Gastrobar Sam

Gastrobar Sam is a relaxed bar and restaurant on Van Iseghemlaan, a short walk from the Kursaal and the seafront. Owner Sam Vancoppenolle has run the business for more than ten years, on the site that once housed Jan’s Café, and the dining room keeps that warmth while adding an open kitchen. The photographs on its website show exposed brick, a blackboard menu, blue banquettes and large fish sculptures hanging from the ceiling.

The idea is a low-threshold gastrobar: a drink at the bar, a few sharing plates, or a full evening at the table. The cooking centres on organic beef and freshly caught North Sea fish, with homemade Ostend shrimp croquettes as the signature starter, which the menu says took first place with a professional jury. The menu also lists sharing towers, a large pot of mussels to share, several steak tartares, côte à l’os, bouillabaisse, pan-fried sole and a catch of the day, plus a short veggie section. Two set menus are offered, and the bar list covers gins, cocktails and wines.

It is open every evening from 6pm to midnight, with a set lunch on Fridays from noon to 2pm. The website gives a phone number and email address but no online booking page, so call ahead at busy times.

Gastrobar Sam took part in the 2026 edition of Ostendaise: North Sea Food Fest, the free summer food festival on the Zeeheldenplein, with its festival dish, North Sea Bowl.