Locàle by Kok au Vin — Restaurant in Bruges

We chose to have lunch last Saturday at Locale as it was a celebration for us and we wanted a special meal. We had that in spades at Locale. I can unreservedly give this meal a 5 star rating but there were a couple of disappointing things that anjoyed me on the day (luckily for the restaurant the cooking was so good it overshadowed the flaws by service staff). The restaurant has lunch specials (3 courses for €X, 4 courses for €Y, etc.) and when we ordered we started the order by saying we would take the option of 4 courses for €Y and we proceeded to order our four dishes. I knew the special deal wasn't available every day but I had my days mixed up. It was disappointing to mention so clearly we were taking the lunch special of "4 courses for €Y" and the maitre 'd said nothing and then charged us the full amount for each course. The other occasional negative was the young waiter, who firstly poured the sparkling water in a sloppy manner that he missed one of the glasses as he poured over the top leaving sparkling water on the table with not so much as an apology or a clean up. The second instance of what I thought was poor waiting was when we had a glass of wine each and, as the table was on the small side, I asked him to remove the two other empty wine glasses that were taking up room on the side of the small table (the wine were there when we first arrived). He resisted and said he would rather not. In my mind a silly call on his part as there was a table of empty wine glasses and plates to bring to tables literally 1-2m away and extra wine glasses were easily obtained from this table during our meal. Normally such actions would result in a lower rating, however in this instance the food was so good it resulted in a 5 star review.

We had four courses of share plates - a great way to enjoy a range of food without ending up eating too much - and the courses we chose were: Tempura Pollack -Tartar Sauce - Lemon Smoked Salmon - Cucumber - Sour Cream - Dill Red Gurnard & Mussels - White Asparagus - Fennel - Lamb’s Lettuce Veal Ribeye - Morel Mushroom - Broad Bean - Mashed Organic Potatoes

The tempura dish was very good, although the tempura batter wasn't quite as light and oil free as the very good tempura is you find in Japan. Very good fish beautifully cooked and decent tempura. From there the dishes were great. Each of the dishes had a wonderful sense of balance in flavor and texture and at the end of the meal we struggled to find which dish of the last three dishes excelled more than the others.I have added pictures for the last three dishes (we forgot a tempura picture).

The salmon dish was a devine flavor and texture combination. In the substance under the dill and green was the salmon and sour cream and also, we thought, some very small diced apple, and the end product was a real delight.

The fish and mussels dish was a visual masterpiece with the bubbles in the sauce holding for a sustained period giving a lightness that completed the subtle depth of flavour. We found it difficult to pick a highlight of this dish - it would have been easy to highlight the fish, mussels, asparagus, the sauce, or the greens - and ultimately this doesn't matter. The whole dish was another delight.

Thee meal finished with a veal ribeye that had substance but was less substantial than a ribeye sounds. Beautifully cooked with flavor from all parts of the veal beautifully complemented by the the other ingredients.

At the end of these dishes we wanted no dessert or coffee as we felt the dishes by themselves were enough and we wanted to saviour the flavors and memory. We have travelled extensively over the last 7 years with a wide range of dining experiences and this was our most enjoyable meal. We may never make it back to Bruges but, if we did, we'd revist Locale and enjoy their menu (on one of the days where the set menu discount, if still applicable, applied). It's only because the meal was so good that I was comfortable leaving the 5 stars given what I considered were staffing errors. A lovely occasion with truly...

A fantastic start to our European trip.

Our first night in Bruges—and what a memorable dinner at Locàle by Kok au Vin. This Michelin Guide-listed restaurant offers both à la carte and tasting menus. We chose the 4-course tasting menu with a 3-glass wine pairing, and it was an excellent decision.

Every course was creative yet approachable, beautifully presented, and full of flavour. The service throughout was warm, attentive, and highly professional. The wine pairing complemented the dishes well, finishing on a high note with a lovely Belgian rosé.

Our menu included: • An amuse-bouche of smoked pijana • Pea and cucumber gazpacho with fresh cheese • Vol-au-vent with farm chicken, white asparagus, and morels • Red gurnard with zucchini, fennel, spinach, and Choron sauce • “Flowers & Bees” dessert featuring egg liqueur, rhubarb, honey, and elderflower

The red gurnard was a particular highlight—perfectly cooked and packed with flavour.

The atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming, making it a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Highly recommended for anyone looking for refined, modern Belgian cuisine in a calm and stylish setting.

(Also posted to my food blog on Instagram...

We tried to walk in to Kok au Vin on a Thursday night which was fully booked and decided to book the following night in advance. It’s an atmospheric restaurant, the staff were friendly yet not to the extent of other restaurants we’ve been to in Bruges. I was looking forward to the starter of filo pastry with feta & fig jam as it’s unlike anything served in Bruges but the flavour was underwhelming and bland, as were the fish goujons which were not what I would expect for a Michelin recommended restaurant. I tried to order two sides for my main as I’m a pescatarian, quite fill up already, and there were few options but the waiter quite bluntly told me I cannot do that. Instead I had the risotto with cauliflower- without king prawns as listed as I wanted a vegetarian main. Carafe of red wine and my boyfriend’s main of soup later was over €100. Sadly wouldn’t return or...