Astro Boy — Restaurant in Ghent

We ventured out to Astro Boy, a sharing-dishes restaurant in Ghent. No reservations accepted, but we easily snagged a spot on a Thursday around 19h. The place has a nice aesthetic, setting the mood for our meal.

We kicked off with cocktails and a small bite to start, ordered with a very friendly waiter. For the main plates, we ordered 6 dishes (as recommended) for two, but I'd suggest 5 is plenty (and I'm a good eater :p).

Here's where things got a bit wonky - our cocktails and starter (a small bite) arrived, but barely a minute later, the main dishes started rolling in. We couldn't even finish or properly enjoy our aperitif, which was a bit of a bummer. Also after some time, we managed to order a glass of wine, with glasses priced between 8 to 10 euro. The wine was good, but it seems like a casual thing to order such expensive glasses without any context and receiving a poorly filled glass…

Food-wise, it was nice, but for these prices, I was expecting more of a 'wow' factor. That said, the beef tataki was hands down the best dish - highly recommend giving that a try.

The drinks menu also comes with a hefty price tag, so be prepared to splurge a bit.

Overall, it's a cool spot with some tasty dishes, but the high prices for both food and drinks make it more of a one-time...

The staff was polite and seated us promptly, despite the restaurant filling up quickly after opening. This is a good place if you enjoy a leisurely pace, as dishes are served one at a time over about two hours. While this allows for conversation, the small portion sizes and slow service left us feeling a little unsatisfied.

We ordered seven dishes for two people. Overall, the flavors were nice, but many dishes were too salty, which tended to overpower the other ingredients. I recommend ordering a bowl of rice to help balance the saltiness. Beef tataki: This was the best dish we ordered. Grilled broccolini: This was the second-best dish, though quite salty. Mussels with miso-gochujang butter: The mussels were tiny, but the flavor was great. Onsen egg: The egg was perfectly poached with a creamy yolk, but the broth was too salty. Bo Ssam of slow-cooked pork shoulder: The accompanying spicy dipping sauce had a nice, thick consistency that adhered well to the cabbage leaf wrappers. Carrot dip with rice paper crackers: The fried rice paper crackers were much too oily. Okonomiyaki: The overly generous amount of katsuoboshi topping made this dish dry and unbalanced.

The overall price-quality...

Astro Boy, an izakaya in Gent, wasn’t exactly on my must hit list when visiting but Belgium. But it SHOULD be for anyone visiting Gent. This spot is fire. From the delicious cocktails (or mocktail) to amazing vibes they provide. Must tries would be the beef tataki, corn with kimchi butter (WHOEVER THOUGHT OF THIS DISH DESERVES A RAISE) and the vegetarian katsu, which was recommended to us and so glad she did!!! SOOO GOOD. And the playlist in the background was sick. They were playing hip hop tracks that varied from OutKast to 50 cent, just added such a good atmosphere, especially me visiting from LA. Service was exception and we felt very well taken care of as we only speak English.

As I said, this spot is such a wonderful surprise when in Belgium. Definitely get your fill of waffles, frites and beer but I can’t recommend Astro Boy more if you’re looking for something different or chill. Especially if you’re a fan of...