The Michelin 2025 guide crowned 15 new star restaurants, including 13 establishments receiving their first star. In Flanders, memory (Wouter Van Tichelen) in Bruges, High (Dimitri Proost) in Ostend, La Botte (Giuseppe Giacomazza) in Genk, Julien (Davy Devlieghere) in Lotenhulle and Modest (Sander Spreeuwers) in Opglabbeek were distinguished.
In Brussels, Eliane, a new address of chef Kobe Desramaults (formerly in Wulf and separate chamber), immediately obtained his first macaron. Wallonia is not to be outdone with four new star tables: Viscount of Quentin Gallopyn in Roucourt, a maxim of Maxime Zimmer’s taste in Comblain-au-Pont, the beautiful shore by Curtis de Curtis Maquet in Dave, and Bistrot Blaise from François-Xavier Simon in Marche-en-Famenne.
Luxembourg has a remarkable dynamism with three new distinguished addresses: Grünewald Chef’s Table (Clovis Degrave), Fields by René Mathieu in Findel, and Prince Archibald in Lauterborn.
Regarding the two stars, only two establishments cross this CAP: Colette Maison de Thijs Vervloet in Tongerlo, Belgium, and the Léa Linster restaurant led by Louis Linster in Frisange, Luxembourg.
Yves Mattagne demoted with a star
The demotion of the restaurant La Villa Lorraine d’Yves Mattagne is one of the major surprises of this edition. The famous Brussels chief lost his second star without a clear explanation. “This hard blow recalls the episode of as at home which had also lost a star three years earlier,” comments the French -speaking daily life LIBER Belgium.
This decision is all the more astonishing since Mattagne had managed to maintain his two stars during his transfer from Sea Grill to Villa Lorraine. Such a demotion testifies to the fragility of the achievements in the high gastronomy and the constant requirement of the guides’s inspectors.
The remarkable absence of new “three-star”
No new restaurant has joined the very closed circle of three -star triple this year, leaving Belgium with only two establishments at the top of the gastronomic pyramid: Boury de Tim Boury in Roulers, which obtained its third star in 2024, and Zilte de Viki Geunes in Antwerp, three -star since 2021. The disappointment is palpable. It is underlined by various media.
Several promotions were expected, however. Hertog Jan could have recovered his third star after his move, while Christophe Hardiquet with his Menssa restaurant could have found the second star he held with good. David Martin, with his new restaurant at the Corinthia hotel in Brussels, also hoped for a distinction.
-This absence of new “Trois-Etoiles”, combined with the change in 2023 at the head of the legendary Hof Van Cleve (Peter Goossens after 37 years of good and loyal services had passed the torch in Floris Van der Veken), long only three-star restaurant in Belgium, could suggest that the high gastronomy of the flat country marks a set after decades of ascension.
Belgians and gastronomy: a changing report
Belgian high gastronomy is going through a difficult period as well as “ordinary” catering. They are both faced with substantial economic challenges. No less than 813 restaurants have closed since the beginning of 2024, unable to pass on their prices the increases of 30 to 35% of operating costs.
Galloping inflation, the outbreak of raw materials and energy prices hardly affect the sector. Some establishments go so far as to charge an “energy supplement” of around 4 euros on the addition to compensate for the increase in invoices. These increases remain difficult to have a clientele accepted whose purchasing power is down.
Consumer habits are also evolving: almost half of Belgians frequent restaurants “to have fun” less than five years ago, 53% invoking budgetary reasons. This trend pushes restaurateurs to adapt their offers with simpler menus, packages or take -out dishes.
The shortage of qualified personnel is another structural challenge for the Belgian Horeca. The chiefs evoke a persistent lack of labor, prior to the pandemic and aggravated since. Many Horeca employees have converted in the context of the COVIR which forced the restaurants when closed, and did not come back to it. Wages increase in addition. Professionals advise to rethink the economic model with new schedules and weekly closures to limit fixed expenses.
“Haute gastronomy is our heritage and we are stifling it”
Faced with these constraints, new trends are emerging. The Michelin guide awarded in 2025 three green stars to establishments engaged in sustainable development: T’Gasthuis by Insstromart in Malines, Sophie and Nicolas in Comblain-la-Tour and Fields by René Mathieu in Luxembourg. Vegetable cuisine and more relaxed formulas as bistronomy also gain popularity.
As the Dominika Herzig’s starry chef already pointed out in 2019, “Belgian high gastronomy is our heritage and we are suffocating it under the weight of charges and financial constraints”.
Experts agree that without support measures such as tax reductions or training incentives, the risk of complaining of gastronomy remains very real, despite the encouraging emergence of new talents and the growing interest in more sustainable models.
