The story
Oak is a bistro serving world cuisine at Hoogstraat 167/001 in Ghent, Belgium, and it holds one Michelin star for 2026. Chef Marcelo Ballardin cooks in a 17th-century building near the Gravensteen, where the dining room is dark-walled, with brown parquet floors and an open kitchen.
Marcelo Ballardin's Brazilian-Italian background meets international influences on the plate. Gault&Millau gave Oak 16.5 for 2026, praising a kitchen full of character and refinement. The menu relies on fresh, seasonal produce, and each component is presented with clarity.
Le Fooding highlighted a cuttlefish ceviche with gariguette strawberry vinaigrette and a blue cheese ice cream finished with caviar and fennel pollen. Langoustine arrives with tomato and sambal, and the moqueca comes with squid tagliatelle and fermented white beans. White asparagus with risotto and fermented asparagus jus marked the start of the season.
Weekday afternoons bring a four-course business lunch. Evenings offer a six-course Chef's Menu at 159 euros per person, drinks excluded. A fully vegetarian menu is available on request, but vegan dishes are not prepared, and gluten-free and lactose-reduced options can be arranged when booking.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
High quality cooking
The US, Italy, England, and now Ghent… The Belgian Marcelo Ballardin with Italian-Brazilian origins is a real globetrotter! These days you’ll find him showcasing his foodie travels in a building that ap-pears slightly austere from the outside (hello imposing mailboxes that welcome you in!), and equally sober inside (dark walls, brown parquet floors, tablecloths). So, what did the chef, who dreamed of being a musician and has ambitions to one day become a fashion designer, send out from the open kitchen? The irresistible signature blue cheese ice cream topped with caviar and fennel pollen; cut-tlefish ceviche to whet the appetite, with a zingy gariguette strawberry vinaigrette and fresh berries; the first white asparagus of the season, perfectly cooked and accompanied by risotto, fermented asparagus jus and “turf” caviar (cypress nuts); divine langoustine paired with tomato and sambal; chic skrei served with mussels and poor man’s truffle – or belper-knolle, a hard Swiss cheese; and moqueca (Brazilian stew), not really like it’s made over there, with squid tagliatelle and fermented white beans. // Casimir
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