The story
Oesterput is a seafood restaurant at Wenduinse Steenweg 16 in Blankenberge, rated 12 by Gault&Millau in 2026, which calls it an icon on the coast. The Devriendt family has worked with shellfish here for five generations.
Lobster comes from Halifax and rests in the restaurant's homarium, which it describes as the largest and oldest lobster basin in Belgium. Oosterschelde lobster arrives in season, Scottish lobster is also available, and sizes run from 500 g to around 2 kg. The Plateau Royal serves two: a bottle of Pommery Silver brut, two plateaux de fruits de mer and a 500 g lobster. Gault&Millau singles it out, along with the sea turbot and mussels.
Most oysters are creuses, with fin de claire from Île d'Oléron and Gillardeau on offer all year. Flat Zeeland oysters appear from October to April. Jumbo mussels from Zeeland run from late June to late March. Fish is landed at Zeebrugge, so sole, monkfish and salmon are always on the card, with a monthly suggestion such as brill, turbot or sea bass.
The dining room is a restored warehouse about ten metres from the dunes. Le Fooding listed it in 2026 and described a wood-clad hangar with fish tanks outside. Its reviewer ate lobster croquettes with fried parsley and a whole grilled lobster in garlicky butter sauce.
Pieter Devriendt began trading fish wholesale in 1885 and dug Blankenberge's first oyster pit in 1888. Today Piet Devriendt, the fourth generation, runs the restaurant with Caroline Pattyn and their two sons.
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History
Oesterput remains an icon on the coast. The highlight is the Royal Platter featuring lobster, caviar, and champagne, impressively priced yet still accessible. Sea turbot and mussels are also among the crowd favorites. The atmosphere is authentic and lively...
There’s a hint of the Trente Glorieuses’ economic boom and the advent of paid holidays at this wood-clad hangar located along the docks, which still boasts plenty of briny authenticity. Outside, the fish tanks are filled with fresh eats, which find their way onto the tables inside via the formule royale menus. Looking to indulge? Try one of the two massive shellfish platters (the full monty: oysters, periwinkles, whelks, grey shrimp, langoustines, razor clams, crab legs, scallops, royal shrimp, spider crab, king prawns), a half-kilo Canadian lobster and a bottle of Pommery Brut for 162 bucks. Or plump lobster croquettes served with a bunch of fried parsley the night we went; and a whole grilled lobster swimming in a sea of garlicky butter sauce, which we devoured down to the last morsel. // Mireille Flocon
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