In Belgium, food is a big deal and yet the country is only just starting to be recognised as a gastronomic destination. Typical Belgian cuisine isn’t that known abroad and beyond the classic “snacks”, such as Belgian chocolate, beer, and waffles, most people couldn’t name a traditional Belgian dish, let alone know where to eat it.
Mussels
Moules-frites, in French, Mosselen-Friet, in Flemish, or mussels with fries, is a classic Belgian dish you can find at just about any café or brasserie in Brussels. It’s one of the foods to eat in Belgium. The most common way mussels are served in Belgium is steamed in white wine, in big black mussel pots. In addition to wine, moules marinières also contain shallots, parsley, and butter. Other cooking methods include cream, beer, or even mustard sauce.
Mussels, on their own, can be served as an appetizer, especially shared among friends, or you can enjoy them with fries as a main course.
Eat them in Brussels at: Le Zinneke
Place de la Patrie 26, 1030 Schaerbeek. Click here to find it in Google Maps
Mussels, on their own, can be served as an appetizer, especially shared among friends, or you can enjoy them with fries as a main course.
Eat them in Brussels at: Le Zinneke
Place de la Patrie 26, 1030 Schaerbeek. Click here to find it in Google Maps
Fries
Fries (frites in French or frieten in Flemish) are somewhat the national dish of Belgium. You’ll never hear a Belgian call them “french fries”, not even when speaking in English. There’s a lot of controversy around who invented fried potatoes, but I promise you – Belgians perfected them. Once you eat fries in Belgium, they’ll never taste as good anywhere else.
The secret to the perfect Belgian fry is two-fold. First, the potato itself must be a soft variety, but, most importantly, the freshly cut potatoes must be fried twice: First at a lower temperature to cook the inside to a soft, fluffy consistency; and second, quickly at a higher temperature to cook the outside.
Eat them in Brussels at: Maison Antoine. There’s always a line at this outdoor Brussels food stand and that’s a great sign. You can also take your cone of fries to most of the local bars, as long as you order a drink.
Place Jourdan, 1040 Etterbeek. Click here to find it in Google Maps
The secret to the perfect Belgian fry is two-fold. First, the potato itself must be a soft variety, but, most importantly, the freshly cut potatoes must be fried twice: First at a lower temperature to cook the inside to a soft, fluffy consistency; and second, quickly at a higher temperature to cook the outside.
Eat them in Brussels at: Maison Antoine. There’s always a line at this outdoor Brussels food stand and that’s a great sign. You can also take your cone of fries to most of the local bars, as long as you order a drink.
Place Jourdan, 1040 Etterbeek. Click here to find it in Google Maps
Meatballs
Meatballs are a Belgian favorite, on both sides of the language divide, and are usually a mixture of beef and pork. In Flanders, balletjes or “balls” are often served smothered in tomato sauce, or, sometimes, Frikadellen-style; fried in butter with Belgian cherry sauce.
South of Brussels, boulets Liégeois are the rage. These meatballs are served with a rich sauce of beef stock, spices, and sirop de Liege, a fruit syrup a bit like molasses, made from apples and pears.
Whichever style you prefer, you can guarantee they will come with crispy Belgian fries.
Eat them in Brussels at: Balls & Glory. While not exactly served in the traditional style, I guarantee these will be the best meatballs you’ve ever eaten. Using locally sourced, mostly organic ingredients, Balls & Glory serves up giant meatballs filled with a variety of sauces.
Rue Henri Maus 35, Brussels. Click here to find it in Google Maps
South of Brussels, boulets Liégeois are the rage. These meatballs are served with a rich sauce of beef stock, spices, and sirop de Liege, a fruit syrup a bit like molasses, made from apples and pears.
Whichever style you prefer, you can guarantee they will come with crispy Belgian fries.
Eat them in Brussels at: Balls & Glory. While not exactly served in the traditional style, I guarantee these will be the best meatballs you’ve ever eaten. Using locally sourced, mostly organic ingredients, Balls & Glory serves up giant meatballs filled with a variety of sauces.
Rue Henri Maus 35, Brussels. Click here to find it in Google Maps
Flemish Stew
This typical Belgian food is made from beef slowly simmered in Belgian beer until it melts in your mouth. The sauce is thickened with a few slabs of bread slathered in mustard, a bit of onion, and some seasoning. Some chefs add other ingredients like mushrooms or garlic, but the traditional recipe focuses on Belgian beer and beef.
Good Flemish stew is so much more than the sum of its humble parts. In the right hands, it can be both rich and slightly tart from the beer. It’s the perfect comfort food on a wet winter day, especially as it is invariably served with French fries or mashed potatoes. It warms you from the inside out.
Eat it in Brussels at: Café Novo a short walk from Grand Place, this café does a great, traditional Flemish stew, served with fries. Place de la Vieille Halle aux Blés 37, Brussels. Click here to find it in Google Maps.
Good Flemish stew is so much more than the sum of its humble parts. In the right hands, it can be both rich and slightly tart from the beer. It’s the perfect comfort food on a wet winter day, especially as it is invariably served with French fries or mashed potatoes. It warms you from the inside out.
Eat it in Brussels at: Café Novo a short walk from Grand Place, this café does a great, traditional Flemish stew, served with fries. Place de la Vieille Halle aux Blés 37, Brussels. Click here to find it in Google Maps.
Grey Shrimp Croquettes
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Not only are grey shrimps sweet and delicate, they are part of Belgium’s cultural heritage. Traditionally, these shrimps were harvested along the coast, from France to the Netherlands, by fishermen on horseback.
While there are plenty of bland, frozen, and refried versions served around Brussels, croquettes made from scratch are a revelation. The outside should be a thin, delicately crispy crust. When you break through, the creamy shrimp mixture should be molten and oozing. They make a perfect starter or snack. Eat them in Brussels at: Noordzee / Mer du Nord For a truly local experience, order your croquettes (and a glass of white wine) from this fish counter on Place Sainte Catherine. It’s a local favourite, especially in the summer. These are my favourite croquettes in Brussels. Rue Sainte Catherine 45, Brussels. Click Here to find it in Google Maps. |
The only place this tradition is still practiced is the village of Oostduinkerke, on the Belgian coast, and it was recently inscribed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. If you have the opportunity to see this spectacle you definitely should. |
Waffles
Are you ready for something sweet? I thought so! When you think “Belgium” and “sweet”, Belgian waffles are one of two things (chocolate!) that immediately come to mind. As with “French fries”, there is some confusion about the term “Belgian waffles”. In fact, there is no one Belgian waffle, but rather two types of waffles, both originating in Belgium.
The Brussels waffle, or gaufre de Bruxelles, is rectangular and flaky. It isn’t as sweet as its rival but is often topped with whipped cream, chocolate, ice-cream or various fruit toppings.
The denser Liège waffle has rounded edges and crystallized sugar baked into it, making it slightly sticky and sweeter than the Brussels waffle. This is the kind that’s sold from hole-in-the-wall places everywhere in the center of Brussels.
Eat them in Brussels at: Whatever you do, avoid buying the over-priced waffles at the shops around Grand Place that are covered in way too many toppings. (In fact, waffle purists say you shouldn’t top your waffles with anything.) You can get both types of waffles from trucks (usually painted yellow) parked around most tourist hot-spots in the city.
The Brussels waffle, or gaufre de Bruxelles, is rectangular and flaky. It isn’t as sweet as its rival but is often topped with whipped cream, chocolate, ice-cream or various fruit toppings.
The denser Liège waffle has rounded edges and crystallized sugar baked into it, making it slightly sticky and sweeter than the Brussels waffle. This is the kind that’s sold from hole-in-the-wall places everywhere in the center of Brussels.
Eat them in Brussels at: Whatever you do, avoid buying the over-priced waffles at the shops around Grand Place that are covered in way too many toppings. (In fact, waffle purists say you shouldn’t top your waffles with anything.) You can get both types of waffles from trucks (usually painted yellow) parked around most tourist hot-spots in the city.
Eel in the Green
Eel in the green is exactly what it sounds like: eel prepared in a highly green sauce which is colored that way because of the many green herbs that go into it, such as parsley, watercress, and basil. The herbs are added last minute to have them retain their color and the dish is commonly served with, of course, fries.
It’s more of a flemish dish than a Belgian food. Fishermen used to catch the eel in the river Schelde, close to Antwerp, and then prepare them with whatever herbs they found along the shore. Now often served in the more classy bistro, it has a very humble origin.
Have it at Chez Victorine in Hoeilaart Marcel Félicéstraat 17 Click here to find it in Google Maps is known for this dish.
It’s more of a flemish dish than a Belgian food. Fishermen used to catch the eel in the river Schelde, close to Antwerp, and then prepare them with whatever herbs they found along the shore. Now often served in the more classy bistro, it has a very humble origin.
Have it at Chez Victorine in Hoeilaart Marcel Félicéstraat 17 Click here to find it in Google Maps is known for this dish.
Rabbit with Prunes
Rabbit with prunes used to be a “humble people dish” but in recent years it’s been picked up by chefs around the country and presented in more refined ways. The classic version of this Belgian dish combines rabbit with prunes to add sweetness and some croquettes on the side.
Eat it in Brussels at: Restobieres is a good place to go in general for Belgian foods and beers. It’s one of few places that still proudly has rabbit and prunes on the menu.
Rue des Renards 9, Brussels. Click here to find it in Google Maps
Eat it in Brussels at: Restobieres is a good place to go in general for Belgian foods and beers. It’s one of few places that still proudly has rabbit and prunes on the menu.
Rue des Renards 9, Brussels. Click here to find it in Google Maps
Sausage with Mash
Granted, it’s nothing special, but sausage and mashed potatoes is a classic Belgian combination that’s now mainly served by grandparents or restaurants known for serving Belgian cuisine. It’s a hearty farmer’s dish and the kind of sausage used ranges from black to white and blood sausage. Often, the mashed potatoes will be mixed with a vegetable, like carrots, to create stoemp, the typical Belgian kind of filling mashed potatoes. Eat them in Brussels at:
Fin de Siècle serves its sausage and mash the traditional way.
Rue des Chartreux 9, Brussels. Click here to find it in Google Maps
Fin de Siècle serves its sausage and mash the traditional way.
Rue des Chartreux 9, Brussels. Click here to find it in Google Maps
Steak Tartare & Martino Sandwich
Not everyone’s a fan of steak tartare. This typical Belgian food consists of raw beef mixed with onions, mayonnaise, Tabasco, egg yolk, capers, salt and a bunch of other things. Restaurants that take pride in their steak tartare will prepare it right at your table, showing you all the ingredients that go into it. As often in Belgium, this dish is mostly served with fries.
Not quite the same, but it needs to be mentioned, is the Martino sandwich. You could say it’s the less pricey and on-the-go version of the steak tartare and beloved by many Belgians. I know several women who craved a Martino while they were pregnant as they couldn’t have it then, and several people who place it almost as highly as fries as the dish to have after a trip abroad.
So what is it? It’s a baguette with a spread of “Américain”, a form of steak tartare but as a sandwich spread, with spices, pickles, onions, and ketchup. Every itself-respecting sandwich bar will have it on its menu. Eat it at:
Bistro Mathilda in the Belgian coastal city of Oosten is known for its steak tartare, prepared at your table. This place is always packed and when you sample its refined cuisine, you’ll know why. Click here to find it in Google Maps.
Not quite the same, but it needs to be mentioned, is the Martino sandwich. You could say it’s the less pricey and on-the-go version of the steak tartare and beloved by many Belgians. I know several women who craved a Martino while they were pregnant as they couldn’t have it then, and several people who place it almost as highly as fries as the dish to have after a trip abroad.
So what is it? It’s a baguette with a spread of “Américain”, a form of steak tartare but as a sandwich spread, with spices, pickles, onions, and ketchup. Every itself-respecting sandwich bar will have it on its menu. Eat it at:
Bistro Mathilda in the Belgian coastal city of Oosten is known for its steak tartare, prepared at your table. This place is always packed and when you sample its refined cuisine, you’ll know why. Click here to find it in Google Maps.
Ham & Endive in the Oven
Endive is a typical Flemish vegetable and I remember my grandmother making ham and endive in the oven quite regularly when I was small. She would take slices of beautiful ham and wrap them around a whole knob of endive. The wraps would go into an oven dish, covered with a béchamel-and-cheese sauce. With mashed potatoes on the side, this dish is a classic of Belgian cuisine.
Vol-au-vent
Vol-au-vent consists of a round bladder dough pastry of which the “lid” is cut off so that the pastry can be filled with a mixture of chicken and mushrooms in a creamy sauce. It’s usually served with fries, croquettes or mashed potatoes. Originally, the name “vol-au-vent” refers to the pastry and you can also find it in France as a snack or appetizer. Vol-au-vent as a massive main dish, though, is a typical Belgian food. ‘t Cuyperke in Zaventem (Stationsstraat 19), just outside of Brussels, serves a mean vol-au-vent. Click here to find it in Google Maps
If you want to get the dish in the capital, head to Les Petits Oignons (Rue de la Régence 25). Click here to find it in Google Maps
If you want to get the dish in the capital, head to Les Petits Oignons (Rue de la Régence 25). Click here to find it in Google Maps
Speculoos
While sometimes translated as “Gingerbread”, speculoos is a unique kind of biscuit. It goes back to the Belgian and Dutch tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) on December 5/6 (Netherlands/Belgium) but has become commercialized and can now be found in stores throughout the year.
Often, when you order a coffee in a Belgian cafe, it’ll come with a little speculoos on the side. Try dipping it in and see how it tastes. It’s not bad!
Often, when you order a coffee in a Belgian cafe, it’ll come with a little speculoos on the side. Try dipping it in and see how it tastes. It’s not bad!
Asparagus Flemish Style
When it’s asparagus season, from April to June, the country goes asparagus crazy. You’ll find them in appetizers, main courses and even as ice cream for dessert. While there are many ways to prepare asparagus, Flemish-style is the classic way to have them. Boiled, then baked in a butter sauce and covered with hard-boiled pieces of egg, they make for a rich vegetable dish to combine with meat and croquettes. Or, why not, fries.
Eat them in Brussels at: Le Zinneke is a good place to go if you want to sample typical Belgian cuisine. They’re known for their white asparagus Flemish-style, but make sure to go when it’s the season.
Vaderlandsplein 26, Schaerbeek. Click here to find it in Google Maps
Eat them in Brussels at: Le Zinneke is a good place to go if you want to sample typical Belgian cuisine. They’re known for their white asparagus Flemish-style, but make sure to go when it’s the season.
Vaderlandsplein 26, Schaerbeek. Click here to find it in Google Maps
