The 5 best places for brunch in Ghent

This is a stylish brunch spot near the docklands. The friendly team work through the day serving brunch, lunch and cocktails. Locals come here to tap on their laptops or sit outside on the terrace with a newspaper. You might, if you are lucky, hit the place when they are organising a gin tasting session or hosting a local indie band.

This is a friendly coffee house with rustic wooden floorboards and a long communal table. They serve fresh local food, including tasty breads, flaky croissants and pots of delicious homemade Callas jams. The secret garden at the back is one of the most romantic spots we know in Ghent.

Tom Coone created this relaxed coffee bar using old stuff he picked up in secondhand stores. The counter is decorated with 300 hand-painted wooden slats while the lamps were salvaged from a junk shop. The soup is served in big bowls and the coffee is a mellow variety from a little local supplier.

This relaxed coffee shop occupies the ground floor of an old stone house that was until recently a flour mill. The white walls are decorated with 105 little drawings by Emilio López-Menchero based on works by Flemish artists of the Latem School. The little terrace in the cobbled lane outside has a few metal tables that sometimes catch the afternoon sun.

Alix Aelterman serves healthy food in a beautiful old town house where her father once ran his doctor’s surgery. She has also created a secret summer spot in the large garden behind the house. It’s a relaxed, romantic place for a weekend brunch or a picnic under the trees. Parents with small children love the concept. But you will have to book.