Restaurant in Ninove, Belgium
Two starred years. Make Ninove a destination.
De Bakermat holds consecutive Michelin stars (2024 and 2025) under chef Jonas Mikkelsen and is the most credible fine dining destination in Ninove by a wide margin. Expect Modern French precision, a structured tasting menu format, and a €€€€ price tier that competes directly with Brussels and Ghent. Book well ahead — getting a table here is genuinely hard.
De Bakermat is not just a good restaurant for Ninove — it is one of the most credible reasons to make a trip to this part of East Flanders altogether. Two consecutive Michelin stars (2024 and 2025) under chef Jonas Mikkelsen confirm what repeat diners already know: this is a Modern French kitchen operating at a level you would expect from Ghent or Brussels, not a market town of 40,000. If you are weighing whether to book, the answer is yes — provided you plan ahead. Getting a table here is genuinely difficult, and the €€€€ price tier is not for the undecided.
The most common mistake about De Bakermat is assuming it fits the familiar template of a countryside Belgian restaurant that punches above its weight on charm and local produce but softens the technical demands. That is not what is happening here. Mikkelsen's kitchen is anchored in the French discipline , precise, structured, and demanding , not in the looser, product-led Flemish vernacular that many regional one-stars trade on. If you arrive expecting rustic warmth to carry the evening, you will be surprised. This is a rigorous dining experience. The setting may be Ninove, but the register is closer to what you would find at Le Chalet de la Forêt in Uccle or Boury in Roeselare than anything casual.
Modern French cuisine at this price point lives or dies on execution consistency, and De Bakermat has demonstrated that over two starred years. The Google rating of 4.8 across 504 reviews is unusually high for a restaurant in this category , it is the kind of score that reflects not just food quality but the full experience: service pacing, the sense that the kitchen is in control of every plate, and the feeling that your bill reflects what was on the table. For a point of comparison, many well-regarded one-stars in Flanders carry ratings in the 4.5 to 4.6 range across similar review volumes.
For food-and-wine travellers who seek the kind of depth that justifies a detour, De Bakermat earns consideration alongside Zilte in Antwerp and Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem , both operate at a higher star count, but De Bakermat is closer in spirit to those rooms than it is to the broader Ninove dining scene. See our full Ninove restaurants guide for the wider picture.
At the €€€€ tier in Belgium, the wine program is where the gap between a good one-star and a memorable one becomes clearest. Modern French cuisine of Mikkelsen's type demands a cellar with range: the structure to match a precisely reduced sauce, the acidity to cut through butter-forward technique, the depth to anchor a multi-course tasting format. The database does not confirm specific bottles or list depth, but a restaurant holding two consecutive Michelin stars in this category is expected to maintain a wine program that supports the food at the same technical level. This is not a place to arrive and default to the house pour.
For wine-focused visitors considering the broader region, Ninove's wineries offer a useful day-trip frame, and pairing a De Bakermat dinner with local wine exploration makes for a purposeful itinerary. If you are travelling specifically for the wine-and-food combination, cross-reference with Schanz in Piesport or Sketch's Lecture Room and Library in London for a sense of what a wine-led Modern French experience looks like at the leading of the category , useful calibration before committing your evening here.
Booking difficulty is rated Hard. Two Michelin stars in a town with limited fine dining alternatives means De Bakermat carries most of the premium demand for the area. Book as far in advance as your schedule allows; last-minute availability is rare. The phone number is not publicly listed in our database , approach via the restaurant's direct reservation channel. Reservations: book well in advance; walk-in availability is highly unlikely. Dress: smart dress is expected at this price tier, though no formal dress code is confirmed in our data. Budget: €€€€ , expect a full tasting menu format at prices consistent with a two-star Belgian restaurant. Location: Leopoldlaan 95, 9400 Ninove, Belgium. If you are building a longer stay around the visit, consult our Ninove hotels guide, Ninove bars guide, and Ninove experiences guide for a complete picture.
De Bakermat is the right call for serious food travellers who are willing to make Ninove a destination rather than a stopover. It is appropriate for special occasion dinners, for anyone tracking the Belgian Michelin circuit, and for wine-focused travellers who want a rigorous French kitchen outside the Brussels or Ghent premium market. It is not the right choice if you want a relaxed, spontaneous evening , the format demands commitment. For broader context on comparable Belgian fine dining, see our coverage of Vrijmoed in Ghent, Willem Hiele in Oudenburg, d'Eugénie à Emilie in Baudour, Ralf Berendsen in Neerharen, Cuchara in Lommel, La Durée in Izegem, and Bozar Restaurant in Brussels.
De Bakermat has no direct Michelin-starred competitor within Ninove itself , it is the clear anchor of the town's fine dining offer. For Modern French and creative Flemish cooking at the same price tier in the broader region, Vrijmoed in Ghent is the most accessible alternative: it runs a similarly rigorous kitchen, is easier to reach by public transport, and has stronger name recognition outside Belgium. Boury in Roeselare is the step up if you want two or three Michelin stars and a more comprehensive wine program. If you want classic French-Belgian cooking rather than the modern register, Comme chez Soi in Brussels is the benchmark.
First-timers should understand that this is a tasting menu format restaurant at the €€€€ level , arriving expecting à la carte flexibility is likely a mistake. The kitchen operates in the Modern French tradition under chef Jonas Mikkelsen, which means technically precise, multi-course dining with a formal service rhythm. Booking far in advance is essential: difficulty is rated Hard, and the restaurant's Michelin status (consecutive stars in 2024 and 2025) drives demand well beyond what Ninove's location might suggest. Arrive having reviewed the format expectations, not just the location on a map.
Yes, with a clear rationale. The €€€€ tier in Belgium is competitive , you are paying alongside Brussels and Ghent restaurants with stronger brand visibility and easier logistics. De Bakermat justifies that spend through consistent Michelin recognition (two starred years) and a 4.8 Google rating across 504 reviews, which is a harder number to fake than a single award. The value case is strongest if Modern French cuisine at this precision level is specifically what you want. If you are on the fence about the format or price, La Durée in Izegem or Cuchara in Lommel offer creative cooking at the same tier with slightly different risk profiles.
Group bookings at a restaurant of this type and price tier are typically possible but require direct coordination with the venue. With the phone number not publicly available in our data and no website confirmed, the most reliable path is to contact them through whatever reservation system they operate directly. Groups of six or more at a tasting menu restaurant almost always require advance notice and may need a set menu agreement. If your group is larger than eight, expect the booking process to be more involved and lead time requirements to extend further.
Modern French tasting menu kitchens at Michelin level generally accommodate dietary restrictions when notified well in advance , this is standard practice across the category. However, the database holds no confirmed policy for De Bakermat specifically. The safest approach is to communicate requirements at the time of booking, not on arrival. With no phone number or website in our current data, use whatever direct channel the reservation system provides. Do not assume the kitchen can pivot on the night without prior notice.
If tasting menus are your format, yes. Mikkelsen's kitchen has now carried Michelin recognition across two consecutive years, which is the most reliable public signal that the tasting menu format is being executed at a consistent standard. The relevant comparison is whether you would rather spend the same evening at Boury or Vrijmoed , both well-established, both more logistically convenient. De Bakermat makes sense if Ninove is already part of your itinerary, if you specifically want Modern French over creative Flemish, or if you are deliberately seeking out the Belgian circuit rather than the obvious city stops.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| De Bakermat | €€€€ | — |
| Boury | €€€€ | — |
| Comme chez Soi | €€€€ | — |
| Vrijmoed | €€€€ | — |
| La Durée | €€€€ | — |
| Cuchara | €€€€ | — |
How De Bakermat stacks up against the competition.
There are no direct alternatives to De Bakermat in Ninove itself — it carries the entirety of the town's fine dining offering at the €€€€ level. If you want a comparable one-star Modern French experience in Belgium without committing to East Flanders, Vrijmoed in Ghent is the nearest credible alternative and easier to reach. For the full Michelin institution experience, Comme chez Soi in Brussels operates at a different scale but a similar price tier.
Book well in advance — De Bakermat holds a Michelin star in a town with no comparable competition, which concentrates demand heavily on a single address at Leopoldlaan 95. This is a destination restaurant, not a walk-in option; treat the trip to Ninove as part of the plan rather than a detour. Chef Jonas Mikkelsen runs a Modern French kitchen at €€€€ pricing, so arrive expecting a structured tasting experience rather than a flexible à la carte evening.
At €€€€ with two consecutive Michelin-starred years (2024 and 2025), De Bakermat justifies its pricing against the Belgian one-star field. For context, you are paying Brussels or Ghent prices to dine in Ninove, which means the food itself has to do all the work — and the sustained award recognition suggests it does. If the travel commitment feels high for one meal, pairing it with a broader East Flanders itinerary improves the value calculation.
check the venue's official channels via their booking channel to confirm group capacity — the venue data does not specify table configurations or private dining availability. At the €€€€ tier with a Michelin star, most restaurants of this format have limited large-table suitability, and groups above six should expect to discuss arrangements in advance. For a more reliably group-friendly fine dining option in Belgium, Comme chez Soi or Boury may offer more flexibility.
Specific dietary policy is not documented in the available venue record, but Modern French kitchens at one-star level operating on tasting menus typically accommodate restrictions when notified at booking. Contact De Bakermat directly at the time of reservation rather than assuming flexibility on the night. Severe allergies or complex requirements are worth flagging early — a €€€€ tasting format leaves little room for last-minute substitutions.
Two consecutive Michelin stars at a restaurant where Modern French execution is the entire proposition makes the tasting format the right way to eat here — it is the menu the kitchen is built around. At €€€€ pricing in a town like Ninove, you are paying for consistency and precision over time, and the 2024 and 2025 star retentions suggest that standard holds. If you prefer an à la carte format or want more control over the meal, Vrijmoed in Ghent gives you a starred kitchen with a different structure.
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