Restaurant in Vlissegem, Belgium
Michelin-recognised value on the North Sea.
Kok Sur Mer in Vlissegem holds back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) and a 4.7 Google rating from 465 reviews — at the €€ price tier, it is the strongest value case for Modern French cooking on the Belgian North Sea coast. Chef Jean-Philippe Furnémont runs a kitchen built around coastal and regional sourcing. Book for summer or shoulder season; booking difficulty is easy outside peak months.
If you are planning a relaxed, unhurried dinner on the Belgian coast and want cooking that punches well above its price point, Kok Sur Mer in Vlissegem is the right call. This is the venue for couples, small groups, and solo diners who want a considered Modern French meal without the formality or the invoice of a full Michelin-starred room. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) confirm the kitchen delivers serious value. The leading time to visit is summer, when the Belgian coast is alive and a coastal dinner feels earned, though the quieter shoulder months of April, May, and September offer easier bookings and a more unhurried atmosphere. Chef Jean-Philippe Furnémont leads the kitchen, and the €€ price positioning makes this a practical choice for anyone who wants quality cooking without committing to a €€€€ occasion budget.
Kok Sur Mer is a Modern French restaurant sitting at Warvinge 49 in De Haan, just outside Vlissegem on the Belgian North Sea coast. The cuisine sits firmly in the French tradition: technique-led, ingredient-focused, and built around what the coastal and agricultural region around De Haan can offer. That sourcing orientation is the core reason the Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition makes sense here. The Bib Gourmand is specifically awarded to restaurants delivering high-quality cooking at moderate prices — and in Belgium's competitive dining scene, earning it two years running is a credible signal that the kitchen is consistent and that the price-to-quality ratio holds up on repeat visits, not just on an opening-year surge.
For a first-time visitor, here is what to expect: a Modern French menu shaped by the produce available in coastal West Flanders, honest French technique without the theatrical excess of higher-budget kitchens, and a setting that is coastal Belgium rather than city-centre formal. The google rating of 4.7 across 465 reviews is a strong public signal , at that volume, a 4.7 is not a statistical outlier, it reflects a kitchen and front-of-house that reliably deliver.
At the €€ tier, Kok Sur Mer operates in a price band where many restaurants in the Belgian coast region lean on commodity ingredients and safe menus. The Bib Gourmand signal suggests Furnémont takes a different approach: sourcing choices that justify the cooking's ambition without loading the bill. The North Sea coast gives any serious kitchen access to excellent fish and shellfish, and West Flanders agriculture adds strong vegetable and meat options within a short supply radius. A Modern French kitchen working with locally sourced coastal ingredients in this region has a meaningful ingredient advantage over urban equivalents at the same price point. That is the value proposition in plain terms: you are likely getting produce quality that would cost significantly more if you were ordering the same cooking in Brussels or Bruges.
Peer comparison sharpens this. Willem Hiele in Oudenburg and Bartholomeus in Heist operate in the same coastal West Flanders corridor and represent the higher end of regional ambition. Both carry Michelin stars and price accordingly. Kok Sur Mer sits below that tier on both price and accolade level , but the Bib Gourmand positions it as the considered choice for diners who want the coastal ingredient story without the starred-restaurant spend. If budget is a genuine factor, Kok Sur Mer is the practical answer in this part of Belgium.
Address: Warvinge 49, 8421 De Haan, Belgium. Reservations: Book in advance, particularly for summer weekends when the De Haan coast is at peak demand , booking difficulty is rated Easy, so a few days' notice should be sufficient outside peak season. Budget: €€ price range makes this accessible for most diners; expect a materially lower bill than starred alternatives in the region. Dress: No dress code data is available, but at the €€ tier in a Belgian coastal town, smart-casual is the safe and appropriate default. Getting there: De Haan is on the Belgian coast tram line (De Lijn Kusttram), which connects the full coastline from De Panne to Knokke-Heist , a practical option if you are based elsewhere on the coast. Cuisine: Modern French. Chef: Jean-Philippe Furnémont.
If this is your first visit, arrive with a clear appetite and no agenda to rush. The format here is a considered sit-down dinner, not a drop-in. Given the Bib Gourmand framing, a multi-course approach is likely the leading way to understand what the kitchen does well , order broadly rather than minimally. If specific menu or dish data becomes available, Pearl will update this page; in the meantime, the awards record and public rating give you enough confidence to book without needing to reverse-engineer the menu in advance.
For context on the wider region's dining options, see our full Vlissegem restaurants guide, and check Lepelem as an alternative local option worth comparing. For Belgian Modern French at higher price tiers and with Michelin star credentials, Boury in Roeselare and Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem are the regional benchmarks. For a coastal Modern French equivalent outside Belgium, Schanz in Piesport offers an interesting European peer comparison. For what ambitious Modern French looks like at the leading of the market in a major city context, Sketch in London and Bozar Restaurant in Brussels set the reference point.
If you are planning time around the visit, our Vlissegem hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the surrounding area fully.
Yes, with the right expectations. At the €€ price tier, Kok Sur Mer is a strong choice for a low-key celebration or a treat dinner that does not require a €€€€ budget. The Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024 and 2025) and a 4.7 Google rating confirm the kitchen delivers reliably. If you want a full formal occasion with the theatre of a starred room, step up to Bartholomeus in Heist or Boury in Roeselare. For a relaxed but quality-driven coastal dinner, Kok Sur Mer is the better value call.
Within the immediate Vlissegem area, Lepelem is the closest local alternative worth checking. For the wider coastal West Flanders set, Willem Hiele in Oudenburg and Bartholomeus in Heist operate at a higher price and accolade level. If you are open to driving further into Belgium, see our full Vlissegem restaurants guide for a broader set of options.
No dress code data is confirmed for this venue. At the €€ tier in a Belgian coastal town, smart-casual is appropriate and safe. You do not need to dress for a starred room , think well-put-together rather than formal. If in doubt, err toward neat casual rather than beach wear, given the Michelin recognition suggests a dining room that takes its food seriously.
No confirmed data on bar seating is available for this venue. Given the coastal town setting and the €€ price tier, a bar or counter option is possible but not confirmed. Contact the restaurant directly before assuming this is an option, particularly for summer visits when the room is likely at capacity.
No specific menu or dish data is available in Pearl's verified record for Kok Sur Mer. What the Michelin Bib Gourmand signals is that the kitchen delivers quality cooking at a fair price , the format rewards ordering broadly rather than minimally. Chef Jean-Philippe Furnémont leads a Modern French kitchen in a coastal Belgian setting, which points toward fish and shellfish as the likely strengths given the region's North Sea access. Order what sounds most ingredient-driven on the day.
No confirmed data on whether a tasting menu is offered is available. If one exists, the Bib Gourmand framing at the €€ price tier strongly suggests it would represent good value relative to starred alternatives in the region. At this price level, a multi-course tasting format , if available , is almost certainly the most efficient way to experience what the kitchen does leading. Confirm directly with the restaurant on booking.
Yes. At the €€ tier with two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) and a 4.7 Google rating from 465 reviews, Kok Sur Mer delivers a quality-to-price ratio that is hard to fault in its regional category. You are not paying starred-restaurant prices and you are getting cooking that Michelin inspectors have confirmed delivers above its weight. Compared to the €€€€ coastal alternatives, the value gap is substantial. Book it.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Kok Sur Mer | €€ | — |
| Boury | €€€€ | — |
| Comme chez Soi | €€€€ | — |
| Castor | €€€€ | — |
| Cuchara | €€€€ | — |
| De Jonkman | €€€€ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Kok Sur Mer and alternatives.
Yes, it works well for a low-key celebration. The Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in both 2024 and 2025 confirms the cooking is serious without the formality of a starred room. At the €€ price tier, you get a meaningful dinner without the cost pressure of a full Michelin-starred occasion. If you want full white-tablecloth ceremony, Boury in Roeselare is the better fit — but Kok Sur Mer handles a birthday or anniversary dinner with more character than most coast restaurants at this price.
De Jonkman in Bruges is the closest step-up in the region if you want starred French technique, but it comes at a significantly higher price. Castor is worth considering if you want a more relaxed format. For a coastal Belgian dinner at the same value tier, few options in the De Haan area carry comparable Michelin credibility to Kok Sur Mer's back-to-back Bib Gourmand.
The venue is a Modern French restaurant at the €€ tier on the Belgian coast, which points toward neat-casual rather than black-tie. Think a clean shirt or a simple dress rather than a suit. The Bib Gourmand positioning signals accessible rather than austere, so overdressing is unnecessary, but turning up in beachwear from the nearby North Sea coast would be a misjudgement.
Bar seating is not documented for Kok Sur Mer. Given the Modern French format and the considered sit-down nature of the dining experience, this is not a drop-in bar-dining venue. Book a table in advance, particularly for summer weekends when De Haan is at peak coastal demand.
Specific dishes are not listed in available data, so any item-level recommendation would be speculation. What is documented is that chef Jean-Philippe Furnémont runs a Modern French kitchen that earned Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in both 2024 and 2025. Ask the front-of-house what is driving the kitchen on the night — at this price point and with this level of recognition, the team's steer is usually worth following.
Menu format details are not confirmed in available data, but the Bib Gourmand award — given specifically for good cooking at a fair price — makes a strong case that whatever format is on offer represents genuine value. At the €€ tier, Kok Sur Mer is priced well below starred alternatives like De Jonkman or Boury, while carrying comparable Michelin recognition for quality relative to cost.
At the €€ price tier, yes. The Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024 and again in 2025 is specifically an award for good food at a fair price — it is the clearest external signal that the kitchen delivers above what the bill suggests. On the Belgian North Sea coast, where many restaurants in this bracket play it safe, back-to-back Bib Gourmand recognition at Kok Sur Mer is a meaningful differentiator.
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