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

Melchior

A 16th century townhouse in the centre of Tienen where classical French sauce work meets Japanese seasoning, with a menu rewritten every two months.

Allergies Not published, ask the kitchen ahead

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

Melchior

A 16th century townhouse in the centre of Tienen where classical French sauce work meets Japanese seasoning, with a menu rewritten every two months.

The essentials, at a glance

Allergies Not published, ask the kitchen ahead

Documented practices
Independently
reviewed
Seasonal cooking

Documented practices

Seasonal cooking Menu rewritten every two months for seasons

Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Trendy
Cuisine
Asian
French
Fusion
Good to know
Terrace
Wheelchair accessible
Dog-friendly
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide·4 radishes

The delicious details

Melchior occupies a 16th century townhouse on the Veemarkt in central Tienen, where old brick walls and high ceilings have been kept and the room reworked around them.

Gilles Melchior cooks from an open kitchen with a small brigade. He trained at Arenberg, De Tuinkamer and Hof van Cleve, and the result is classical French technique, with stocks and reductions made in the kitchen and seasoned with yuzu, kombu, dashi and ponzu.

The menu is rewritten every two months and follows what the season gives: romanesco and celeriac in a salt crust, woodland mushrooms, salsify. A vegetarian version of the tasting menu is available, and the cellar runs to more than 200 labels alongside a short list of sakes.

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

The kitchen blends classical French technique with Japanese and south east Asian seasoning, building dishes around single ingredients. Stocks and reductions are made in-house from bones and shells. Vegetables appear as courses in their own right, and a vegetarian version of the tasting menu is available on request.

Cooking runs on two tracks: classical French sauce work, and the sharper seasoning of Japanese and south east Asian pantry ingredients. Dishes are built around one central ingredient, salmon with radish, cucumber and a Thai broth, halibut grilled with romanesco and vermouth, langoustine with potato, leek and a shellfish jus.

The kitchen works from whole ingredients: stocks and reductions are made in house from bones and shells rather than bought in, and vegetables such as celeriac are cooked whole in a salt crust.

Vegetables appear as courses in their own right, with celeriac on both the tasting menu and the card, and a vegetarian version of the tasting menu is available on request. Meat and fish are both served, and the meal closes with a cheese selection or a short dessert list.

Cuisine

Asian
French
Fusion

Dietary options

Vegetarian options
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
1 - Starting

Melchior rewrites its full menu every two months, building each version around what the Belgian season offers. Romanesco, celeriac, salsify and woodland mushrooms carry the colder months, and the rotation runs through the whole card rather than a handful of specials.

The restaurant is listed in the We're Smart Green Guide at four radishes, a guide dedicated to vegetable-led cooking.

The impact dimensions

Seasonal cooking✓

Sustainable animal products

Social impact✓

Plant-forward menu✓

The menu is rewritten every two months with strong seasonal influence; the autumn and winter card carries romanesco, celeriac, salsify, woodland mushrooms and leek.

Independent editorial coverage states the practice precisely: a new menu is presented every two months and the new dishes are strongly influenced by the seasons. Belgian press coverage adds that the chef cooks creatively with ordinary seasonal products rather than relying on luxury ingredients alone.

The seasonal produce is clearly structural: the autumn and winter card carries romanesco, celeriac, salsify, woodland mushrooms, leek and pointed cabbage. A six times yearly full rotation exceeds the quarterly minimum for engagement level 3, and the seasonal rhythm shapes the entire menu rather than decorating a fixed core.

Strongest sourcewbpstars.com ↗

The restaurant serves a range of named animal products including Rubia Gallega beef, Gillardeau oysters, Balfego tuna and North Sea crab, though no welfare certifications are documented.

Animal products are central to the menu: beef (Rubia Gallega and Wagyu), poultry (farm chicken), and a long seafood list including Gillardeau oysters, Balfego tuna, North Sea crab, Zeeland clams and smoked river eel. These named sources narrow the picture without full verification.

No welfare certification is documented for any category, and no butcher, fishmonger or farm is named as a direct supplier. The partial sourcing signals hold the dimension at engagement level 2.

Strongest sourcemelchi-or.be ↗

The open kitchen is noted for its respectful working culture, and the sommelier has previously worked with the chef at Arenberg.

An independent review of a three hour service records a respectful working culture in the open kitchen: not a harsh word was heard between the chef and his three person brigade. The same review and a guide entry record long standing working relationships, with the sommelier having previously worked with the chef at Arenberg.

The kitchen has no published employment, training or community programme. These are two incidental signals without wider practice, holding the dimension at engagement level 2.

Strongest sourcefoodtaster.be ↗

One vegetable-led starter appears on the a la carte, celeriac in a salt crust; a vegetarian version of the tasting menu is available on request, though all six main courses are built on meat or fish.

The a la carte carries one vegetable-led starter, celeriac in a salt crust, which also runs as a course on the tasting menu. Against that, all six main courses are built on meat or fish, with no vegan option evidenced in any published channel.

A vegetarian version of the tasting menu is available on request, so the kitchen does adapt its fixed menu when asked. However, the default composition is meat and fish dominant, holding the dimension at engagement level 2.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

Sourcing signals

✓
In-house preparation

Stocks and reductions are made from bones and shells rather than bought in; vegetables such as celeriac are cooked whole in a salt crust. Michelin cites freshly prepared reductions; Gault&Millau names beurre blanc with vin jaune and seasoned potato cream built to order.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Veemarkt 47, 3300 Tienen, Tienen, Belgium
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€€
Format
Tasting menu; reservations via TableFever
Hours
MondayClosed
Tuesday12:00–13:15, 19:00–20:30
Wednesday12:00–13:15, 19:00–20:30
Thursday12:00–13:15, 19:00–20:30
Friday12:00–13:15, 19:00–20:30
SaturdayClosed
SundayClosed
Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Trendy
Good to know
Terrace
Wheelchair accessible
Dog-friendly
Web
melchi-or.be
Social
@melchi_or
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 7 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.
This place
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.
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
—
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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