Restaurant in Sorinnes, Belgium
Destination dining that justifies the detour.
Hostellerie Gilain in Sorinnes holds a consecutive Michelin star (2024–2025) under chef Alex Clevers, with modern French cooking at €€€€ pricing and a 4.5 Google rating across 218 reviews. A deliberate destination in the Dinant region — book four to eight weeks ahead and consider lunch for better value. Worth the trip for food-focused travellers.
If you are choosing between a Michelin-starred destination in the Dinant region and driving an hour north to a Ghent or Brussels table, Hostellerie Gilain makes a credible case for staying put. Chef Alex Clevers has held a Michelin star consecutively in 2024 and 2025, which means the kitchen is consistent, not a one-cycle wonder. At a €€€€ price point, you are paying at the same level as Vrijmoed in Gent or La Durée in Izegem, so the question is whether the countryside setting and modern French cooking justify the trip to Sorinnes rather than staying in a larger city. For most food-focused travellers, the answer is yes — provided you plan well in advance and understand what you are coming for.
Hostellerie Gilain sits in Sorinnes, a village in the Namur province just outside Dinant, in a part of Belgium that sees far less gastronomic traffic than Flanders. That relative obscurity works in your favour logistically: the room is not perpetually overwhelmed by the kind of reservation demand that makes Boury in Roeselare or Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem feel like a six-month chase. Still, a consecutively starred address in a small village fills quickly, particularly for weekend evenings and special occasion dates. Book hard: at minimum four to six weeks out for a weeknight, eight or more weeks for a Friday or Saturday. This is not a walk-in venue at this price tier.
The cuisine is classified as Modern French, which in this context means a kitchen rooted in classical technique but not bound to reproduce it plate-for-plate. Clevers works within a tradition that values precision and produce over provocation — closer in spirit to Schanz in Piesport than to the more conceptually restless cooking you find at Sketch's Lecture Room in London. If you want theatrics and experimental plating, this is probably not your room. If you want cooking that has earned its star through disciplined execution and earned a 4.5 on Google across 218 reviews, this is worth the drive down from Brussels or Liège.
This is the most practical decision you will make before arriving. At €€€€ pricing, lunch at a one-star Modern French address almost always delivers better value per euro than dinner, and Hostellerie Gilain is positioned in a category where that rule holds. Dinner sittings at this level in Belgium typically mean a full tasting menu format with matched wines, which is the right choice if the meal is the event , an anniversary, a milestone birthday, or a deliberate splurge. Lunch, where available, tends to offer a shorter menu at a lower price point while drawing from the same kitchen and the same seasonal produce. For a food-focused traveller who wants to assess Clevers' cooking without committing to a three-hour evening, a weekday lunch is the smarter entry point.
That said, if you are combining a stay in the Dinant area , exploring the Citadelle, the Meuse valley, or a weekend in the Ardennes , dinner makes more sense as an anchor for the trip. The hostellerie format, with accommodation on site, also changes the calculus: if you are sleeping there, dinner is the natural choice and the extra cost feels proportionate to the full experience. Check availability for both sittings when booking; given the booking difficulty, take whichever slot is open rather than holding out for a preferred time.
Hostellerie Gilain is a destination that rewards preparation. You are not dropping in after a gallery visit , you are organising a trip around it, which means aligning your expectations with what the venue actually offers. Modern French cooking at this price and this star level means a structured menu, probably multiple courses, and a wine list priced to match. Budget accordingly: at €€€€, a full dinner with wine pairing will place you firmly in serious-spend territory, in line with what you would pay at Bozar Restaurant in Brussels or d'Eugénie à Emilie in Baudour.
If you are travelling specifically to eat in this part of Belgium, Hostellerie Gilain pairs well with the broader Sorinnes restaurant scene , though options at this price tier are limited outside the venue itself. Bistro Gourmand in Sorinnes is a useful reference point for a more casual meal before or after your starred visit. For anyone building a longer stay, the Sorinnes hotels guide and Sorinnes experiences guide are worth consulting. The Sorinnes bars guide and Sorinnes wineries guide round out the picture if you want to extend the trip.
One note for groups: at a hostellerie-format venue in rural Namur, the room is likely intimate. If you are arriving with a larger party, contact the venue directly to confirm capacity and room configuration. A venue of this type typically seats fewer covers than an urban dining room, which both protects the experience and makes late booking riskier.
Book Hostellerie Gilain if you are a food-focused traveller willing to make a deliberate trip to the Dinant region for cooking that has earned and retained Michelin recognition under consistent hands. It is a stronger case than most rural starred addresses in Wallonia, and the 4.5 Google rating across 218 reviews suggests the experience holds up beyond the critic visit. Dinner is the full commitment; lunch is the smarter value. Either way, book well ahead , this is not a venue you walk into at €€€€ and one star.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostellerie Gilain | Modern French | €€€€ | Hard |
| Boury | Modern Frlemish, Creative French | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Comme chez Soi | French - Belgian, Classic Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Vrijmoed | Modern Flemish, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| La Durée | French-Belgian, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Cuchara | Modern European, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
A quick look at how Hostellerie Gilain measures up.
Specific menu items are not published in advance, which is standard for Michelin-starred Modern French kitchens at this price tier. At €€€€, expect a structured tasting menu rather than à la carte choice. check the venue's official channels to ask what format chef Alex Clevers is currently running before you book.
For a food-focused traveller making a deliberate trip to the Dinant region, yes. Two consecutive Michelin stars (2024, 2025) confirm the kitchen is consistent, not a one-year anomaly. If you want flexibility or a shorter format, check whether a lunch sitting is available — at €€€€ pricing, lunch at a one-star address typically offers the same kitchen at better value.
Dietary requirements are not detailed in available venue data. At a Michelin-starred Modern French address, kitchens at this level routinely accommodate serious restrictions when notified well in advance. Flag requirements clearly at the time of booking, not on arrival.
Yes, provided the occasion suits a destination format. Sorinnes is a village outside Dinant — you are organising a trip around this meal, not adding it to a city itinerary. That deliberateness works in favour of anniversaries or milestone dinners. Groups expecting a city buzz should look at Comme chez Soi in Brussels instead.
Book at least four to six weeks out, particularly for weekend sittings. Rural Michelin-starred venues in Belgium with limited covers fill quickly because the pool of available dates is smaller than a city restaurant. If you have a fixed travel date, book the table before you book the hotel.
At €€€€ and with back-to-back Michelin stars in 2024 and 2025, the kitchen is delivering at a level that justifies the spend for a food-focused visit. The value case is stronger if you book lunch rather than dinner, and stronger still if you are already travelling in the Namur or Dinant area. If you are driving from Brussels solely for dinner, the price-to-effort ratio is tighter — factor that in.
There are no comparable Michelin-starred options in Sorinnes itself. The nearest meaningful alternatives are in Ghent or Brussels: Vrijmoed in Ghent offers a vegetable-forward tasting menu at a similar star level with easier city access, and Comme chez Soi in Brussels is a longer-established French kitchen if pedigree and a city setting are priorities.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
