The story
Rizoom sits at Nieuwewandeling 62 in Gent, an Asian fusion restaurant that Gault&Millau scored 15 points in 2026. The menu is a multi-course omakase built on dry-aged fish, seasonal vegetables and open-fire cooking.
Yves Kerckhoffs runs the kitchen with a focus on sustainably farmed and caught fish, shellfish and crustaceans, alongside aged meats and poultry. Produce is aged in-house and finished with condiments and preserving methods rooted in Japanese cuisine. Gault&Millau singles out his fish aging for its intensity and pure umami.
The menu changes with the seasons and runs 13 to 15 servings. Le Fooding's lunch report describes an oyster braised over the fire in its shell, finished with trout roe, and halibut dry-aged for seven days, sliced thin over grilled eringi and maitake mushrooms. Pork loin dry-aged in koji and cooked over embers arrives with yuzu jelly and warm endive. A kombu ice cream with celeriac caramel and white chocolate crumble closes the meal.
Rizoom serves up to 24 guests a night. Eight seats sit at the kitchen counter, where guests can talk with Kerckhoffs and his team, and those seats are for one or two people. Groups of three or four can book a round table in the dining room, which has hardwood floors, wood, concrete and black furniture. Groups of five to ten request a booking through the reservation widget or by email.
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From inside his kitchen overlooking the dining room with hardwood floors, wood, concrete and black furniture, Yves Kerckhoffs sends out sleek, well-made plates with Nordic-Nipponese twists, after the success of his pop-up ramen bar Shibui. The day we went for lunch, it was a festival of flavor! Fried kale chips in spicy oil and preserved lemon; bass crudo hiding under a shiso leaf; semi-dehydrated beets in a scallop coral jus dotted with Sichuan pepper oil; a dazzling Ostra Régal oyster braised over the fire in its shell, seasoned with trout roe, pale-leaf woodland sunflower root purée and oyster jus; an impressive surf ’n’ turf combo of pearly halibut dry-aged for seven days, cut into thin strips and served over grilled eringi and maitake mushroom tapenade, all drizzled in chicken jus; head-spinningly good Duke of Berkshire pork loin dry-aged in koji and cooked over the embers, paired with yuzu jelly and a warm endive salad, intensified by a stunning pork jus and smoked haddock sauce; and a gentle landing to the meal with kombu ice cream, celeriac caramel and white chocolate crumble. We’re practically speechless! // Alba Nebbioli
In Ghent, Chef Yves Kerckhoffs serves a cuisine at Rizoom that combines Japanese techniques and seasonal ingredients. He is renowned for his mastery of fish aging, a technique that ensures intensity and pure umami. In the ...
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