207 Best Restaurants in Belgium

This quirky tavern-style corner café a block from the main square, partially decorated with cowhide wallpaper, serves an extensive menu of hearty Belgian and pan-European dishes ranging from raclette (grilled cheese), via pasta, to steak. The house special, however, is croûte au fromage (sauerkraut with cheese), served in a variety of ways.

Among the sprawl of terraced bars and restaurants encircling the Grand Place, this down-to-earth brasserie is among the finer options. Its menu is packed with hearty Belgian brasserie classics, including beer stews, local-style tartare, and meatballs. But spare room to try Tournaisien favorite rabbit with prunes, a dish so enamored by locals that it has seeped into custom and is traditionally served on the Monday after Epiphany. Whenever you try it, this version is a more than passable example. It also runs a decent burger restaurant, Comptoir 17, next door. 

The brasserie restaurant beside the coastal promenade in downtown Knokke has a slightly old-fashioned feel, but it serves reliably good, hearty portions of Belgian classics, and some excellent seafood to boot. The latter should come as no real surprise given the location: snag a table on the outside terrace in summer and you enjoy a sea view, and inhale the fresh salty air as you dine.

Hidden away among the museum streets of Deurle, this brasserie is best known for its "grandma cooking." Expect veal kidneys lashed with sharp Ghentish Tierenteyn mustard, a hearty stoofvlees of stewed pork cheeks with a side of rough-cut apple sauce, and beef from the Basque Country.

In a plum spot along the route from the Markt to the Burg, this no-frills restaurant is well known among locals---the plain furnishings leave the focus on the fresh seafood for which the establishment is famed. Although eel and steak are available, the restaurant’s biggest draw is mussels—there’s nothing more basically, and deliciously, Belgian than a huge crock heaped high with shiny, blue-black shells.

Set above a quiet canal, with white swans gliding below, this charming restaurant in a step-gabled town house is purely romantic---for the best views, request a window seat next to the water. And yet, while the surroundings drip with history, the food is anything but old-fashioned: cutting-edge head chef Bruno Timperman uses impeccably fresh seasonal ingredients to create beautifully presented plates of food that paint a spectacular picture, both for the eyes and for the palate.

Café Belga, in an ocean-liner-like Art Deco building, is a favorite among Brussels's beautiful people. Sip a cocktail or mint tea at the zinc bar, or sit outside on a deck chair and gaze at the swans on the Ixelles ponds.

A friendly neighborhood café in the shadow of Schaerbeek Town Hall. The weekly lunch menu springs the odd surprise, with everything from Japanese okonomiyaki (savory pancakes) to Lebanese flatbreads cropping up. Look out for the daily homemade soup and a sandwich offer, which is particularly good value.

Finally, the mushroom-themed restaurant of your dreams—well, someone's dreams. And while diners might discover that it isn't quite as eccentric as they'd expect (mushrooms feature in all dishes but often as side ingredients), it is nonetheless quite out there, particularly the desserts: try the cheesecake with cèpes and blueberries! The owners also run the impressive fine-dining French restaurant La Buvette and the excellent bakery Hopla Geiss, whose cinnamon rolls are utterly delicious, on the same street.

Known as a favorite hangout of Georges Simenon and his family, this wood-paneled neighborhood standby serves unbeatable boulets (meatballs) smothered in Liège’s special date-and-apple syrup and classic moules piled high with the inevitable frites. Also known as Chez Stockis, the timeworn place—with its peeling paint and battered wooden furniture—is often filled with regulars, young and old.

A much-revered Italian restaurant that has been remodeled in recent years to be more of a meal out. There's a nice garden terrace, the wine selection is proficient, and the cooking is never less than spot on. It's been a local favorite for years, and you can see why: a good choice of seafood (particularly lobster) accompanies pasta that reliably conjures the scents and tastes of Italy.

Following the closure of his Pomphuis restaurant, Christophe De Koninckx has reinvented himself at a new waterside location inside a stunning repurposed warehouse. Wonderfully presented Belgian bistro dishes are given a modern international makeover, prepared in an open kitchen with no place to hide.

In a grand mansion overlooking the Meuse, this cooking school where the next generation of Belgian chefs learn the art of cuisine serves a fortnightly changing three-course menu, usually featuring fine traditional French food. Though the dining room is rather plain, it has a beautiful view of the river, and both a garden and a riverside terrace, open in fine weather.

This long-standing local favorite right in the center of town has been serving hearty traditional Belgian and regional Ardennes dishes in cozy surrounds for more than half a century. Locally caught trout and Ardennes ham are menu staples, as are mussels and fries in season.

A block from the train station, this dinerlike Liège institution has been here and run by the same family since 1943. Its long and varied menu has various fish, pastas, and salads, but does tend to favor lovers of beef and veal. If you order the filet américain—the house specialty, similar to steak tartare—one of the chefs will prepare it right in front of your eyes.

Colorful, eccentric, and utterly charming. This small bistro, about five minutes' walk from the center, is full of imagination. Chef Arnaud Molle keeps it in the family, using meat from his parent's butchery and lots of local game, including boar, venison, and pheasant. It's all seasonal and fresh, and if the giant multicolor chicken on the wall doesn't win you over, nothing will. 

This centrally located café and bakery specializes in delicious homemade cupcakes, served in all manner of creative guises, just right for washing down with a wide selection of coffees, teas, and infusions. And while these colorful little starlets may hog the limelight, it's worth noting that the cheesecakes and brownies are equally good at turning heads.

A Bruges institution for more than three decades, this cross-vaulted, medieval crypt has evolved over the years from a lively tavern with loud music at night, into a more genteel restaurant that provides a quiet spot for conversation over a meal and a glass of wine. The menu covers steaks, and Belgian classics such as vispannetje (fish stew), mussels, or rabbit, all at very reasonable prices.

An old favorite among locals. Its village-center location, spilling onto the cobbles beneath the church, sets a convivial scene. Inside, the "The Old Farm," as it's known, is nothing of the sort; it was originally built some 300 years ago as a rectory, then repurposed as a school before settling as the town inn. Opt for either a sharing menu (all oysters, chicken wings, and mussels) or the usual brasserie favorites, with big steaks, beery stews, and the addition of the lesser-seen "lobster Belle Vue" (a more costly take on a prawn cocktail) catching the eye.

Along a quiet street just off the Grote Markt, this chic restaurant creates a relaxing vibe with its rustic, bare brick interior walls, and a secluded rear terrace. The modern Belgian cuisine is served as a four-course set menu that changes every two months—each course consists of two separate dishes that are designed for sharing.

If the "lobsters in buckets" artwork above the front door doesn't get you thinking, then the large tank of live specimens in the middle of the dining room will leave you in no doubt whatsoever as to where the gastronomic heart of this chic modern restaurant in the center of town lies. Most dishes follow the seasons, though fruits de mer seafood platters are a menu staple, and there are always several steak choices to keep the meat lovers happy.

Lace curtains in the front windows---and an interior that looks unchanged in a century, but which was probably carefully crafted to look that way---set the tone in this traditional restaurant serving hearty portions of no-frills Belgian classics, prepared in a style of which Grandma would have approved. Even French fries and side salads have no place here: all mains are served with cooked vegetables and creamy mashed potato---if you're looking for cutting-edge nouvelle cuisine you may be disappointed, but if you want a homey feast you won't go hungry.

A beautiful old mansion house is the home of this charming organic bakery and café. Its courtyard terrace is a pleasant spot on a sunny day, though the menu is typically geared towards cold weather: think heavy pastas and Flemish staples alongside a few salads. Its stoempe (veggie mash) and sausage is hearty in all the right ways.

This beautiful mid-18th-century town house was redone in the Art Nouveau style in 1904, adding an elegant bow window and balcony. It's been a brasserie since the early '80s, but remained empty for years after the previous owners went bankrupt. Mercifully, it's been resurrected and restored to its former glory. The menu is solidly Belgian, with not an ounce of desire to add anything to the classics. Well-made beer stews, moules, américains, and Liège-style meatballs accompany the one international caveat: an array of tagliatelle dishes.

In an old yellow-painted brick farmhouse east of the center, the leafy front terrace and rustic interior provide a charming setting for enjoying this small restaurant's generously portioned and innovative takes on Belgian and European classics. The beer list is short but outstanding, as is the wine list—unsurprising as the same family also runs the wine store next door.

Commanding a prime spot on the main square, the White Fox serves good portions of pan-European food at fair prices, with a menu that juggles Italian pasta, Belgian and French favorites, and—in the fall season—a range of game dishes. Choose a spot on the front terrace for fine views of the cathedral and the city hall, or simply for people-watching.

North Sea sole is the specialty here, fried and served with frites or grilled with a side of dijonnaise. It might not sound like the most sophisticated of dishes, but it is cherished among locals. The rest of the menu veers towards fine steaks, game, and the more rustic cuts often found in fine French cooking, including veal kidneys and crispy sweetbreads with wild mushrooms. The setting is charming, whittled into an old farmstead, and the garden makes for a pleasant retreat during the warmer weather. 

This cheap, satisfying neighborhood café-restaurant never fails to please. Slightly removed from the center, on Hogeschoolplein, it's as much a lunch spot as a restaurant, but its cheap pastas and salads make for a good, filling meal on the go. Given the prices, it's no surprise that it's a student hot spot with a large terrace that fills up fast on warm days. The fact you can get its desserts from a vending machine seems to delight many a local customer.

A well-loved local favorite in the capable hands of chef Nicolas Michiels. The menu is a study in classic French fare, with boneless entrecôte steaks smothered in rich sauces, braised duck breasts, and sweetbreads in a truffle-flavored jus. The €39 set menu is also pretty good value. 

Architecture and food aficionados will appreciate both the food and somber decor in this splendid Art Nouveau building in the upscale Zurenborg neighborhood---this former teahouse, sewing school, and police office maintains its original floor mosaic, and the whitewashed walls and dome-shape roof parallel its haute cuisine. Michelin-starred head chef Frédéric Chabbert learned his trade working in Hong Kong, and brings touches of his international experiences into the classic-inspired dishes of his French homeland.