There are so many food specialties to try out in Belgium, so I’ve made you a list of the most famous and tasty ones !
If you are coming to Belgium, you cannot miss the food culture there.
Wether it is their famous fries, waffles or Belgian chocolate, I’ll list here what specialties you can find and where to try them.
Belgium’s most world-famous dish is definitely the fries. Even though it is pretty standard, Belgians truly have mastered how to make the perfect fries. The secret lies in deep frying the fries twice so that they are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Do not forget the dipping sauce as it is entirely part of the experience. Whether you choose a garlicky aioli, a spicy sauce or a truffle mayonnaise, you won’t go wrong !
Another Belgian delicacy is the mussels or moules-frites in French. You can find them almost anywhere. The most common way they are prepared in Belgium is steamed in white wine, with shallots, parsley and butter, and served in a big black mussel pot. Other cooking recipes can include cream, beer, mustard sauce or even curry. Of course, they are served with their delicious fries.
Other savoury specialties include :
- Waterzooi : halfway between soup and stew, this dish is made with either fish or chicken cooked in a vegetable broth.
- Carbonnade flamande : a Flemish beef and onion stew cooked in beer. It is sometimes prepared with gingerbread and a little brown sugar.
- Stoemp : this side dish is composed of mashed potatoes mixed with one or more vegetables such as onions and carrots, leeks, spinach, broccoli, chicory, peas or cabbage.
- Crevettes grises : Tiny gray shrimp caught in the North Sea and served in different forms. For example you can find them mixed with mayonnaise and tomato, or in a croquette (mixed with a béchamel, breaded and fried).
- Waffles : THE national dessert, on the menu of every café or restaurant in Vienna. This dessert consists of a thin, crisp pastry filled with apples, sugar, raisins, cinnamon, rum, lemon and sometimes cloves and walnuts. This rolled pastry is usually served warm, dusted with powdered sugar and accompanied by vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce.
- Belgian chocolate : Whether you try truffles or Neuhaus pralines, you can’t go wrong with chocolates in Belgium. Chocolate’s a major industry since the 19th century, today it is a big part of the nation’s economy and culture.
- Cuberdon : A cone-shaped candy, with a hard layer and a sweet syrup inside. The traditional flavour is raspberry but all sorts of flavours are now available such as orange, rose or apple.
- Speculoos : a traditional brown sugar flat biscuit made with the following spices : cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg.
Prices in Belgium are overall very affordable : we went in many fries stands and the portions were about 4€. For restaurants, you can find a lot of dishes for 10-15€.
I will list three of the best spots to try fries and that I would recommend :
- Fritland (Rue Henri Maus 49, Brussels) : an institution in Belgium, one of the most famous friterie, opened since 1978. There’s always a queue there but you will have your fries in no time ! For 4€ you will have a big portion of fries in a cone and a sauce of your choosing (first picture below).
- Friterie Tabora (Rue de Tabora, Brussels) : another popular friterie in Brussels, for 4,5€ you have a medium cornet de frites (fries in a cone) with a sauce.
- Fritbar (Katelijnestraat 3, Bruges) : This one is a bit more expensive but it is in Brugge, a lovely town absolutely worth the visit. For 4,5€ you get a medium portion of fries, for an additional 1€ you can choose a sauce, sauce of them like truffle mayo are a bit more expensive. You can also get parmesan fries for +1,5€ and trust me, you’ll want to try those ! (last picture below).
For waffles, here are the best places we got to try (pictures in the right order below) :
- Maison Dandoy (Rue Charles Bus, Brussels, but there are other locations) : Liege waffles are excellent there, and they also have great toppings such as the caramel salted butter. A little bit pricey however, expect 6€ for the waffle and +1€ for a topping.
- Compagnie belge (Grote Markt, Antwerp): Exquisite Brussels waffles for 4,5€ (a bit more for toppings), liege waffles are 3,6€
- In Choc (Sint-Veerleplein, Ghent): This is a café but they also have a little corner for take away, trust me and take the takeaway liege waffle with homemade chocolate, it’s delicious and costs 4,5€.
- Otto (Katelijnestraat 1, Bruges) : This one is a bit original, it’s a dairy free and gluten free oat waffle with coconut blossom sugar (called Otto on the go waffle). I cannot recommend it enough, flavours are very delicate and it’s different from the usual ones.
If you are looking for international cuisine, some places in Ghent :
- Phaya Thaï restaurant : really nice restaurant with a courtyard that serves wonderful thai cuisine.
- Twilight Sushi : amazing sushi sandfish, located on a central square, perfect to soak in the atmosphere on a summer evening.
- Barouche : for amazing pitas and bowls, plus it’s a really affordable lunch option.
That’s it for my recommendations on the food specialties to try out in Belgium. We had a wonderful time trying all the best food specialties in Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges and I’m sure you will too !
If you plan on visiting Belgium any time soon, check out my four days itinerary, or this article detailing everything to know before going to Belgium.
If you need a custom itinerary, you can fill this form and I’ll make your own personalised itinerary.
