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Publiek Food Identity independently researched
Food Identity independently researched Researched

Publiek

A vegetable led bistro in central Ghent where whole plants, not garnishes, shape short menus that change with the season.

The essentials, at a glance

Documented practices
Independently
researched
Seasonal cooking
Low waste
Social impact
Plant-forward menu

Style
Casual
Cosy
Trendy
Cuisine
International
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide

The delicious details

Publiek is the Ghent restaurant of chef Olly Ceulenaere, who puts vegetables and lesser known produce at the centre of the plate rather than beside it. Whole plants are worked through the menu, with parts chosen for taste and texture.

The room is plain and open: concrete, wooden tables and school chairs set around a kitchen that sits in the middle of it. Service is informal and the pace unhurried, closer to a bistro than a formal dining room.

Menus are short and follow the year. Braised leek and new potatoes give way to celeriac and salsify, then to peppers, kohlrabi and red fruits. Lunch is three courses, dinner five or more, and each course is written as a short list of ingredients.

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

Each service is a set sequence of small courses, three at lunch and five or more at dinner, each written as a short list of ingredients. Vegetables carry most plates: braised leek with mackerel, pea cream under chicken leg, kohlrabi, salsify, peppers, red fruits. Meat and fish run through savoury courses alongside.

Cuisine
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
Gluten
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 · visit.gent.be · not yet confirmed by the restaurant
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
4 - Recognised

Menus are rewritten as produce comes and goes, so a spring card of new potatoes, young cauliflower and sorrel gives way to celeriac and salsify later in the year. Within those dishes the kitchen works through complete plants, selecting parts by taste and texture instead of trimming them away, which keeps usable produce on the plate.

Away from the stove, chef and owner Olly Ceulenaere chairs the culinary council of the City of Ghent, an open body that meets four times a year to work on the city's eating and drinking future.

Vegetables lead the cooking rather than sitting beside the protein, and Publiek is listed in the We're Smart Green Guide, the guide dedicated to restaurants that build their menus on vegetables.

The impact dimensions
Local & direct sourcing
Seasonal cooking✓
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products
Social impact✓
Plant-forward menu✓

Local vegetable growers and North Sea fish sources feature on the menu.

The We're Smart Green Guide listing documents direct work with local vegetable growers exploring complete plants. The menus carry origin markers: young Belgian cauliflower, North Sea shrimp, North Sea mackerel and skrei.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

Menu dishes change as produce seasons.

Three separate menus recorded at different points of the year share no dishes. Autumn and winter dishes include celeriac with mushroom, turkey with salsify; spring shows red Franceline potato and young cauliflower; current menus feature roasted peppers, strawberry, pineapple tomato, kohlrabi and red fruits.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

Whole plants are worked through, with every part chosen by taste and texture, not trimmed away.

The kitchen works through complete plants with local growers, selecting each part by taste and texture rather than trimming them away. A published Michelin line on the chef's biography corroborates that he uses all facets of an ingredient.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

NorthSeaChefs member committed to underused North Sea species; menu features North Sea shrimp, mackerel, skrei.

The chef is a member of NorthSeaChefs, the Belgian collective built around underused North Sea species, and his profile names hake as his preferred North Sea fish. The menus feature North Sea shrimp, mackerel and skrei alongside pork, quail, veal and chicken.

Strongest sourcenorthseachefs.be ↗

Chef chairs Ghent's city culinary council, meeting four times yearly on the city's food future.

The City of Ghent names chef and owner Olly Ceulenaere as chair of the Gentse Culinaire Raad, the culinary council that meets four times a year. The council is open to hospitality operators, producers and chefs working on the city's eating and drinking future.

Strongest sourcestad.gent ↗

Vegetables lead every course; meat and fish appear in most savoury ones.

Vegetables set the composition of every course on the published cards. Meat and fish appear in most savoury courses: BBQ ham, veal tartare, mackerel, chicken leg, quail, pork loin. The We're Smart Green Guide credits remarkable combinations with vegetables and whole plant work with growers.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
Low-impact beverage program

Natural and biodynamic wines pair with the ingredient-led cooking; Belgian craft beers on draught include Saison Dupont Bio.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Ham 39, 9000 Gent, Gent, Belgium
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€€
Format
Three to seven courses, set menu. Reservation essential.
Hours
MondayClosed
Tuesday12:00–13:30, 19:00–20:30
Wednesday12:00–13:30, 19:00–20:30
Thursday12:00–13:30, 19:00–20:30
Friday12:00–13:30, 19:00–20:30
Saturday19:00–20:30
SundayClosed
Style
Casual
Cosy
Trendy
Web
publiekgent.be
Reserve a table
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 21 Aug 2026
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 a planet rating 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.

Ratings of four or five planets 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
—
How this dimension works
—
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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