Volta

It is well worth the 10-minute walk out of the city centre to discover Volta, a cool restaurant housed in a vast converted turbine hall. The kitchen is run by genial young chef Olly Ceulenaere, who prepares a fabulous seven-course tasting €59 menu in the evening, with surprising dishes such as crunchy white cabbage topped with smoked eel and parsley root.

• 2b Nieuwe Wandeling, +32 9 324 0500, voltagent.be, mains €32-€40.Open Tues-Sat noon-2pm, 7pm-9pm

JEF

Newly opened JEF typifies the changes going on in Flemish cooking. Chef Jason Blanckaert abandoned the Michelin-starred cuisine of the chic but classic C-Jean restaurant to open his own casual, minimalist diner. It's what the chef calls "real food": hearty portions of slow-cooked veal and belly of pork and oven-braised cod with shellfish and pumpkin. Don't expect rich sauces – the ingredients are the star here.

• 10 Lange Steenstraat, +32 9 336 8058, j-e-f.be, lunch set menu €25, dinner set menu €55. Open Tues-Thurs noon-2pm, 7pm-10pm, Fri noon-2pm, 7pm-1am, Sat 7pm-10pm, closed Sundays

De Vitrine

One of Belgium's most talented chefs, Kobe Desramaults cooks his signature "earthy" cuisine in a cult restaurant in the Flemish countryside, but now he has just opened De Vitrine, an ancient butcher's shop in Ghent, run by one of his young team, Mathias Speybrouck. Drinks and Flemish tapas are served around the butcher's marble counter, with a small dining room at the back, fully booked way in advance. Mathias creates fresh, surprising recipes such as young sprouts topped with cockles.

• 134 Brabantdam, +32 9 336 2808, de-vitrine.be, three-course lunch €33, three-course dinner €45. Open Tues-Fri noon-2pm, Tues-Sat evening reservations at 6.30pm or 9pm

Yuzu

Yuzu chocolate shop in Ghent, Belgium Photograph: Unknown

There are all the usual famous-name Belgian chocolates on sale in the centre of Ghent, but real chocoholics will search out this off-the-beaten track boutique showcasing the creations of local chocolatier Nicolas Vanaise. He makes his seductive, zen chocolates each morning in his own home, starting at 5am, and can scarcely keep up with demand. Travelling regularly to Japan for inspiration, his chocolate truffles resemble calligraphy art works, mixing strange combinations of flavours and textures, such as lemon and coffee.

• 11a Walpoortstraat, +32 47 396 5733. Open Tues-Sat 10am-6pm

Gruut

Annick de Splenter has renovated another of Ghent's old industrial buildings, installing brewing vats and transforming the rest of the space into a friendly bar and restaurant. She brews twice a week, and these Gruut beers are delicious – not too strong compared with traditional Belgian Trappists. The menu features hearty local favourites such as waterzooi, a tasty chicken stew, or stoverij, tender beef braised in beer.

• 10 Grote Huidevettershoek, +32 9 269 0269, gruut.be, mains from €10-€14. Open Mon-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 2pm-7pm

Guido Meersschaut

Ghent has a beautiful medieval fish market, but it is now being turned into offices and a brash modern brasserie. The last fishmonger to leave was Guido Meersschaut, the fourth generation of a family who began in 1846 selling Ostend shrimps in wicker baskets. You have to grab a cab to his new premises but it is worth the trip. There is a tasting bar where clients can discover the difference between Breton, Dutch and Colchester oysters, sample maatjes (raw herrings, €2 a piece), or try traditional paling in het groen (eel braised in a parsley sauce, €38).

• 27 Ajuinmarktstraat, Gent-Ledeberg, +32 9 232 3322, meersschaut.be. Open Tue-Sat 9am-12.30pm, 2pm-6pm

Tierenteyn-Verlent

Tierenteyn-Verlent deli, Ghent

Tierenteyn looks more like an apothecary than a delicatessen, and although the shelves are stocked with stone jars of spices and herbs, everyone comes here for their unique mustard, dating back to 1790, and shrouded in secrecy that resembles medieval alchemy. There are no preservatives used, which means the mustard can only be sold here on these premises. Once you have tried Tierenteyn, everything from Dijon to Colman's pales in comparison.

• 3 Groenmarkt, +32 9 225 8336, tierenteyn-verlent.be. Open Mon-Fri 8.30am-6pm, Sat 8.30am-12.30pm, 1pm-6pm

Roomer aperitif

Maarten and Jeroen Michels look like a couple of mad scientists, and are known around town as "the Roomer Boys", after the unique aperitif they invented using Heath Robinson-like stills and their grandmother's elderflower wine. Today, Roomer has its own state-of-the-art distillery, and is the perfect drink for the waterside terraces of Ghent's numerous cafes.

• roomer.be

Temmerman

Housed in a splendid baroque mansion on the Leie river, Temmerman is the town's favourite old-fashioned sweetshop. The shelves are lined with tempting jars of sticky toffees, fruit gums and liquorice, but what makes Temmerman so famous is its speculoos gingerbread and an array of eccentric candies – such as mammelokkers (breast lickers), or cuberdons, distinctive "red nose" raspberry jellies.

• 79 Kraanlei, +32 9 224 0041. Open Wed-Sat 11am-6pm

Het Hinkelspel

Thirty years ago, three students began making organic cheeses using non-pasteurised milk in the cellar of an ancient convent, and they've become something of an institution in Ghent. There are four basic cow and goat cheeses, and the ones not to be missed are Dulse, flavoured with red algae, and Pas de Bleu, which is actually as blue as Roquefort, and delicious to taste with the dairy's own beer, Lousberg.

• 33 F Lousbergskaai, +32 9 224 2096, hethinkelspel.be. Open Mon-Sat 10am-1pm, 2pm-6pm

• For more on Ghent's foodie scene, see the blog by three of its top chefs, flemishfoodies.be/eng, and the new one by the town's barmen, belgianbarflies.be