Three Michelin-star restaurants can be found in the strangest places. Boury is located in the small Belgian town of Roeselare. In a quiet residential area stands a grand mansion that houses the restaurant. Outside, two BMW limousines are ready to pick you up from your hotel.
Inside, the design is just as classic and beautiful as you would expect, with an open fireplace, wood panelling, intricately laid wooden floors and tables covered in crisp white tablecloths. The luxury continues with the champagne cart featuring Perrier-Jouët, a cuvée made especially for Boury, and Krug. Being a Krug ambassador, they offer several Krugs by the glass as well as a dedicated Krug pairing. Again, the mark of a true three Michelin-star restaurant. Basically, everything screamed classic three Michelin stars already before a single dish was served. The question was whether the kitchen was still reinventing itself or whether the need to protect the third star had made it more cautious as it often the case?
The menu celebrated Boury’s 15th anniversary by revisiting the best dishes of the past 15 years. The inspiration for the snacks mostly came from Japan, with classic ingredients such as otoro, wagyu and yuzu, but Peru was also introduced—and it certainly wouldn’t stop there. These influences acted like small spices on top of an otherwise classic menu built around French and Belgian flavours.
I am always skeptical when European chefs call a dish a ceviche. Often it’s simply raw fish without many of the traditional elements such as corn, while almost screaming with acidity. The first dish of the menu was called a ceviche, and it contained many of the traditional elements, but in a refined and restrained version. The acidity wasn’t screaming but layered in its approach, and the gambero rosso shrimp was sweet and delicious. With its three Michelin-star precision and flavours, it was also easily the most beautiful ceviche I have had in a while. Before returning to Belgium, we found inspiration from India with a turmeric-based sauce that gave a nice contrast to the light, floral seabass with watercress. These were two dishes that I definitely didn’t expect to find at a Belgian three Michelin-star restaurant, but I was very glad that I did.
It just so happens that my favourite brewery, Rodenbach, is also located in Roeselare, and they use the beer as a base for the bread. Its sourness and wild yeast gave the bread a crispy crust and real depth of flavour. It paired beautifully with the sauces of the subsequent dishes. After the international inspiration of the first couple of courses, it was nice to see that Boury also had strong roots in the local community.
Beautiful but hard to eat. That’s not a sentence I am used to writing, but while the next dish was both delicious and beautifully presented on an oyster-shaped plate with a very small base, it was difficult to eat without the plate tipping over. Personally, I prefer function over form, and I could have done without the balancing act, which took the focus away from the flavors of the dish.
Presentation is often a big part of a meal at a three Michelin-star restaurant. This was especially true for the caviar course, where they presented the Kaviari caviar on a stand before taking it back to the kitchen for plating. That part felt a little strange to me. Why go through the effort of a grand presentation only to plate the caviar out of sight? It was served with classic ingredients such as potatoes alongside more creative additions like crab and shrimp.
When it comes to lobster dishes there are generally two directions to take: either light, delicate flavours with buttery sauces or the exact opposite with spice, depth and more punch. Here they chose the latter. The spice came from Italian nduja sausage, while the depth came from the Rolls-Royce of onions—the Roscoff onion. The richer lobster dish was a very nice segue into the classical French sweetbread with winter truffles and a rich sauce. The final savoury dish was lamb with a herbal maison greffeuille sauce. Cooked perfectly pink, I thoroughly enjoyed its distinct lamb flavour. Some say wool. I say it’s delicious. Especially when eating it with my hands in a three Michelin-star restaurant.
Sake as well as Krug Champagne finished the pairing together with desserts consisting first of a refreshing melon dish with apricot and, once again, the Peruvian herb huacatay before moving to a more classic dessert of strawberries with mascarpone. While the flavours were safe and traditional, the presentation was anything but.
A fellow food journalist once said that the most interesting restaurants are often the two Michelin-star restaurants chasing the third. It’s a sentiment I often agree with. The reason is that two-star restaurants can afford to be more adventurous and creative while making that final push. Once you achieve the coveted third star, you often become more defensive because there is nothing left to gain—only things to lose. That can also make restaurants reluctant to take risks.
This describes my lunch at Boury quite well. Everything was delicious, and you could tell that every detail had been tried, tested and refined over many years. As a guest, however, you also want a few surprises and something that stands out—qualities that often come from a younger chef pushing for that final accomplishment.
Boury therefore feels like a very classic three Michelin-star restaurant, with all the glory that comes with it but also the predictability that you can either love or hate. Personally, I tend to prefer restaurants that are a little more adventurous than conservative, but that ultimately comes down to personal preference.
Practical information
Location: Roeselare, Belgium
Head Chef: Tim Boury
Menu: 12 course tasting menu €335
Booking: www.restaurantboury.be
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