We are proud of our listing in the Gault & Millau guide to Knokke-Heist!
Gault & Millau and Knokke-Heist put the municipality on the map as a culinary destination
The new Gault & Millau culinary guide, “A Taste of Knokke-Heist 2021”, was officially presented to the general public on Tuesday 31 August.
In recent years, Knokke-Heist has established a strong culinary reputation in Belgium and further afield and has become an absolute frontrunner when it comes to gastronomy. Gastronomy and Knokke-Heist go together like bread and butter: a perfect partnership. This guide is a recognition of the countless efforts that the municipality and its local traders make together every day to take the gastronomic landscape of Knokke-Heist to the next level.
A world first
Knokke-Heist has achieved an absolute first with this new guide. No other municipality in the world has its own dedicated culinary Gault & Millau guide, featuring a selection of the best addresses from the region, from top restaurants to enticing speciality shops. No fewer than 49,000 copies of the guide, which runs to 140 pages, have been printed. Each of the recommended addresses will receive a sticker to display in their window so that the consumer can easily recognize which businesses have been selected for this guide.
A taste of Knokke-Heist
Over the past few months, the Gault & Millau inspectors have been busy visiting Knokke-Heist in search of the best culinary destinations in the region. Completely independent, they selected 148 businesses across 4 different categories:
- A gastronomic selection, with a Gault & Millau score and a “chef’s hat” rating;
- A Knokke-Heist “Special Selection”, featuring a variety of excellent culinary addresses that also merit a visit;
- A selection of artisans and shops such as bakers, butchers, caterers, delicatessens, fishmongers, ice-cream parlours and wine merchants;
- A selection of beach bars.
The guide also covers some additional themes such as local and regional products, markets, recommended businesses in the adjoining Zwin region, a look-back at the Gault & Millau award-winners in Knokke-Heist from the past few years, interviews with well-known foodies, the kitchen of AZ Zeno and the Knokke-Heist ART Tour.
Gastronomic selection
In Knokke-Heist, you will find top restaurants to suit every taste. The following are the top-ranking restaurants in the new culinary guide at a glance. Those scoring the highest rating are: Bartholomeus (18/20), Cuines,33 (17/20), Sel Gris (16.5/20), Il Trionfo (15.5/20), Caillou (15/20), and Escabèche (15/20).
The guide also profiles some rising stars. A number of restaurants were awarded a higher score by the critics:
Caillou (15/20), Bistro JETT (14.5/20) and Boo Raan (14/20).
The inspectors also discovered many new culinary references during their exploration in Knokke-Heist: Dah Makan (14/20), Restaurant Alexandra (13/20), Blanco (13/20), Le Chardonnay (13/20), Lebeau19 (12/20), Luxo (12/20) and Tomatous (12/20).
In total, the gastronomic selection from Knokke-Heist now includes no fewer than 37 restaurants.
Knokke-Heist “Special Selection”
In the Knokke-Heist "Special Selection" chapter, you will discover 50 additional recommended addresses for good food and drink, from breakfast joints to lunch spots, theme restaurants, popular hotspots recommended by Gault & Millau, bistros, brasseries and coffee bars to cocktail bars and several cafes.
Artisans and delicatessens
Gault & Millau selected no fewer than 61 "artisans" and outstanding shops that passionately strive to create a product of the very highest quality. This selection includes 10 bakers, pastry chefs and confectioners, 3 chocolatiers, 12 caterers and delicatessens, 4 greengrocers, 6 ice-cream parlours, 9 butchers, 4 fishmongers and 6 wine merchants.
New website: www.atasteofknokkeheist.be
All of the references from the Knokke-Heist guide have also been collected and shared on the new website www.atasteofknokkeheist.be. Thanks to the handy search function, photos, maps, a link to the Resengo booking system and the clear route guidance, you will immediately find what you are looking for. The site is completely free to consult and accessible to all.
Every Knokke-Heist resident, second-home owner or seasonal tenant will receive the guide for free in the post. The guide will also be available at Tourism Knokke-Heist and in local bookshops for € 19.95. So everyone will be able to take a look for themselves at the guide, which lists Knokke-Heist’s latest top addresses and most delicious guilty pleasures, in both the online and printed version, at the beginning of September.
Treat your tastebuds once more this autumn during Goeste Gastronomy Week
Can’t get enough of all the delicious goodies that Knokke-Heist has to offer? This autumn, the seaside resort will shine a spotlight on its tasty treasures once again with a second edition of the Goeste Gastronomy Week, in collaboration with ELLE Food magazine. The perfect opportunity for gourmets and epicureans to (re)discover the culinary offer in Knokke-Heist, from fine dining to snack bars. The municipality of Knokke-Heist is hosting the week to lend support to local restaurants, cafés and hotels, following the difficult period the industry has recently gone through.
More information at: www.mykh.be/goeste
