Gastrobar Frenchette

On Saturdays, Gastrobar Frenchette in Oostende takes the menu decision away from you. We went with the parents to find out how that feels.

The weekend rule is simple: one sharing menu for the whole table, no exceptions, courses set down between the plates until everyone reaches at once. Half of us grew up calling that dinner. So a fine dining room that works like a family table felt less like a concept and more like being found out.

Six courses came and went over three hours. Veal tartare with watermelon and almond, sardines on caponata, and yes, after all this time posting under the name Meze & Moules, someone finally put moules in front of the camera. Yuzu and verveine in the broth, kohlrabi in the bowl. Worth the wait. The little bowl of fregola that came with the fish was, by unanimous family vote, the sleeper of the night. And the finish: a raspberry millefeuille with white chocolate and mojito sorbet, built with the kind of millimetre precision you want to photograph before you ruin it. We ruined it fast.

One honest note: the card is printed with its own end date, and ours runs out on 3 September. We can’t tell you what the autumn card tastes like. So, we’ll definitely have to return for this!

Dinner from 18:00, closed on Tuesdays.
Friday and Saturday: sharing menu only, for the whole table.

If you catch the new card, which course should we come back for?

Where Madridstraat 12, 8400 Oostende · @gastrobarfrenchette