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If you’ve come here to look for the best places to eat in Bruges, Belgium, you’ve come to the right place. To tell you the truth, we weren’t really looking forward to the food here because we heard from so many people that the food was just average and it was mostly junk food. Well, they were wrong! We had some of the best food in Bruges and here are the top 8 best restaurants we found that were absolutely delicious.

1. Brasserie Cambrinus

Brasserie Cambrinus was the first restaurant we dined at in Bruges. It was located steps away from the Crowne Plaza Brugge hotel we were staying at. We went for an early dinner and we’re so glad we did because they were fully booked for the rest of the night.

We were lucky and were offered the only remaining table that was reserved for later that evening. We were told we would have only an hour and a half to eat but that was plenty of time for us.

Cambrinus is popular for having a lot of traditional Belgian dishes and known for its large selection of Belgian beers, with a total of more than 400 different kinds of beer. We didn’t order any beer here (since we’re both not beer drinkers) but we both ended up ordering chicken entrees. This was the best chicken dinner we’ve had in a LONG time.

Not only was the perfectly seasoned chicken delicious but the side dishes were equally amazing. The potato gratin is a classic French dish and this was the first time we had one that we couldn’t get enough of. The thinly sliced tender potatoes were stacked with just the right amount of cheese in between them. If you want to dine here, we recommend making a reservation because it gets packed, and for good reason.

Bierbrasserie Cambrinus
TOTAL COST: $44 for two meals
LOCATION: Philipstockstraat 19, Bruges 8000, Belgium

2. Chez Albert

You are going to see waffles everywhere in Bruges and we tried a ton of them. There was only one waffle shop that blew our palates away - Chez Albert. Crystal loved these waffles so much that she went more than once.

Candy isn’t a big fan of sweets so she initially only wanted a bite of Crystal’s waffle from Chez Albert, but that one bite turned into multiple bites. It was so delicious that we wish we would have skipped all the other waffles.

They were deliciously crispy on the outside and meltingly tender on the inside. You don’t even need any toppings as they taste absolutely amazing just by themselves. Seriously the best waffles ever! We also learned that these were called Belgian Liege Waffles and they are made with yeast dough and topped with pearl sugar.

@chezalbert
TOTAL COST: $3.50 for one waffle + whip cream
LOCATION: Breidelstraat 16, Bruges 8000, Belgium

3. That’s Toast!

This restaurant was adorable and the menu was so fun and filled with an array of toast dishes. Every toast dish was beautifully decorated and equally delicious. Sometimes we find ourselves eating a plate that is presented beautifully but lacking flavor but that definitely wasn’t the case here.

The menu had so many unique and fresh ingredients that it was hard to narrow it down to one toast. Candy ordered The Classic which was a savory toast with avocado, poached egg, and green asparagus. Crystal ordered the Korma Points which consisted of ginger lemony chicken, korma spiced coconut yogurt with pakchoi and crispy chickpeas.

If you are the type with a sweet tooth, they also have sweet toast options. We walked in for breakfast as soon as their doors opened and shortly after, the place was jam-packed. Definitely arrive early to snag a seat at this adorable cafe.

@thats_toast
TOTAL COST: $29 for two toasts with toppings, coffee and tea
LOCATION: Dweersstraat 4, Bruges 8000, Belgium

4. Old Chocolate House

Old Chocolate House is a family-owned shop and cafe offering homemade hot chocolate, various desserts, tea, and coffee. If you want to have some real hot chocolate, this is the place to go. The chocolate store is located downstairs and the charming tearoom is located upstairs where you can make your own hot chocolate.

There are a variety of different chocolate flavors you can choose from to make your own hot chocolate and we ordered their special Winnie the Pooh. It came with raw honey, spices, a cinnamon stick, and of course, chocolate. The chocolate came in circle chunks in a cute chocolate cup.

Even the cup was edible so you can dump the whole thing in the warm milk or drop it in little by little as we did. It was such a fun experience whisking the chocolate and watching it slowly melt into the steaming milk.

We also tried their homemade “grandma’s recipe” waffles and it was okay but we suggest skipping that and getting waffles at Chez Albert instead.

@theoldchocolatehouse
TOTAL COST: $19 for one hot chocolate, one waffle, coffee, and tea
LOCATION: Mariastraat 1c, Bruges 8000, Belgium

5. House of Waffles

We could smell the sweet waffles from outside before we stepped foot into the House of Waffles. It’s a great place to take a break and have a cup of coffee with a freshly baked waffle. You can choose from a variety of sweet or savory waffles and also choose to get Brussels or Liege waffles.

Brussels waffles are made with a smooth, light batter and in a rectangular shape. Liege waffles are made with a dough batter and are much thicker in a round shape with uneven edges baked with sugar.

Crystal ordered the Strawberry Fields - a homemade Brussels waffle topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Candy ordered the Classico - a homemade Brussels waffle with fresh whipped cream and a side of vanilla ice cream.

At the time, we didn’t know the difference between Brussels and Liege waffles and our server gave us the Brussels waffle by default. We wished she would have asked us or told us the difference but it was also nice to try the other traditional Belgian waffle since we had Liege waffles for the rest of our stay in Bruges.

@houseofwafflesbrugge
TOTAL COST: $27 for two waffles with toppings, coffee and tea
LOCATION: Wollestraat 31, 8000 Brugge, Belgium

6. Balthasar

We were attracted to Balthasar’s beautiful food presentations and also their raving reviews online. They serve many healthy dishes and cute waffle desserts. We love that every dish is beautifully presented. The restaurant is bright and spacious with a mix of tiny gift items spread throughout the space.

We both ordered the Avocado and Egg Toast and were hoping for some decent eggs. During our time in Bruges and Amsterdam, we were having trouble getting an order of eggs that were cooked properly.

Either they were overcooked or undercooked or just lacked flavor so when our avocado toast arrived with the perfectly cooked eggs, we were extremely happy. Their Avocado and Egg Toast were superb!

@balthasarbrugge
TOTAL COST: $28 for two avocado egg toasts, coffee, and tea
LOCATION: Sint-Amandsstraat 37, Bruges 8000, Belgium

7. Juliette

We stumbled across this place after we finished our breakfast at That’s Toast and made a note to try it out the next morning. It’s one of the few places open for breakfast before 9AM in Bruges. The space is relatively small and we got the sense that a lot of locals came here to dine.

Their menu is simple and small but reasonably priced. Candy ordered a soft-boiled egg and I ordered an omelet (FYI - not your typical omelet you’d expect in the U.S.) along with a basket of homemade bread. The item that stood out to us the most was their homemade jam.

It was absolutely delicious and we spread generous amounts of it on the freshly baked bread. Our eggs were a little overcooked, but overall we both enjoyed our breakfast here. The service was friendly and the vibe was very laid back.

@juliettebrugge
TOTAL COST: $16 for a soft-boiled egg, omelet, a basket of homemade bread, coffee, and tea
LOCATION: Dweersstraat 15, Bruges 8000, Belgium

8. Het Hof van Rembrandt

During our visit to Bruges, we met a new friend and he told us that we absolutely needed to try the traditional Belgian dish, Flemish Beef Stew (also known as carbonade flamande) before we left.

We originally wanted to have the beef stew at Gruuthuse Hof but they were closed on the day we wanted to go so the next best choice was here at Het Hof van Rembrandt.

The restaurant looked like a lot of locals dined here (always a good sign) and we decided to share the Flemish Beef and Beer Stew with french fries. We’ve never had Flemish Stew and it tasted very similar to the roast beef stew that our mother used to make us when we were little.

We later found out that Flemish stew relies on the deep dark flavors of Belgian beer; whereas, French beef stew is made with wine. Hof Rembrandt had a very extensive drink menu so if you are in the mood for drinks, you can enjoy some beer or cocktails in their outdoor seating area.

Het Hof van Rembrandt
TOTAL COST: $22
LOCATION: 8000 Brugge Eiermarkt 10, Bruges 8000, Belgium

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Here are a few more suggestions on places to eat in Bruges that we wanted to check out but didn’t get to for one reason or the other.

Gruuthuse Hof

This is where we originally wanted to try the Flemish Beef Stew because we read so many rave reviews about this restaurant but they were only open four days out of the week from Saturday to Tuesday. We were in Bruges from Wednesday to Friday so there was no chance for us to try Gruuthuse Hof.

It’s a little bit more of an upscale restaurant but they do have a deal for tourists that are called the Tourist Deal for €18.50 per person that includes soup, bread, a main dish with meat, fries, salad, and a dessert.

@gruuthusehof
LOCATION: Mariastraat 36, Bruges 8000, Belgium

Soup

We heard this was a great place to grab a light lunch at a great price. We stopped by but there was limited seating inside and it was too cold to eat outside so we opted to eat somewhere else. They have excellent reviews on Trip Advisor and serve delicious hot soup with a side of bread and fruit for under €8.

Soup
LOCATION: Hallestraat 4, Bruges 8000, Belgium

Arlecchino by John Van Opdurp

If the line at Chez Albert is too long, try the waffles at Arlecchino by John Van Opdurp. It’s a super cute truck located in Burg square, steps away from Chez Albert. Their liege waffle was probably the second best waffle we had in Bruges.

Arlecchino by John Van Opdurp
TOTAL COST: $5
LOCATION: Breidelstraat 11/3, 8000 Brugge, Belgium

TIPS

• Check the restaurant’s hours online if possible. Some restaurants are only open on certain days of the week with limited hours.

• Don’t expect some places in Bruges to open up in time. There were a few times we showed up at a restaurant at their opening time but then saw a sign that said they would be opening up an hour later instead. This happened to us at the Old Chocolate House and Chocolate Line. They’re just very laid back in Bruges.

• They do not offer tap water at restaurants so you will have to order still or sparkling water.

• Do not eat at the restaurants in Markt Square. Almost all of them had terrible reviews and they are overpriced.

• Tipping is not common in Belgium but if you receive exceptional service, leaving a few Euros rounding up your bill or leaving 10% will be appreciated. We often left a 10% tip because we appreciated their friendly service.