Vegan In Brussels: 7 Must Try Restaurants
Situated between Germany, France, and the Netherlands, lies the small country of Belgium. Though tiny, it’s capital, Brussels, has a MIGHTY vegan food scene.
This city is known for its architecture, and of course: Belgian waffles and fries.
And lucky for us, due to its close proximity to France, the city also has a variety of decadent French pastries among a plethora of other Belgium treats.
Although Brussels may have many rainy and cloudy days, that doesn’t take away from its magic and is full of beautiful historical sites to discover as you eat your way through the capital.
For instance, the Mont des Arts Garden, a green park in the middle of the city. Or check out their central square with historic buildings called the Grand-Place-- one of the most beautiful squares in the world. It has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1998. Plus, it’s still in operation as Brussel’s town hall.
If you want to catch a glimpse of the rest of Europe, another must-see attraction is Heizel station, a Mini Europe amusement park!
But now, let’s talk food!
Buddy Buddy
Rue des Drapiers 10, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
First up on the vegan tour is coffee shop Buddy Buddy. They serve exclusively plant-based pastries and they whip up their own nut butters. For my gluten sensitive folks, they also offer pastries that are both vegan and gluten-free.
Their pastries range from chocolate peanut butter cups, banana bread, cinnamon rolls to more uniquely-flavored pastries such as the ‘Lil ‘Pound Cake,’ which has a peanut butter cream and fresh berry interior.
Another fun flavor? Their white chocolate, miso and almond butter cookies.
They even carry a savory option for those that prefer their treats without the sweetness, although, I ended up with the pain du chocolate with hazelnut chocolate because I couldn’t resist my sweet tooth.
It was absolutely delicious they nailed that vegan hazelnut spread..all I have to say is watch out Nutella ;)
Liu Lin
Rue Haute 20, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
Two sisters, Liu and Lin, opened this cute all-vegan restaurant to showcase vegan Asian food. This restaurant was perfect for a rainy day. The hot and savory soups and Taiwanese-inspired street food warmed me up inside and out. One of the best noodle soups I’ve ever had.
By passing by or peering in from the outside, you wouldn’t know this place is vegan. However, their interior decorations and inviting lighting elegantly framed facts about veganism. For instance, one of their framed decor says, ‘vegan meal saves 4000 liters of water and one innocent life.’ I ordered the heartwarming bowl, which is a lemongrass coconut milk soup which was tangy with a light spiciness to it. They have several types of vegan meats and the mock meat each was super flavorful and won’t dissapoint.
The Sister Brussels Café
Rue Chair et Pain 3, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
When in Brussels, it's stated in the local law that you must eat waffles.
Okay just kidding, but seriously though, try the waffles.
One place I recommend is The Sister Brussels Cafe. This is a sustainable, zero waste restaurant that has not only waffles but also a variety of both sweet and savory options such as soups, salads and sandwiches.
I ordered the cleverly named waffle: ‘The Vegan History’ which was stacked with seitan bacon, vegan mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, and avocado. SO. TASTY. The seitan bacon looked so real, I questioned if it was actually vegan!
Overall an impressive food experience that I highly recommend.
#Vegan Waf
Galerie Agora 48, 1000 Brussel, Belgium
Continuing abiding by the waffle law, another spot to get your fix is #Vegan Waf, an all-vegan spot located inside of a market with exclusively sweet waffles (sorry savory folks!).
They have stackable toppings such as chocolate syrup, vegan whip cream and fruit.
Bonus: this spot is perfect for my gluten sensitive friends because the entire place is also gluten-free!
Frites Atelier
Rue Sainte-Catherine 32, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
When in Brussels, we eat fries.
Something you’ll notice around the city is the plethora of Belgian fries being offered BUT, vegans can’t enjoy most of them because the traditional way is fried in animal fat. Lucky for us though, Frites Atelier, cooks their fries in vegetable oil so that vegans can enjoy them too.
This place has MASTERED the art of crispy crunchy fries. How? Through a three-step process: First they’re steamed, then fried once at a lower temp and then fried again at a higher temp. The results? Soft on the middle and crispy on the outside.
As a bonus, this restaurant is located on St. Catherine street—another cute neighborhood to add to your Brussels destination list.
Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier Bruxelles
Rue Ravenstein 2D, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
Up next is a place for my chocolate-lovers. Laurent Gerbaud chocolatier bruxelles has luxury vegan chocolates that you can buy by weight--no limits here.
To get an idea of the fun vegan flavors they offer, they had pecan and cranberries praline when I was there. And you can pair it with freshly made coffee if you fancy.
Other noteworthy vegan places to check out while in Brussels are the Judgy Vegan café and bar as well as the Shop and Go convenience store for their dips and salads and Bon for their freshly pressed juices.
That’s a wrap on Brussels, if you check them out, comment below and let me know what you think!
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