De Zuidkant
DE ZUIDKANT
Jacob van Maerlantstraat 6, Damme, 8340, Belgium
Dinner for Two
11 May 2026
The highlight of our trip to Belgium?
Hmmm.
Painstaking attention to detail.
Total mastery of technique with constant visual enticement, demanding further, focused exploration.
A true expression of the human spirit in so many of its most positive aspects.
Sorry.
What!
The Ghent Altarpiece?
Pah - no!
That was indeed truly fine but still mildly one-dimensional compared with this meal booked before leaving home shores and enjoyed on the penultimate night of our stay.
Let’s leave the food until a little later.
At De Zuidkant Cora Moerman first welcomes you to her world and eagerly wraps you in it until you wistfully wend your way home. After a tantalising glimpse of chef Patrick van Hoorn in his elevated, open kitchen ‘eyrie’ Cora led us down to our table in the light, airy but still intimate restaurant.
Patrick and Cora are The Downright Delightful Duo who have been custodians of this Damme venue since 2014.
You should know that I think of The Michelin Guide as a necessary evil. De Zuidkant gets one star from inspectors. You can easily ignore that and simply book to find out how special it is for yourself.
Cora Moerman
Patrick van Hoorn
Felten Berwouts adds an extra layer of warmth. He is head and shoulders above many front of house representatives - literally! But don’t be overwhelmed by his height - he even managed to sink to my level of humour at one point.
de_zuidkant Cora and Felten
You stayed for the food? Here we go.
We dined at the end of a sun-soaked day. Rays shone bright enough through floor-to-ceiling windows to give clarity to all my photos except the meat course. As for my descriptions; I reckon they are close enough as makes little difference. As you can see, translation tools remain unreliable!
Dutch
French
English
Spindly cutlery challenged the fine motor skills of my arthritic thumbs. I admired its elegance and refused to be offended.
Condiments and oil. Pepper was sichuan and its flowers.
Canapés were eaten in the sensible order suggested by Felten, finishing with the rich parfait.
Great flavour combinations. Great delivery. Great enjoyment.
#SpoilerAlert - Great things kept following.
Quail Scotch egg
Smoked eel, pickled cucumber
Duck liver parfait, beetroot glaze
Patrick is a keen advocate of fish in his menus. As a ‘North Sea Chef’ he knows how to source the freshest of quality produce from nearby waters. Hence the savoury content of our 5-course menu had just one nod to red meat.
Four perfectly judged dishes relied on ocean provenance before land-based, four-legged produce made an appearance.
The sea bass tartare and its partners had just enough complexity to create huge interest but no confusion. Soy meringues were a mini masterstroke.
Generosity reared its welcome, and far from ugly head with an unexpected chef’s treat. Beignets were tissue-thin crunch and perfectly soft fish. The notion that avocado was substituting for mushy peas was an attractive one.
Sea bass tartare, quinoa, daikon, red radish, butterhead, sorrel
Oh. And soy meringue!
Chef’s treat. Fish beignet, daikon, avocado
Steamed brill with its fishy, herby mousse was a well-judged, delicate affair. Both seafood and asparagus were complemented by a creamy sauce, pulled back from being overrich by drops of citrus.
So pleased we went for five courses or we would have missed the next dish. Relatively humble ingredients treated with total care and understanding created a richly rewarding, indulgent shrimpy triumph.
Mrs Cheoff’s previous disappointing Dodecanese experience with Symi Prawns is now firmly consigned to even more dim memory vaults of despair.
Brill, brill and herb mousse, white asparagus, yuzu
Brown shrimp, buttermilk mashed potatoes, bisque, citrus
The wine list is adventurous, embracing budget-friendly bottles and big-hitters alike. It demands attention but stops short of being too long and challenging. And Cora will add her enthusiasm and knowledge to help with or to confirm your choice. As far as I could see, the mark-up is generous in favour of guests.
We started to drink a bottle of Northern Rhone white with our canapés and it satisfied us through the meal. Please don’t tell the neighbours further south and in Ventoux that we deserted them for this particular evening.
For extra variety a wine flight is offered.
Ex-dairy beef is certainly being used much more now. Not a fad for Patrick. He used red meat as the perfect vehicle and took the dish to lighter, spring-time regions. Lovage rose funky but fresh from the plate.
Saint-Joseph Blanc 2024 - Stephane Montez du Monteillet
Holstein dairy beef, morels, lovage, baby gem lettuce
The pretty dessert was put together exactly as it should be. Its construction meant that, even if attacked by a fairly small spoon, most of its elements would be delivered in one mouthful.
A disc of roasted(?) white chocolate lay on crumble crunch, with rhubarb dice and apple purée hidden beneath a frothy white petticoat. Some of those flavours appeared in a different texture and temperature in a side dish.
Petits fours might have presented a challenge but they became irresistible after seeing them being delivered to other guests. Doughnuts were impossibly light and fluffy. And right at the end of our stay in Belgium, Patrick ensured we enjoy our first and only waffles!
Rhubarb, apple, white chocolate
In the background - Yoghurt(?) ice cream, rhubarb meringue
Petits fours
Doughnuts, almond pastries, dark chocolate salted caramels, waffles
Eating was easy here. Patrick’s food is full of detail, excitement and surprise, but you are never jangled into appreciation. There is a gentleness alongside such perfectly understood cooking and presentation. Yes, they exhibit tangible pride in what they are able to offer, but what impresses most is Patrick, Cora and Felten’s ability to provide a truly rounded experience where hospitality is based on the same simple, honest pleasures which we create in a home-cooked meal. Elevated and refined from that base at De Zuidkant but never for a second pretentious.
Food was most definitely memorable. But our main thoughts on leaving were regret that we could not spend a little more time with human beings who, in the space of four hours, had given us lovely evidence of how wonderful human beings can be.
Thank you to Patrick, Cora, and Felten for being such special people.
Taken two days before our meal when we popped in to Damme to check if the place is still up and running!