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't Aards Paradijs Food Identity independently reviewed
Food Identity How restaurants source, cook and care. Independently reviewed

't Aards Paradijs

A vegetable led country house kitchen outside Ghent, where herbs, flowers and produce from the restaurant's own garden and from nearby organic growers shape a menu that changes with the season.

Allergies Not published, ask the kitchen ahead

Food Identity How restaurants source, cook and care. Independently reviewed

't Aards Paradijs

A vegetable led country house kitchen outside Ghent, where herbs, flowers and produce from the restaurant's own garden and from nearby organic growers shape a menu that changes with the season.

The essentials, at a glance

Allergies Not published, ask the kitchen ahead

Documented practices
Independently
reviewed
Local sourcing
Seasonal cooking
Low waste
Plant-forward menu

Documented practices

Local sourcing Three named growers in the Oude Kale valley
Seasonal cooking Menu rebuilt as gardens and seasons change
Low waste Pickles, ferments, and open-fire cooking preserve harvest
Plant-forward menu Five radishes in We're Smart Green Guide

Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Cuisine
French
Good to know
Terrace
Garden
Dog-friendly
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide·5 radishes

The delicious details

't Aards Paradijs occupies a converted farmhouse in Merendree, in the countryside outside Ghent, and has built its cooking around vegetables for more than three decades. Chef Lieven Lootens works from one principle: approach each ingredient as purely as possible, so that the produce carries the dish.

Herbs and flowers come from the restaurant's own garden, and the kitchen draws on growers in the valley of the Oude Kale: the organic market garden 't Schaaphof in Landegem, the Far Fields food forest, and the orchard and herb garden at De Dag Des Heeren.

A nine course vegetable menu runs alongside the menu with fish and meat, and both are rebuilt as the season turns. Tables look out over a garden of edible flowers, herbs and apple trees, where guests also eat in warm weather.

Menu
What's on the table, and what's left off

Seasonal tasting menus built from vegetables, herbs and flowers as the main event and fish or meat in a supporting role. A nine-course vegetable menu runs in parallel, so plant-based dining is a full alternative rather than a substitution. The kitchen works from whole vegetables, herbs and flowers grown in the restaurant's own garden and from nearby growers, preserved as pickles and ferments, and cooked over an open fire. Fish is North Sea catch landed at Zeebrugge; meat comes from Flemish producers.

Menus are built as a sequence of small courses in which vegetables, herbs and flowers are named first and animal protein plays a supporting part. Dishes are titled for the produce at their centre: peas and mangetout with artichoke and savory, cauliflower with hijiki, morels and pioppino with herbs cut in the restaurant's own garden.

A nine course vegetable menu runs in parallel with the seasonal menu, so a plant based meal is a full option here rather than a substitution, and the restaurant is listed for its purely plant choices.

The kitchen works from whole ingredients rather than prepared components, keeping the garden harvest as pickles and ferments and cooking produce over an open fire. Fish is North Sea, with langoustines landed at Zeebrugge, and meat comes from Flemish producers.

Cuisine

French

Dietary options

Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
4 - Recognised

Vegetables, herbs and flowers come from the restaurant's own garden and from named growers a few kilometres away, among them the organic market garden 't Schaaphof in Landegem, the Far Fields food forest, and the orchard and herb garden at De Dag Des Heeren. The menu is rebuilt as the season turns, and the chef takes his cues from what the garden and those growers are producing.

Rather than let the harvest go to waste, the kitchen keeps it as pickles and ferments and cooks produce over fire. Vegetables are the structural centre of every menu, with a full nine course vegetable menu offered in parallel with the seasonal one.

The restaurant holds five radishes in the We're Smart Green Guide, the highest rating that guide awards, and placed number 40 in its 2025 ranking of the 100 best vegetable restaurants in the world. It was named the best vegetable restaurant in Belgium in 2011.

The impact dimensions

Local & direct sourcing✓

Seasonal cooking✓

Low waste & circular practices

Sustainable animal products✓

Social impact

Plant-forward menu✓

Vegetables come from the restaurant's own garden and three named growers a few kilometres away in the valley of the Oude Kale; fish and meat are sourced regionally.

Produce sourcing is strong and traceable. Three named growers in the valley of the Oude Kale are published as partners: the organic market garden 't Schaaphof in Landegem, roughly three kilometres away, the Far Fields food forest, and De Dag Des Heeren with its vegetable garden, herb garden and orchard.

Fish is given a regional origin, with langoustines landed at Zeebrugge, and meat is described in editorial coverage as coming exclusively from Flemish producers.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

Menus are rebuilt as the season turns, with the a la carte built on seasonal availability and archived menus carrying seasonal titles.

Seasonality is communicated as the guiding principle and is visible in the menus themselves. The restaurant's own site states that the seasons come and go in the same way as the menu, the current menus are published as a summer menu, and the a la carte page is explicitly built on the seasonal offer.

Archived menus carry seasonal titles and independent guide coverage describes a menu of up to ten courses created each season.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

The kitchen preserves its own harvest as pickled and fermented vegetables and cooks produce over an open fire.

One concrete practice is named: the kitchen preserves its own harvest, describing all kinds of pickled and fermented vegetables, and cooks and smokes produce over an open fire.

The We're Smart Green Guide corroborates that fermentations and other preparations can be tasted at the restaurant.

Strongest sourceaardsparadijs.be ↗

Chef is a member of NorthSeaChefs; fish is North Sea, with langoustines landed at Zeebrugge; meat comes from Flemish producers.

The chef is a member of NorthSeaChefs, an independent Belgian chefs' collective whose stated position is that we must eat what the fisherman catches, promoting lesser known North Sea species and working with fishermen towards more responsible practice.

Regional origins are given for the animal products: langoustines are landed at Zeebrugge, meat comes from Flemish producers, and an earlier menu named Bekegem duck.

Strongest sourcenorthseachefs.be ↗

't Schaaphof partner, a cooperative organic market garden run by women farmers with a stated social purpose of local healthy food provision.

The restaurant is run as a family business, with chef Lieven Lootens, host Isabelle Brasseur and their daughter Amber-Lynn named as the team.

One social supplier signal is documented: the restaurant partners with 't Schaaphof in Landegem, a cooperative organic market garden run by women farmers that is registered as a cooperative with an explicit social purpose of local healthy food provision.

Strongest sourcelowiz.org ↗

Five radishes in We're Smart Green Guide; number 40 in 2025 Top 100 best vegetable restaurants; nine-course vegetable menu at €125 parallel with seasonal menu.

Vegetables are the structural foundation of the kitchen and have been for more than three decades. The restaurant holds five radishes in the We're Smart Green Guide, the highest rating that guide awards, and carries its label for restaurants with purely plant choices.

The restaurant was placed number 40 in the 2025 Top 100 best vegetable restaurants in the world. A nine course vegetable menu is published at 125 euro in parallel with the seasonal menu at 145 euro, so the plant menu is a full alternative rather than a substitution.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

Sourcing signals

✓
Own-grown produce
✓
Direct named-farm sourcing

The kitchen garden is central, with herbs, flowers, apple trees and an orchard. The current menu names dishes made with herbs cut in the restaurant's own garden.

Three named growers in the valley of the Oude Kale are published as partners: 't Schaaphof (organic vegetable market garden in Landegem), Far Fields (food forest) and De Dag Des Heeren (vegetable and herb gardens, orchard).

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Merendreedorp 65, 9850 Deinze, Deinze, Belgium
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€€
Format
Tasting menu, nine courses, reservation required
Hours
MondayClosed
TuesdayClosed
WednesdayClosed
Thursday19:00–00:00
Friday12:00–00:00
Saturday19:00–00:00
Sunday12:00–17:00
Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Good to know
Terrace
Garden
Dog-friendly
Web
aardsparadijs.be
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 07 Oct 2026
Reserve To website
Link copied
How we score
The My Treats impact scale

Every restaurant is assessed against SEERO, our six-dimension sustainability framework — covering sourcing, seasonality, waste, animal products, social impact, and plant-forward cooking. Each finding is weighted by how strongly it is corroborated. The combined result is translated into an impact score from 1 to 5.

The five levels

SEERO is an acronym for Starting, Engaged, Endorsed, Recognised, Outstanding:

Starting First verified signals of sustainable practice.
Engaged Credible practice across two dimensions.
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
This place
Outstanding Top-tier practice, confirmed by recognised third-party audit.

How a level is reached. Each level needs two things together: a minimum number of dimensions covered, and a minimum overall strength of evidence across them. A dimension only counts once its evidence is specific and substantiated — a passing mention doesn't qualify. Meeting only one of the two keeps a restaurant a level lower.

Scores of four or five require human validation and, at the top tier, an external audit. Scores are based on publicly available evidence and restaurant submissions at the time of assessment.

Full methodology→
Impact dimension
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How this dimension works
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How evidence is weighted
Self-declared Stated by the restaurant on its website, menu or in a submission. Plausible, but not yet independently corroborated.
Researched Found through independent research; one credible third-party source backs the claim.
Vouched Corroborated across more than one independent source. Some gaps may remain.
Audited Fully corroborated across independent sources or by a recognised third-party certification.
What the sourcing checkmarks mean
✓ Full check — independently verified: corroborated across more than one source, or audited / third-party certified (vouched or audited).
✓ Light check — self-declared or from a single source. Not yet independently verified.
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