Mr. Sato — Restaurant in Ghent

Our experience at Mr. Sato last night was disappointing, despite being initially drawn in by the ambiance. Since we were staying at the hotel for a week, we looked forward to trying the restaurant. However, the atmosphere was misleading.

When we arrived, they couldn’t locate our reservation right away, leading to an awkward back-and-forth about whether we’d given our room number or our name. Eventually, they found it, and we were shown to our seats, which were quite nice.

We ordered a five-course tasting menu and asked to mix items to try as many things as possible. The first server said it was doable and left, but when we were ready to order, a manager (or head waiter) arrived and seemed to hesitate. He explained that mixing items from the tasting menu wasn’t standard, but he’d make it work. This set the tone for a series of missteps.

First, our sushi order was incorrect, delivered by a fourth different server who seemed frustrated and insisted it was correct. Another staff member briefly listened to our concern but then left without helping. The starters were good, and the sushi was fine, though we’d had better elsewhere. Confusion continued when a second set of sushi arrived, which we hadn’t ordered. We politely declined, but the staff seemed annoyed and attributed the mix-up to the person who initially took our order.

When the main courses arrived, I was underwhelmed. My udon noodles were served with chopsticks placed vertically—a cultural faux pas in both Chinese and Japanese traditions, as this resembles incense sticks for the deceased. In an Asian-inspired restaurant, I expected more cultural awareness. The “cauliflower karaage” was also disappointing—large, hard-to-eat chunks, coated and fried in a haphazard way.

By the time dessert arrived, we asked for it to-go, eager to leave. At checkout, they mistakenly charged us for extra water, which was frustrating to rectify, as they simply handed it to us to bring back to our room.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend dining here, especially at this price point. While the ambiance is nice, the service needs serious improvement—ideally with a more organized approach and consistent server per table. If you’re not already staying at this hotel, it’s not worth the...

The experience at the restaurant Mr. Sato was a disaster. Mediocre, the items served were closer to “street food” but arranged for European tastes, which reminded us of the Asian “all you can eat” buffets which are a thousand miles from the authentic cuisine found in Japan or in China. Everything was covered in a very salty hoisin-like sauce. The worst thing is to dare to call it “kaiseki” which is the highest level of Japanese cuisine. Having been to real kaiseki restaurants in Kyoto and Nagoya, we can attest that it was very, very far from being like it! The matching sakes were not explained, one dish even came with the description "I don't know what's in it but it must be good". The cauliflower tempura was not tempura but just boiled cauliflower covered in the same sauce. The wagyu beef (in bun) had tough nerves. The noodles tasted like the prepackaged babi pangpang. The balls served with asparagus was like takoyaki but tasteless. The rice was again drowning in extra salty sauce. The cod was very fishy and quite suspicious. The dessert (ice cream magnum style with yuzu) was good but we suspected it was not homemade. Everything actually tasted like pre-made food ready to heat. And we paid the same price as for a gastronomic restaurant for a very mediocre street food. The saddest when I see the other comments is people saying they liked it, because in their mind this is what Japanese cuisine tastes like. There are fantastic Japanese restaurants in Ghent. Chef Yoshi for seasonal omakase menu, fresh, creative, tasteful. And Astro boy for Izakaya style cuisine. But I really can’t recommend Mr Sato. I was by the way trying to find the resume of the chef to know where he worked before but I couldn’t find anything outside of the info provided by the hotel, which is very suspicious. The good notes : the cocktails are incredible! Very creative, astonishing, right on point in taste. The deco is very nice. The rooftop view is incredible and the staff very friendly. That’s why I won’t put a one star but I can’t...

During our stay at Van der Valk Hotel in Gent, we dined at their Asian restaurant, Mr. Sato, located on the 10th floor with a skybar. The ambiance was trendy and smooth, with subdued lighting, and we were welcomed warmly by the staff.

We opted for the 5-course menu with saké pairings for some dishes. The food was good, though the red tuna tartare was coarsely chopped and served on one plate for two, which wasn’t ideal.

The cocktails, especially the Akuma Nashi and Osaka Sling, were excellent, and the service was friendly and attentive.

Despite the overall experience being enjoyable, I wouldn't say it was exceptional.

A big plus was the flexibility of the staff, who kindly packed our dessert to take to our room—much...