het Spijker — Restaurant in Ghent

What a lovely place by the canal to absolutely chill and unwind. We went when it was starting to get dark. People were just chilling. I could have sat there for hours. As it transitioned from evening to dark, it looked even more beautiful with lights on in the canal. Loved the relaxed scene. We only had coffee so don’t know about food. By the way, the server who took order was such a crook: coz he knew we were not checking the prices n just blipped with Apple Pay, for the 2nd order, he charged me double 7 euros for a coffee which was only 3 euros. When I realized n asked him, he retuned me the money in cash, but what a shame thing to do. Never knew that could happen too in Europe. Shameful act. So be careful Otherwise a must go unwind place. The other side of this place got out to the other street which was another...

No longer my favorite brown pub in Ghent. I don't like giving bad reviews, but sometimes I can't help it. This pub used to be a busy, but quite cozy place. Service was great and you were served almost immediately. During our visit yesterday, something was clearly wrong. New manager? Staff shortage? Too tired? We found our place upstairs, but it soon became clear that you had to go back down to place your order (and drag it back up the stairs). All tables were full of empty dirty glasses and coffee bags. I know that in the center of Ghent you pay a little more for your favorite beer, but that you can also sit in the dirt of your predecessor .... No, this is no longer necessary for me. There are still nice...

Dropped into this place on a whim. We were walking by, and the patio looked busy, so we popped in. Glad we did! This bar is in a very old building; I'm not sure what the purpose of it was back in the day, but it's now sectioned off and home to multiple businesses. Het Spijker is a cool establishment..the first floor is a cozy bar with a long-hanging ceiling, and the second floor is the same thing sans bar. The entire place is authentic; there's no sprucing of this joint up. Original stone walls and rafters are exposed all over. We ended up staying for two beers and having a conversation that lasted most of the night....