We went to this restaurant on a Saturday evening. The place isn't that big - about 30 couverts…read more Unfortunately only 4 tables were occupied. And knowing that there is ample space, we felt a bit alone. The advantage is that there were no delays at all in serving the dishes :-) Apparently it was kind of an off-day. Normally it is fully booked, which I can acknowledge having seen the full-house parking lot on moments. Then the food. They have changed the amuse gueules by 'snacks'. This is a collection of 4 small dishes put on the table that could be shared by the people around the table. A nice initiative. We have chosen for the 4-course menu. All courses were excellent; it was more than enough without feeling overloaded. This is probably also due to the use of ample vegetables. Hooray for the chef! I chose again the cheese platter to finish. 6 perfectly chosen pieces of cheese with a side dish of dried fruit , honey and homemade marmalade. A good place for lunch and dinner; a pity that the atmosphere was lacking. But they still get a four star rating.

I honestly don't understand why the haters are so vocal on this one, we f'ing LOVED this place…read more **The menu is a bit ridiculous - 30 pages or so of mostly drink, just a few pages of food. **We brought some Parisians here and they had a hankering for mussels, which everyone but me ordered - and LOVED (I tried, they were excellent and very fresh). **I got a Uruguayan ribeye which was just OK, more chaffe than wheat if you know what I mean. **My kid's Carbonnade was excellent **Eight Belgian beer draft lines, I got a Chimay white. **They had both "young" Orval and "aged" Orval, which was a year old. Next time we go I will try it, only 50 cents more. **The kids playland in the back was so extensive our 10- and 7- year olds couldn't be pulled away when it was time to go. **Really reasonable prices on drinks and such - my wife got Laphroaig for 5 EUR a glass One tip: they don't take regular credit cards, even euro-Visa with the chip, only a certain Belgian variety, because they don't get a lot of foreigners. So best to take cash.

First of all you need to know that "Le Zoute" is like the Belgian version of Pebble Beach. Complete…read morewith classic car concours and rally, a beautiful golf course near the North Sea dunes, incredible real estate and Carmel like shopping. It never disappoints. And gastronomy is not missing out either. Take La Sapinière, a pearl in the town square of old town Le Zoute. Eef(je) van der Ven is the owner. Like every successful restaurant, if it's open, Eef is there. The food is Belgian, local of course with a touch of French. No nonsense high quality ingredients, honest and refined. No "nouvelle cuisine" (I hate). Mussels, lobster, white asperges, fresh North sea fish like Sole etc. Please try the shrimp croquettes, please, please do! This place does not disappoint, ever, full stop. You can sit inside in the "brown café" on nicely covered tables, at the cosy bar or in the Jardin (patio) outside. Whilst enjoying a glass of bubbles, a great G&T or a cool Rosé, Eef and his staff will entertain you, in spite of being very, very busy. They are not pretentious, they are cool, sweet and honest, like the place itself. Yelp is not yet so much used in Belgium, hence the lack of reviews but trust me, give it a try. In the evening the sun lights up the town square with Van Gogh like colors, take your drink outside and enjoy the sun set.