How wonderful is it to be able to put a smile on someone's face? To see how people enjoy a pleasant evening in good company? To see customers licking their fingers? It may sound simplistic, but that makes me happy! I mainly get my inspiration from Italian cuisine, which for me fully honors the basic principles of simple and delicious cooking. I only use quality products to make fresh dishes that are 'bonk'.

The name Joan, pronounced [djown], came about when I lived in Barcelona about ten years ago. 'Jolijn' is extremely difficult to pronounce in Spanish/Catalan, and after a number of attempts to pronounce my name correctly, they gave up and I became Joan. Meet Joan: a small charming restaurant, located in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the center of Ghent: Linkeroever. Our food menu is an ode to the things we love: high-quality seasonal ingredients, which result in simple dishes, but oh-so-tasty. Everything we make is fresh and homemade.

To make it even better, our bar is packed with countless guilty pleasures. We are proud of our surprising mock and cocktail menu, and our collection of Belgian beers. Curious about the wine list? Here you can discover some special wines from small wine merchants from all over Italy.