Brussels offers a gastronomic experience that’s as diverse as it is delightful. Whether you’re looking for local specialties, trendy food markets, or international cuisines, the “capital of Europe” is overflowing with delicious options. Make sure to read on to discover the best places to eat in Brussels!
Before you start, you should check out our Brussels travel guide. It’s the perfect place to start planning a trip to Brussels and takes you through everything you need to know before you go. Highly recommend!
Table of contents
- 1. Mondday
- 2. Old Boy
- 3. Foocha
- 4. Gare Maritime Food Market
- 5. Wolf Sharing Food Market
- 6. Fox Food Market
- 7. Friterie du Café Georgette
- 8. Maison Dandoy
- Where to stay in Brussels
1. Mondday
Mondday is the trendiest brunch spot in town (at least, according to us 😉). No, we didn’t make a mistake in writing the name, it really has 2 d’s! Just for the Instagrammable interior alone, we would already recommend this place! Hats off to the interior-designer, it’s so cozy! An amazing brunch in a stunning setting, what better way to start your day?
On to the menu, then. You can choose between different kinds of fluffy pancakes, or a selection of savory dishes. Thysia went for the passion exotic pancakes, topped with pastry cream and homemade passion fruit coulis. We both usually prefer a savory breakfast, but these pancakes definitely pleased us! The combination of the pastry cream and passion fruit coulis matched perfectly with the pancakes. We never tried fluffy pancakes before, but these were a great introduction! Kelvin ordered the toasted brioche with truffle mayonnaise, burrata, and fried eggs. The plate was packed with food, and this brioche was delicious as well! It had 2 fried eggs on top that were a little runny but not too much, just how he likes it. In between the “toasts” was a giant ball of burrata, we couldn’t believe they were so generous with the burrata!
For drinks we ordered a “Feeling Good” smoothie and a freshly squeezed orange juice. The orange juice was great tastewise, but rather small. On top of that it lacked ice cubes in it so it wasn’t that refreshing. The smoothie however was great! A large glass, ice cold, and the combination of flavors was top notch.
Where: Chaussée d’Ixelles 314, 1050 Ixelles
2. Old Boy
A dinner at Old Boy cannot be missed during your visit to Brussels! This trendy Asian fusion restaurant offers a fixed 6-course menu and currently is the “talk of the town”. Literally every influencer, (food)blogger or “celeb” has made a visit to this unique and amazing restaurant. So we just had to visit it, too!
Even though they only offer a fixed menu, they still give you some “wiggle room” in case you have dietary requirements. There’s the option to go for the menu that only has fish and vegetables, or you can take the menu that also includes meat. Because Thysia is vegetarian, and also because we had a little bit of FOMO, we tried both menus. That way we could give our opinion on everything that’s on the menu. 😉
We can be very brief about this: we loved them both! Every dish was so flavorful with the most surprising combinations. We ate things we never ate before, and saw combinations that we could have never expected. From salmon with strawberries to wontons with kimchi and camembert, each and every dish was unique in its own way. We loved the fact that the food came at a decent pace, without pressuring you into eating too fast or not enjoying the experience. We were a little bit sceptical about this because we saw that the restaurant operated in shifts. You have to option to dine from 6.30 PM until 9 PM, or 9.15 PM until midnight. Don’t worry, you will have plenty of time to enjoy every single dish. Old Boy is definitely one of the best places to eat in Brussels!
Where: Rue de Tenbosch 110, 1050 Ixelles
Pro tip
Take a seat at the bar to watch the chefs at work! It’s such a cool experience to watch your dishes being prepared.
3. Foocha
Looking for a tasty and affordable lunch spot? Foocha offers Asian cuisine like dumplings and fried chicken. The menu is rather limited, but the dishes are absolutely delicious. What’s great about this place is that they offer a lunch menu as well, but more on that in our pro tip.
We tried both the fried chicken and the tofu, both options are also available if you decide to take the menu. Between the two, our favorite is undoubtedly the sweet & spicy chicken! The sauce is slightly spicy but super flavorful. We also really like that every chicken dish they offer is boneless. That way we won’t have to “struggle” to get every little piece of meat of the bone, which makes for a much cleaner and easier experience. 😉 We would have loved to try the dumplings as well, but unfortunately they were not available when we were here. Let us know if you’ve tried the dumplings because we’re dying to try them out!
Where: Rue de Flandre 17, 1000 Brussels
Pro tip
If you come here for lunch, be sure to check out the lunch menu! We paid € 11 for sweet & spicy fried chicken, rice, and 2 sides (kimchi and spinach). Compared to just chicken or tofu, it’s only € 2 extra. For those € 2 you get some rice and 2 sides of your choice included with your choice of meat. A great deal if you ask us!
4. Gare Maritime Food Market
Gare Maritime is an indoor food market with several stands of street food. From Belgian classics like “Vol-au-vent” to international cuisines, this place has something for everyone. It is one of our favorite places to eat in Brussels! The market is located in a repurposed former railway station, which gives the whole place a cool vibe. You’re bound to find something (or multiple things) to your liking at the 10+ stalls here.
Where: Picardstraat 9, 1000 Brussels
Want to know more about Gare Maritime? Read all about this trendy food market.
5. Wolf Sharing Food Market
Just a 5-minute walk from Brussels’ most popular shopping street (Rue Neuve) you’ll find Wolf. It is the perfect place to relax after a busy day of shopping, or for a quick lunch in between shopping sprees. This place can get quite busy, but there’s plenty of seating space available. This cozy food market has different street food stalls from all over the world. There isn’t a cuisine that’s not present here. Pizza, burgers, fish, Greek, Mexican, sushi,… you name it and they have it!
Looking for some original recommendations? Make sure to try the Bahn Mi crispy chicken from Eaters and the wonton soup from Hanoi Station. Both dishes were so flavorful! We also recommend the “Assorted Spreads” from Idea as an appetizing snack. Who can say no to tzatziki, truffle hummus, smoked eggplant and spicy feta tzatziki accompanied with a delicious pitta bread to dip?
Where: Rue Fossé aux Loups 50, 1000 Brussels
Pro tip
Be sure to take a seat on their patio on a sunny day. It’s the perfect place to enjoy some people-watching. 😉
6. Fox Food Market
A third food market recently opened in Brussels: Fox. Since Fox is from the same creators as Wolf, we had high expectations! It’s Wolf’s little brother, so to say. 😉 There are 12 different food stalls at Fox with cuisines from places like Korea, Japan, South America and Greece. In addition, there are also some more “general” stalls that specialize in certain types of food, rather than countries or places. There are stalls that offer all kinds of seafood, for example, or stalls that solely focus on truffle-infused dishes. Although the food market is rather small, you have more than enough to choose from! From burgers and pizzas to sushi and lobster rolls, there’s literally something for everyone! And when the weather’s good, you can even enjoy your amazing food on the outside terrace.
Where: Boulevard du Souverain 25, 1170 Watermael-Boitsfort
Looking for some food recommendations at Fox Food Market? Read all about Brussels’ newest hotspot.
7. Friterie du Café Georgette
You can’t visit Brussels without eating some traditional fries, served in a paper cone. Our go-to spot for delicious fries in Brussels is undoubtedly Friterie du Café Georgette. The portions here are really large, the fries are delicious, and they have an extensive choice of sauces! They also leave the skin on their fries, making the fries extra crispy. Be sure to try the garlic and pepper sauce and the Georgette sauce, these two were our favorites!
If you’re lucky you can sit at the few tables in front of the friterie, but if these are occupied feel free to order a beer at the café across the street (10 steps away) and eat your fries there. It’s best to eat your fries whilst seated instead of walking around. The reason for this is that they put your sauce in a small cup instead of pouring them all over your fries. Great for “evenly distributing” the sauce amongst the fries, not so great for walking and eating at the same time. 😂
Where: Rue de la Fourche 37, 1000 Bruxelles
Good to know
We paid € 4,5 for a cone of fries and € 1,5 per sauce. Definitely not cheap but you can easily share one cone of fries with two people!
8. Maison Dandoy
Looking for the best waffles in town? Be sure to stop by Maison Dandoy! Here you can eat some delicious Brussels or Liège waffles. Even though we prefer a Liege waffle, we just had to go for the Brussels waffle when in Brussels. We ordered the “Simply Dandoy”, a waffle with speculoos paste and speculoos ice cream. Both the waffle itself and the speculoos paste and speculoos ice cream were delicious! It is a really sweet dish, but oh so good! Maison Dandoy is a must-visit for anyone looking for a taste of Belgium.
Check the locations here.
Where to stay in Brussels
Read all about The Hotel: a romantic 4-star hotel in Brussels.
We may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through our links at no extra cost to you. This helps us maintain our site and create more useful content for you. We appreciate your support! ❤️
