The story
La Belle is a French restaurant at Bel 162 in Geel, Belgium, and it holds one Michelin star for 2026. Chef Peter Vangenechten has kept that star for more than a decade, cooking in a restaurant that has been part of the village since he opened it.
Peter Vangenechten cooked alongside chefs in top restaurants at home and abroad. After fifteen years away, he returned to Geel Bel, his birth village, and opened his own restaurant there shortly before turning thirty. The kitchen buys regional produce, often straight from farmers, and builds its menus around the seasons.
The website menu has featured sea bass with yogurt, cucumber and lemon balm, and Stoffels tomatoes with Belgian elderflower, watermelon and stracciatella. French corn-fed chicken comes with eggplant, zucchini and aged Madeira. Dessert might be field fruit with brownie, rhubarb, ginger and thyme ice cream.
The dining room sits in the stables of a former farm. Gault&Millau gave La Belle a score of 15 for 2026, describing it as stylish and warm. Wine pairings are offered with each menu, and the sommelier advises on the list. Since 2019 the bar has also carried a house gin, Moorland, with notes of pine, heather and devil's claw.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
Location
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