The ONLY place to catch live blues music in Ghent! It is a bit like a dive bar, but the place is…read morepacked whenever there is live music. Of our 3 evenings in the city, we spent 2 of them here! The open mike night is incredible, with a rock solid opening band that then backs up solo musicians. We could easily have stayed until closing, but after a few Belgian beers and jet lag, we reluctantly bid our farewell. The drinks are great here too, plus there is food to be had.

So many good beers on tap. All of them are Belgian. Highly recommend the sweet cherry beer (#8 at…read morethe bar). Bar tender is really nice too

Awesome cult- & jazzbar in original 20s-30s atmosphere, nearby the historical center of Ghent. I…read moreheard in the early days it used to be a club with exclusive memberships, only accessible for artists, architects, writers, etc., philosophing, smoking and drinking until morning hours around the pooltable. Started by Johan and Guido Claus, brothers of famous Hugo. You like Edith or miss Fitzgerald? Or rather a burlesque show with live music and swinging people, within a decor of a temporary art exhibition and dark pictures of Al Capone and Mata Hari? Check the event schedule on facebook, join barladies Marie and Lara at the authentic long copper bar, and ask for a 'real' scoth or one of the dozens of fine Belgian beers! And call me if you drop by, i'll probably join (for the 1000th time) ;)

Atmosphere is the key to this place. Bartender plays jazz records. Decent but limited selection of…read moreBelgian beers. I had a Duvel Tripel Hop. Great for having a conversation. Sit and talk with a friend, admire the photos and the artwork. They even have a pool table. Well worth seeking out for a drink or two. Enjoy!

We stopped in last week over the holidays while walking around Ghent. Old school punk rock playing,…read morethat moved into some upbeat jazz & blues, etc. Crowd was cool, diverse & chill. Bartenders were great & very helpful with different beer styles. When I see the High Priest of Bop on the menu, I'm in the right place. Bumper-pool was a surprise. Little dried sausages to snack on. This place reminds me of what the LES used to be in NY in the 90s. If I lived in Ghent, I would be there enough to pay the light bill.

Terrific place two blocks from Vrijdadmarkt that you'd likely never find. Outdoor and indoor…read moreseating always packed even on weekdays past 11pm. Jazz music playing in the background , a trombone and saxophone on the wall, requisite photos of Louie and Etta on the walls, etc. Its all locals, but they are all friendly and will talk to you if you talk to them. It's not a tourist trap, and it's not 400 years old, but it has a vibe that keeps me coming back. If you are staying at the Ghent River Hotel it's two blocks past it, and you must stop in for a lemon Genever.

Bartender is a pain in the ass! But, the beer is cold and his girlfriend gave me her number. So…read morethey get five stars. Lol. Btw. It was the wrong number. Fuck.

Went into Woody's during our time in Gent expecting to get a quick Belgian beer, instead the…read morebartender Michael was super personable and gave us an amazing rundown on all the beers he had. He also gave us tons of information on the best spots to go in Gent! We enjoyed his bar so much we ended up going back multiple times during our trip and had some great conversations with Michael and some awesome locals. Thank you for the amazing experience. This place is definitely worth a visit or two!

Fun atmosphere... blend of locals and tourists. The novelty of 1.5L beer and shoe deposit is fun…read more.. 500+ beers to choose from is overwhelming.

Pretty cool bar to stop in and grab a beer in Ghent!…read more There is a large selection to choose from so I asked the bartender for a suggestion! I tried the local beer and it was tasty! The decor is very all over and cool! So much to look at! There is a lot of seating inside and through the back!

Stopped here for a quick coffee in the morning. They don't serve food in the morning so coffee stop…read moreonly. Will be back in the evening for their beer

This was a teeny bar in a busy square, and while it has a cool history of being the smallest bar,…read morethere isn't much here. We stopped by in the morning for coffee and sat outside on their patio. The coffee was good, though they do not serve food so we ended up leaving after we finished our coffees to find another place nearby to grab a pastry.

We stopped here to try an Ale that was on Tap and was the only place in Ghent that had it according…read moreto our tour guide. Beautiful Tuesday afternoon around 4 so all outdoor tables were occupied but one opened up after a short wait. We were in a rush as we had a meeting point deadline. Service was a bit slow to take our order. Interior, which was empty given the weather, had character and looked like a cool Bar to have a drink especially when it's cold outside. Dreupelkot is also known for Jenever-juniper flavored liquor. They have 200 offerings on the menu. That said, we were here for Klokke Roeland. (The Roland Bell which hung in the Ghent Belfry). A strong, (11.5% ABV) rich golden brown Ale. Some fruitiness with a slight bitter finish. We enjoyed it! As mentioned , brewed exclusively for Dreupelkot by Brouwerij Van Steenberge. Our server was upbeat and thought we ordered two Cokes (vs Klokke). I walked over and double-checked with him and we avoided a wrong order. Overall, a great stop with nice views of Binnenstad, for Klokke and also to try the Jenever.

Jenever, genever, "dutch gin": whatever you call it - this is the best place in the WORLD to come…read moreand try over 100 different flavored (and non-flavored) kinds served to you by the famous unenthusiastic legend Pol who's usually smoking a cigar while serving. I've been here twice - I literally stumbled in her by chance my first time - now it's my favorite place in Gent. I might take a train next week just to go then come home. I love it. It's a tiny, intimate little room, and everyone's there for the same purpose - to drink Jenever. It's the international equalizer. The crowd is random - last time we had models, locals, young and the old. it's a great way to meet people from and visiting Gent. Of note: * Jonge jenever - leaves a burn, but a good start * Jalapeno (pepper) jenever - think you can handle the heat? go on. give it a try * Violet jenever - one of a kind * Kreik (cherry) jenever - made in house - nice * Lemon jenever - classic It's a "can't miss" spot in Gent in my opinion. Stop by, try a few, but if you stay a while, don't say that I didn't warn you about one of one of the worst hangovers of your life.

Great little breakfast spot with large portions! We really enjoyed eating in this small cafe…read more Everything was fresh, flavorful and served with a smile. The kind of neighborhood gem that we would make one of our go-to's.

Spaghetti was SO overcooked. The sauce was basically water and tomato paste with zero flavor. My…read moreson eats ALL pasta but he would not finish this one. The Belgian fries? Soggy and bland. I cannot recommend this place at all.

Old Loui's (yes, that is the way they spell it) Jazz Tavern is situated across the road from the…read moreGravensteen castle. It is a small restaurant with around ten tables, full of antiques, plush curtains and deeply padded chairs. There is a lush soundtrack, and dinner here is a leisurely affair. We've been to this restaurant twice now, had the same main course each time and with a totally different reaction. On the first occasion, I could have sworn that this was the Jambalaya of the angels: complex, fabulous flavours, well selected seafood and meat. In fact it was so good, I had to fight my husband who was trying to eat mine as well as his own. On the second occasion it was, well, ok, I guess. So you take your chances dining here, although it was never worse than ok. This would be a great place to spend one of Ghent's wild and wintery nights, snuggled up next to the stove, putting the world to rights over a great soundtrack, and lurching out late at night on a full stomach.

This place has a beautiful terrace facing the 'Gravensteen', the 800 year old castle of the counts…read moreof Flanders - one of the highlights in Gent. Unfortunately, this is about the only positive thing I can write about the place. And fortunately, it was very good weather. I ordered grey shrimp croquettes - which takes about 5 minutes to prepare. It took about 45 minutes. Lemon was missing from the plate that finally arrived (and I thought it wouldn't make much sense to order it - as my croquettes would certainly be cold by the time the lemon arrived). On top of that, the croquettes were still partly cold, and I'm not so sure if they were house made or came from the Aldi. Never again.