Best Places To Eat In Bruges
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Bruges eats well in both directions: cheap, fast street food and slower, sit-down Flemish cooking, often within a block of each other. Below is what’s actually worth seeking out, by category rather than by specific address, since the small, family-run places that make Bruges food good tend to change hands more often than the sights do.
Fries in a paper cone
Belgian fries, served in a paper cone (cornet) with a wide range of sauces, mayonnaise being the classic default, are a genuine street-food culture here, not a tourist gimmick. A frietkot near the Markt or ’t Zand is the right way to eat lunch on the move between sights.
Waffles, two ways
Belgium has two distinct waffle traditions worth knowing apart: the lighter, rectangular Brussels waffle, usually piled with toppings, and the denser, sweeter Liège waffle, made with pearl sugar that caramelises as it cooks. Both are widely sold as street snacks around the Markt and ’t Zand.
Moules-frites and stoofvlees
Moules-frites (mussels steamed with onion and celery, served with fries) is one of Belgium’s genuine national dishes, and Bruges’ brasseries take it seriously. For something heartier, carbonade flamande (also called stoofvlees) is beef braised slowly in beer rather than wine, Flanders’ answer to boeuf bourguignon, usually served with fries or bread and a smear of mustard.
Garnaalkroketten, a coastal specialty worth the detour
Garnaalkroketten, creamy béchamel croquettes studded with North Sea grey shrimp, are a West Flanders specialty rather than a Bruges-only dish, but they show up on menus across the city and are worth ordering with lemon and fried parsley on the side.
De Halve Maan’s own beer
De Halve Maan, the family brewery on Walplein brewing since 1856, makes Brugse Zot and Straffe Hendrik, and its tasting room is as good a place as any to sit down with a Flemish stew. Beyond the brewery, Trappist and abbey beers are a wider Belgian institution sold in bars across the centre.
Chocolate, the other local craft
Bruges has a dense concentration of chocolate shops, and window-browsing pralines is a normal part of walking the centre. Choco-Story, the city’s chocolate museum, is the place to go if you want the history behind the shop windows rather than just the shop windows themselves.
One practical note: small frituurs and market stalls are more cash-friendly than restaurants, so keep some euros on you even though cards are otherwise near-universal.
Read more: our best places to stay in Bruges guide covers which neighbourhood puts you closest to the food described above, and the full Bruges guide rounds out the rest of the city.