchen does well will vary by season, so if you have flexibility on timing, late spring or early autumn tends to be when traditional Belgian cuisine shows the widest range of produce. For comparison, Bozar Restaurant in Brussels and Vrijmoed in Gent represent what Belgian cooking looks like at a higher level of ambition, if that context helps calibrate expectations.
No dress code is listed in our data, and at the €€ level with a relaxed traditional Belgian format, smart casual is the safe and appropriate choice. You are unlikely to feel underdressed in clean, neat clothing. Avoid beach attire. If you are coming straight from the dunes or the coast, a quick change is worth it, less as a formality requirement and more as a mark of respect for what the kitchen is doing.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Huifkar | Traditional Cuisine | €€ | Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| Mondieu | Belgian | €€€ | Unknown | — | |
| Willem Hiele Lunch & Gastentafel | Modern Flemish | Unknown | — | ||
| De Normandie | Farm to table | €€€ | Unknown | — | |
| Nils | Modern Cuisine | €€€ | Unknown | — |
How De Huifkar stacks up against the competition.
Book at least one to two weeks ahead in shoulder season; during July and August — when Koksijde's tourist traffic peaks — two to three weeks is safer. De Huifkar's €€ price point and Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025) make it one of the more in-demand accessible options on the Belgian coast, so last-minute availability in summer is a risk.
Yes, with a caveat on format. The Michelin Plate and traditional Belgian positioning make it a credible special-occasion choice at €€, which is considerably less pressure than a full tasting-menu evening at Nils. It suits anniversaries or milestone dinners where the priority is a quality, unhurried meal rather than a theatrical multi-course production.
Bar seating details are not confirmed in available records for De Huifkar. Given its traditional Belgian restaurant format at Koninklijke Baan 142, the more reliable approach is to book a table rather than count on informal counter dining — check the venue's official channels to confirm.
Expect a traditional Belgian room: unhurried, unfussy, and oriented toward the food rather than atmosphere theatrics. At €€ with two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025), it sits in a practical sweet spot on the Koksijde dining scene — more accessible than Nils, more recognised than a generic brasserie. Come with time to spare; this is not a quick-turnover venue.
The venue's traditional Belgian format and €€ price range suggest relaxed but presentable dress — think neat casual rather than formal. Avoid beach-day attire given the Michelin Plate standing, but there is no indication that jackets or formal wear are expected.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
