The 10 best seafood restaurants in Ostend

Ostend (Oostende) is a fishing town, and it eats like one. The catch comes in at the fish auction on the east bank, coastal fishermen sell their own catch at the Vistrap on the quay, and the restaurants along the Visserskaai have been cooking it for generations. The hard part is not finding fish in Ostend; it is choosing between a white-tablecloth tasting menu, a steaming pot of mussels and a paper cup of grey shrimp eaten standing up.

This is our shortlist. It mixes places that the Gault&Millau guide rates highly with simpler addresses that do one thing well. No restaurant paid to be included. Prices, menus and opening days change with the seasons, so check with the restaurant before you go, and book ahead for weekends and school holidays.

Price tiers are per person for a main course or set menu without drinks: € budget, €€ mid-range, €€€ upmarket, €€€€ fine dining.

At a glance

1. STORM — North Sea fine dining on the harbour

If you want one memorable seafood dinner in Ostend, this is it. Chef Michiel Rabaey and Nathalie Hiele, both from Ostend, opened STORM in 2018 on the Hendrik Baelskaai, facing the fish auction and the moored trawlers. The kitchen cooks North Sea fish from head to tail, including lesser-known species, and is part of the North Sea Chefs network; Gault&Millau raised its score to 14.5/20 in the 2026 guide, the highest of any fish-focused restaurant in town.

There is no à la carte: at lunch you choose between two set menus named after the tides, Laagtij (low tide, four courses) and Hoogtij (high tide, five courses); at dinner only Hoogtij is served. Expect precise, produce-led cooking and a small, intimate dining room run with real warmth.

Good to know: set menus only; book online or by phone, not by email. Closed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday at the time of writing.
Address: Hendrik Baelskaai 21, 8400 Ostend · STORM: hours, map and photos

2. Lusitania — the Visserskaai classic, done properly

Lusitania sits across the road from the Vistrap, and chef Grégoire Deloddere, who has cooked on this quay since 1995, makes the most of it. The cooking is mostly classic with the occasional modern or Eastern touch: North Sea fish soup, grey shrimp croquettes, grilled sole, turbot, or a bouillabaisse built on the day’s catch, with some dishes finished in the dining room. The restaurant moved to its current address in 2019, has a recently renovated interior and holds 13.5/20 from Gault&Millau.

It is the place to send anyone who wants proper fish cooking on the Visserskaai without the tourist-menu feel of some of its neighbours. The monthly set menu is the best value, and there is a long wine list.

Good to know: closed on Wednesday and Thursday at the time of writing.
Address: Visserskaai 32, 8400 Ostend · Lusitania: hours, map and photos

3. Mange Tout — seasonal seafood on the harbour front

A few doors along the same quay, Mange Tout (13/20 Gault&Millau) is run by Lieva, who looks after the wine, and Peter, who leads the kitchen. North Sea fish and shellfish are at the heart of a menu that follows the seasons, from sea bass with razor clams to turbot with mussels and saffron. The dining room is calm, and the weekday lunch menu is a good choice when you want something more considered than a brasserie but less formal than a long tasting menu.

Good to know: reserve by phone or email. Closed on Monday and Tuesday at the time of writing; dinner only on Saturday, lunch only on Sunday.
Address: Visserskaai 22, 8400 Ostend · Mange Tout: hours, map and photos

4. Marina — Italian, with the fish auction on its doorstep

Marina is not a fish restaurant in the strict sense; it is an Italian restaurant that has been part of Ostend since 1973 and holds the official Ristorante Italiano label. We include it because of where it is and what that means for the kitchen: since 2019 it has looked out over the harbour and the fish auction on the east bank, and dishes such as sea bream baked in a salt crust or red gurnard make the most of it. With 14/20 from Gault&Millau in 2026, it is one of the highest-rated restaurants in the city and a good answer for a group where not everyone wants a plate of sole.

Good to know: smart dress expected; dogs welcome if you mention them when you book. Closed on Wednesday and Thursday at the time of writing.
Address: Hendrik Baelskaai 7a, 8400 Ostend (Oosteroever) · Marina: hours, map and photos

5. Savarin — seafood with a sea view

Plenty of restaurants on the Ostend seafront have a view; fewer have cooking to match. Savarin, on the Albert I-Promenade, has a sea view from every table, and chef Jeremy Magy’s menu leads with seafood, from oysters and North Sea crab to turbot and lobster, with meat and game alongside. It holds 13.5/20 in the 2026 Gault&Millau guide. Come at lunch on a clear day, or for dinner when the light goes down over the North Sea.

Good to know: closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Monday is lunch only outside the school holidays, at the time of writing.
Address: Albert I-Promenade 75, 8400 Ostend · Savarin: hours, map and photos

6. EAUst — North Sea comfort food on the east bank

After 22 years in the village of Plassendale, Alicia and Bram moved to the up-and-coming east bank of Ostend, and EAUst entered the Gault&Millau guide straight away (12.5/20). The Michelin Guide also lists it. The cooking is Belgian and French classics with a strong lean towards local seafood: order the crisp grey shrimp croquettes, then a whole sole in brown butter with proper chips and a green salad, or skate wing with capers. The weekday lunch menus are excellent value.

Good to know: meat dishes are available for anyone who does not eat fish. Closed on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday at the time of writing; book online.
Address: Vuurtorendok-Zuid 29, 8400 Ostend (Oosteroever) · EAUst: hours, map and photos

7. Le Bassin — shrimp croquettes at the top of the quay

At the town end of the Visserskaai, Le Bassin is a brasserie, wine bar and hotel in one, and new to the Gault&Millau guide in 2026 (12/20). Chefs Tom Vanhaecke and Christine Degroote buy from local fishermen, and Tom is a member of the North Sea Chefs and a champion of dishes à l’Ostendaise, so the fish is taken seriously, but the mood is easy-going. This is the place to try a garnaalkroket, the Belgian grey-shrimp croquette, before or after a walk along the harbour.

Good to know: open every day, which makes it a good option when you have not booked anywhere else; dogs are welcome in the brasserie.
Address: Visserskaai 1, 8400 Ostend · Le Bassin: hours, map and photos

8. Apero Fish Palace — platters to share

Just off the Visserskaai and opposite the Vistrap, Apero Fish Palace is a lively fish and shellfish restaurant with a fish counter and takeaway next door. It is known for its generous fruits de mer platters, piled with oysters, langoustines, prawns and crab claws, and it is one of the most-reviewed seafood places in Ostend. It is less about refinement and more about a big table, a cold bottle of white and a tower of shellfish.

Good to know: the kitchen is open from Thursday to Sunday, 12:00–21:00, at the time of writing; the terrace does not take reservations.
Address: Nieuwstraat 5–7, 8400 Ostend · Apero Fish Palace: hours, map and photos

9. La Moulinière — mussels, every way you can think of

Belgium and mussels go together, and La Moulinière on the Visserskaai takes the pairing further than most. Allisson has run the restaurant since 2011, and the menu lists more than forty mussel recipes, from the classic nature and white wine versions to richer cream-based pots, each also available in a lighter version without cream. The mussels come from Zeeland and are delivered fresh before each service. If mussels are not your thing, there are shrimp croquettes and a seafood menu, and the terrace lets you watch the boats come into the harbour.

Good to know: bookings online only (there is no phone line); payment by Payconiq, banking app or cash. Families and dogs are welcome.
Address: Visserskaai 14, 8400 Ostend · La Moulinière: hours, map and photos

10. Vistrap fish market — straight from the boats

Not a restaurant, but no seafood guide to Ostend is complete without it. The Vistrap is the open-air fish market on the Visserskaai, opposite the Nieuwstraat, where only the owners of small coastal fishing boats may sell, and only their own catch from trips of less than a day. Expect fresh North Sea fish, whole or filleted, and cooked grey shrimp, peeled or unpeeled. Come early in the morning for the best choice; after a storm at sea, when the boats have not been out, there may be little or nothing on sale.

Hot food is not sold at the Vistrap itself. For a snack, walk along the quay to the fish stalls on the Visserskaai, which sell shellfish, smoked and dried fish and cups of hot sea snails (wulloks).

Good to know: open daily from 06:00 until 18:00 (19:00 from Easter to the end of October), except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Address: Visserskaai, 8400 Ostend · Vistrap fish market: hours and map

Also worth a visit: De Kleine Garnaal

If La Moulinière is about choice, De Kleine Garnaal is about doing the classics well. This traditional brasserie on the Vindictivelaan, a few minutes’ walk from the station and away from the busiest part of the Visserskaai, is the address Ostend regulars give for old-fashioned mussels: fresh mussels, fresh vegetables and no shortcuts. Grey shrimp, the restaurant’s namesake, are the other reason to come, in a tomato, a bisque or homemade croquettes.

Good to know: reservations by phone only. Closed on Tuesday, and on Monday from October to December.
Address: Vindictivelaan 34, 8400 Ostend · De Kleine Garnaal: hours, map and photos

Tips for eating seafood in Ostend

• Book ahead. The best places are small, and summer weekends fill up days in advance.
• Check the closing days. Many Ostend restaurants close on two or three weekdays, and the pattern differs from place to place. Several also close for a few weeks in November and around Christmas.
• Try the local specialities. Grey shrimp (grijze garnalen), shrimp croquettes, sole, skate, mussels and fish soup are the classics. Ask what came in that morning.
• Look beyond the Visserskaai. The quay is the obvious starting point, but some of the most interesting cooking is now on the east bank (Oosteroever), a short walk or ferry crossing away.

Plan your visit

• Where to stay near the harbour
• More places to eat in Ostend
• Places to eat around the harbour

Last checked: October 2026. Spotted something that has changed? Let us know.