Restaurant review #116 – Histoires d’O is a bistro on the beach promenade in Ostend. I had inquired beforehand via e-mail and received a reply that they have several vegan dishes, like a pasta pesto and a dish with quinoa.

We were in Ostend a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday, and had no set lunch plans, so this was more sprung of the moment. I did phone beforehand to make a reservation (which turned out not to be really necessary, still plenty of space available) and asked again about vegan options. The lady on the phone seemed to be a bit confused about what vegan means, but we decided to go anyway and hoped it would become clear when ordering.

Histoires d’O is a nice place, with a vintage feel. The dark wooden furniture reminds me of old fishermen pubs from decades ago. The chairs are also very vintage, and as is often the case with retro style, not so comfortable 😉

Service was very friendly, and the waitress had no problem checking for ingredients with the kitchen staff. It turned out the pasta isn’t vegan afterall (with pesto with cheese), so our only options were the grilled vegetables as a starter (with no pesto but with olive oil 12,50 shared with two) and some olives (4,50€), and the quinoa dish as a main (15€). For drinks we had tonics, which were 3€.

The appetizer was really simple, but very enjoyable. One could really taste the vegetables, with a hint of smoked flavour (I’m guessing liquid smoke?)
Nice presentation too. The quinoa dish was simple, but varied enough and freshly prepared.

A real bonus was the availability of vegan pie (from Madame Bakster) for dessert (one chocolate and one avocado pie)! Although very nice, 6€ for one piece is pretty steep … Ordered an Earl grey tea with lemon (3,80€), which unfortunately came with the lemon already in the water (happens all the time!). Left the cookie (didn’t ask whether it was vegan so don’t know).

All in all an enjoyable lunch in a nice setting, with view at the beach and the North sea. Hope they will offer more vegan options in the future. Service was sometimes a bit slow, but very friendly.
A nice addition to Ostend, would love to visit again!

Histoires d’O, location
Albert I-promenade 53
8400 Oostende
0471 45 48 80
website: http://www.histoiresdo.be/

See our lists of restaurants where vegans are welcome in the menu section of The Bruges vegan! List restaurants in Bruges and outside  Bruges.