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

Oak

A first floor dining room in a 17th century Ghent townhouse, where chef Marcelo Ballardin builds seasonal set menus around North Sea shellfish and his Italian and Brazilian roots.

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

Oak

A first floor dining room in a 17th century Ghent townhouse, where chef Marcelo Ballardin builds seasonal set menus around North Sea shellfish and his Italian and Brazilian roots.

The essentials, at a glance


Documented practices
Independently
reviewed
Seasonal cooking

Documented practices

Seasonal cooking Menu rebuilt with seasonal availability each season

Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Cuisine
Fusion
International
Good to know
Terrace
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide

The delicious details

Oak sits on the first floor of a 17th century townhouse near the Gravensteen, where contemporary art is set against creaking wooden floors. Chef and owner Marcelo Ballardin works with an internationally composed kitchen team and describes the aim as simplicity, accepting that reaching it can take a degree of complexity.

The kitchen serves set menus only, from four courses at lunch and six at dinner, and the composition moves with the seasons. North Sea clams, razor clams and scallops sit alongside Amazonian manioc and beans from Santarém; spring brings the first white asparagus and wild garlic, winter brings skrei.

Guests come in past the kitchen and are welcomed by the whole team, and many dishes are finished at the table, which keeps the room informal.

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

Oak cooks set menus built on whole ingredients and named components rather than assembled dishes. The menus change with the seasons and move between four courses at lunch and six at dinner. North Sea shellfish, seasonal vegetables and ingredients from Brazil and beyond anchor the plates, and many dishes are finished at the table. A full vegetarian menu is served on request.

Oak cooks set menus built on whole ingredients and named components rather than assembled dishes: langoustine with ginger and beetroot, asparagus with tonburi, skrei with truffle, barbecued pigeon.

Much of what supports those plates is made in the kitchen. The langoustine sauce is drawn from the heads and shells, the chimichurri is made in house, and ferments such as a fermented garlic brioche are prepared on site.

Vegetables carry real weight in the compositions, from kale and bok choy to parsnip, beetroot and brussels sprouts, and the We're Smart Green Guide lists Oak for the original way the kitchen handles them. A full vegetarian menu is served on request. The kitchen does not prepare vegan dishes, and asks guests to state preferences and allergies when booking: gluten free dishes can be made, fish and shellfish allergies are worked around, and lactose can be reduced.

Cuisine

Fusion
International

Dietary options

Vegetarian options
Gluten-free options
Allergies & intolerances
How this kitchen handles the EU-14 allergens
Handled on request
Public sources point to a working level of allergen accommodation, but no dedicated preparation area. Treat this as a starting point and confirm directly.
Allergens named on public sources
ShellfishFishGluten
Ask about any allergen not shown. Kitchen separation isn't published. Ask directly if you need a trace-free dish.
Always confirm your allergy directly with the restaurant when booking.
Researched from public sources · oakgent.be · not yet confirmed by the restaurant
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
2 - Engaged

Oak has confirmed practice in two areas of responsible cooking.

The clearest is seasonal cooking. The set menus change with the seasons rather than running year round, and the produce follows the calendar closely: the first white asparagus and wild garlic in spring, skrei in winter, brussels sprouts and corn in their own months. Independent reviewers describe the menu as being in constant dialogue with the seasons, and the restaurant builds each menu around what is in season.

The second is the kitchen's work with vegetables, recognised by the We're Smart Green Guide, which assesses restaurants specifically on their vegetable and fruit cooking. Its listing singles out the original way Ballardin handles produce, citing kale with oyster and citrus, a nem of raw carrot, courgette and bok choy, and parsnip with tapioca pearls. A full vegetarian menu is served on request. The We're Smart listing is the third party recognition on file for Oak.

The impact dimensions

Local & direct sourcing

Seasonal cooking✓

Sustainable animal products

Plant-forward menu✓

Local seasonal produce is stated as a kitchen value; North Sea shellfish is the named regional source, with other named origins largely distant.

Local sourcing is described as part of the kitchen's identity. The Gent city tourism listing states that Ballardin serves dishes made with local seasonal produce, and Michelin and Gault&Millau describe local Belgian ingredients combined with Asian spices, Mediterranean herbs and South American elements.

North Sea shellfish appears consistently across menus: clams, razor clams, cockles and scallops are named produce categories. Other named sourcing is largely distant: Amazonian manioc and Brazilian beans from Santarém, Gariguette strawberries from southern France, Norwegian langoustine, and Kintoa pork from the Basque country.

Strongest sourceCity of Gent ↗

The menu rotates seasonally, building around seasonal produce: white asparagus and wild garlic in spring, skrei in winter, brussels sprouts and corn in their own months.

Seasonality is a stated kitchen principle. The restaurant's own menu page describes the set menus as built on fresh, seasonal ingredients, and editorial coverage describes the menu as a living thing, ever changing and always in dialogue with the seasons.

Published dish lists from different periods show real rotation: white asparagus and wild garlic appear in spring, skrei and brussels sprouts in winter, corn in its own month. One reviewer notes that Gariguette strawberries are selected as the earliest harvested variety. Oak serves no à la carte, so the entire menu rotates when the season changes.

Strongest sourcestarsandtoques.com ↗

Named animal products include North Sea shellfish, Norwegian langoustine and Kintoa pork from the Basque region; no farm, butcher, fishmonger or welfare certification is identified.

Animal products are identified by region and species across menu and guide coverage: North Sea clams, razor clams, cockles and scallops, Norwegian langoustine, hamachi and mackerel for seafood; pigeon and sweetbread for poultry and meat; and Kintoa pork, a protected Basque breed.

No butcher, fishmonger or named farm is credited anywhere. No MSC, ASC, organic or welfare certification is mentioned for any category. Sourcing is narrowed to region and in one case (Kintoa pork) to a named regional breed, but no further traceability or welfare standard is documented.

Strongest sourceguide.michelin.com ↗

Vegetables are treated as co-equal components, recognised by the We're Smart Green Guide for original preparation; a vegetarian menu is available on request.

Vegetables are treated seriously within the menus. Published dish lists name beetroot, asparagus, brussels sprouts, corn, parsnip and peas as co-equal components alongside the protein centre. The We're Smart Green Guide lists Oak and describes the original way the chef processes vegetables, citing oyster with kale and citrus vinaigrette, a nem of raw carrot, courgette and bok choy with plaice, and parsnip with tapioca pearls with young duck.

A full vegetarian menu is served on request. The kitchen states explicitly that it does not prepare vegan dishes.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗
Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Burgstraat 16, Gent, Belgium
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€€
Format
Set menus, reservations essential
Hours
MondayClosed
Tuesday12:00–13:00, 19:00–20:00
Wednesday12:00–13:00, 19:00–20:00
Thursday12:00–13:00, 19:00–20:00
Friday12:00–13:00, 19:00–20:00
SaturdayClosed
SundayClosed
Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Good to know
Terrace
Web
oakgent.be
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 15 Oct 2026
Reserve To website
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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.
This place
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
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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