Benoit en Bernard Dewitte

Verdict

Benoit en Bernard Dewitte earns its Michelin star; and then some; through a vegetable-forward tasting menu that has become the reason to make the drive to Kruisem. If you are the kind of diner who wants to see what a kitchen can do with produce alone, this is one of the strongest cases in Belgium for booking the full vegetable menu. At €€€€ pricing, it sits in the same tier as the region's leading tables, but the experience is distinct enough to justify the trip on its own terms. Book this for a special occasion, a serious food dinner with someone who appreciates craft, or simply to see whether a fully plant-based tasting menu can hold the arc of a great meal. It can.

The Experience

The draw here is the vegetable menu, it is not a compromise position or a dietary accommodation, it is the menu to order. Benoît Dewitte has built a kitchen identity around what the season is producing, the tasting progression reflects that discipline. Dish after dish arrives with a clear point of view: colour, contrast, genuine technical precision applied to ingredients that most kitchens treat as supporting players. Guests who ordered from the standard menu on the same evening have reportedly looked across the table with something close to envy, which says something useful about where the kitchen's energy is concentrated.

The arc of the meal is what elevates this beyond a simple tasting format. Dewitte structures the vegetable menu with the same narrative logic you would expect from a protein-led progression, lighter, more delicate preparations early, building toward dishes with depth and richness. This is not a salad course followed by roasted vegetables. The kitchen clearly understands that tasting menu architecture requires momentum, the vegetable menu delivers it. The cooking holds up under scrutiny.

Setting is a converted rural property in Kruisem, in the Flemish Ardennes region south of Ghent. This is not an urban restaurant with a city crowd, it is a destination that expects you to travel to it, the experience is calibrated accordingly. The pace is unhurried, the room is not a scene, the focus stays squarely on what arrives at the table. For a special occasion dinner, that is exactly the right environment. Diners looking for a buzzy city-centre atmosphere should look elsewhere; diners who want the meal to be the whole event will find the setting appropriate.

Michelin awarded a star in both 2024 and 2025, confirming that the quality is not a single-visit anomaly. That combination, peer reviews and institutional recognition running in parallel, gives you reasonable confidence that the experience holds across visits and seasons.

Because this is a seasonal, produce-driven menu, what you eat in autumn or winter will differ meaningfully from a spring or summer visit. That is a feature, not a risk, but it does mean there is no fixed reference point for what specific dishes will look like. The menu follows the harvest, right now, whatever the kitchen is working with will reflect the current season's output from the surrounding region. If you are visiting in the colder months, expect earthier, more structural preparations; the lighter, more colourful dishes associated with the menu's reputation tend to reflect the warmer growing months.

Booking is hard. A Michelin-starred destination restaurant in rural Flanders with a growing reputation and a relatively small footprint does not have spare capacity sitting open on short notice. Plan your visit well in advance, particularly if you are targeting a weekend table. The restaurant is at Beertegemstraat 52 in Kruisem, accessible by car from Ghent in under 30 minutes, from Brussels in around an hour. This is not a walk-in venue, it should not be treated as one. Secure the reservation first, then plan the rest of the evening around it. If you are combining it with a wider Flanders trip, see our full Ouwegem restaurants guide, our full Ouwegem hotels guide, and our full Ouwegem experiences guide for broader planning context.

Ratings & Recognition

• Michelin 1 Star, 2024 and 2025
• 4 Radishes, awarded by a visiting reviewer for the vegetable tasting menu

Booking

Booking difficulty is high. This is a destination restaurant with institutional recognition and a niche but loyal following among serious diners in Flanders and beyond. Reserve as far in advance as your schedule allows. No phone number or booking URL is available in our current data, check the restaurant directly or use a Belgian dining reservation platform to secure a table. See Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem for another Flemish destination restaurant operating at a similar level of demand.

Practical Details

Address: Beertegemstraat 52, 9750 Kruisem, Belgium. Price range: €€€€. Cuisine: Modern French with a distinctive vegetable-forward tasting menu. Chef: Benoît Dewitte. No dress code data is available, but at this price point and with a Michelin star, smart casual at minimum is the appropriate baseline, treat it as you would any starred destination in Flanders. Hours are not confirmed in our current data; verify directly before travelling. For bars and wineries to pair with your visit, see our full Ouwegem bars guide and our full Ouwegem wineries guide.

Quick reference: Michelin 1 Star (2024, 2025) | €€€€ | Kruisem, Belgium | Booking: Hard | Vegetable tasting menu is the recommended order.

How It Compares

See the comparison section below for how Benoit en Bernard Dewitte sits against its Belgian peers.

Nearby Restaurants Worth Knowing

• Vrijmoed in Gent, Modern Flemish, creative cooking, €€€€
• Boury in Roeselare, Modern Flemish, creative French, €€€€
• Zilte in Antwerp, one of Belgium's most decorated tables
• Willem Hiele in Oudenburg, produce-driven, coastal Flemish cooking
• La Durée in Izegem, French-Belgian creative, €€€€
• Cuchara in Lommel, Modern European, creative, €€€€
• Bozar Restaurant in Brussels, for a city-based alternative
• Le Chalet de la Forêt in Uccle, classic Belgian fine dining benchmark
• d'Eugénie à Emilie in Baudour
• Ralf Berendsen in Neerharen
• Schanz in Piesport, Modern French, comparable regional destination format
• Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library in London, Modern French reference at a higher price point