Wow, Bruges exceeded my expectations for how beautiful a city can be by a long way. Everywhere we walked, from the moment we first set foot in this fairytale city, I was overwhelmed by pretty architecture, gorgeous plants, and stunning waterways. It was like every glimpse was the front of a postcard - I really loved it here. The locals were friendly and welcoming, and the way of life seemed so chill. I could have spent so much longer in Bruges. We visited during the winter, and woke up to a stunning blanket of snow one morning: and even during the snowy season, the city was very accessible, with the warm and cosy cafes offering a welcome retreat from the chilly weather outside. And what's more, there was an excellent choice of high-quality vegan food here too. I could easily live in Bruges, and would be very happy to visit the city again and again.
Eating Vegan in Bruges
“You should eat waffle! You can’t be sad if you eat a waffle!” – Lauren Myracle
I didn't have super high expectations for vegan food in Bruges: I figured that as a smaller city, known among tourists for its beautiful, old sights, there might not be too much choice when it came to plant-based offerings. But how wrong I was! In fact, some of the vegan food we ate here was among the most inventive and high quality that we've tried! Whether you're looking for something truly Belgian, flavours from around the world, or the comfort of a brunch in a pretty setting, you're sure to find something to take your fancy in Bruges. Read on, then watch the video at the end of this blog, for more information on our top places to eat vegan in Bruges.
1st: Garlic n Greens
Vlamingstraat 10, 8000 Brugge, Belgium
Garlic n Greens was a massive surprise for us: and I got to eat something that I have missed dearly in all the time I have been vegan! We headed to this veggie-vegan Indian restaurant for dinner on a chilly evening in Bruges. Not only did this place warm us up, we ate some truly delicious plant-based food here too.
The restaurant itself is pretty cute, with friendly staff, but on the whole it's pretty understated and unassuming: the menu does all the talking! And I can't explain quite how excited we were to get stuck into this menu: there were so many delicious-sounding dishes, it was really difficult to narrow down our options! In the end, Mike chose the Mattar Mushroom, while I went for the Tofu Tikka Masala. I have missed tikka masala dearly, so I was really excited to be able to choose this vegan version of the dish - though it was really hard not to order three or four different things to try! My tikka masala was yummy, albeit a little too sweet for my taste. I had it with some basmati rice, which balanced the flavours really well. I'm not sure about tofu in a curry usually, but as a substitute for the traditional chicken, I actually thought this worked really well! The winner, though, was Mike's mattar mushroom, which had so much flavour and variety from the onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and peas. Oh my goodness: this curry was so delicious, I had to sneak a couple of spoonfuls of it too!
The food was so delicious here, and we loved how much choice there was for vegans here. Though plenty of Indian restaurants have plenty for vegans to eat, what made Garlic n Greens exceptional was the effort to substitute meat and dairy ingredients for plant-based alternatives. For a tikka masala to be accessible to a vegan, and to be really delicious too, is something special. We thought the prices were good too: we shared a bowl of basmati rice for €4 (approx. £12.81 or $16.27); then Mike's mattar mushroom cost €15 (approx. £13.66 or $17.36), while my tofu tikka masala was €16 (approx. £3.41 or $4.34). When it came to Garlic n Greens, we couldn't get enough!!
2nd: Sanseveria Bagelsalon
Predikherenstraat 11, 8000 Brugge, Belgium
I will be totally honest with you here: I wasn't too excited to visit Sanseveria Bagelsalon. We headed there for breakfast one morning after seeing the significant number of vegan choices on their menu... but I was thinking 'meh, it's just bagels and granola, right?!' HOW WRONG I WAS!!
It's a bold choice opening a cafe based entirely around bagels and granola, but now I understand how they are so successful here in Bruges. The food that Sanseveria serves is iconic: it is no exaggeration to say that their signature bagels and granola are the best I have ever eaten. Mike chose Trudy's bowl, which was packed with their own homemade granola, tonnes of fruit and chocolate shavings: it was such a massive portion and every bite was mouthwateringly good! I picked the Mary-Anna bagel, which was super sweet (a delicious contrast to the more savoury poppy seeds on the bagel), with strawberry jam, and piled high with fruit and chocolate shavings too. This was so beyond what we were expecting that we were basically speechless: both from how impressed we were, and how devoted we were to eating it all!
If you're going to do something simple, you have to do it well I guess, and Sanseveria have managed to take these two simple concepts and make them fancy and delicious beyond your wildest dreams! With so many vegan or vegan option items on their menu, this is absolutely somewhere you have to stop for a delicious and wholesome breakfast on your trip for Bruges: not only will you receive a treat for your tastebuds, it will be a massive treat for your Instagram too! Trudy's bowl cost €12 (approx. £10.24 or $13.02), while the Mary-Anna bagel was €12.50 (approx. £10.67 or $13.56). A little pricey for breakfast, but honestly, if there was one thing I would eat again in Bruges it would be this breakfast!!
3rd: Blackbird
Jan van Eyckplein 7, 8000 Brugge, Belgium
We headed to this gorgeous cafe for breakfast before a solid day of sightseeing: and the food we ate there was so filling and wholesome, we knew for sure we'd made the right choice! Blackbird is the only fully vegan place that we visited in Bruges, so it can get very busy: we'd definitely recommend booking a table if you've got your heart set on visiting!
Mike was feeling a smaller breakfast, and went for the ham and cheese croissant, with a power smoothie. His croissant was soft and flaky, while the vegan ham and cheese added plenty of savoury flavour to the slightly sweet pastry. The smoothie was tasty and gave him an extra, punchy bit of energy to take on an action-packed day! I, on the other hand, wanted something a little bigger, so I picked the scrambled tofu, which came atop a chunky slab of sourdough toast. There is no doubt that this is one of the most beautiful things I ate in Bruges: the presentation was fantastic, with artfully arranged pickled onions, spring onions, leaves, and juicy tomatoes adding so much extra colour and flavour to the plate. The tofu (which can often be quite a bland dish) was pretty flavoursome too; alongside my sweet hot chocolate, this was a perfectly balanced and nutritious breakfast.
The prices were a little pricey, but not too bad for a fully vegan cafe of this calibre. Mike's ham and cheese croissant cost €6.80 (approx. £5.83 or $7.40), while my scrambled tofu on toast was €14 (approx. £11.99 or $15.23). If you're looking to treat yourself to a sumptuous breakfast, or want some properly instagrammable vegan food in an equally aesthetically-pleasing cafe, you may be keen to pay Blackbird a visit!
4th: FritBar
Katelijnestraat 3, 8000 Brugge, Belgium
If you've been following our travels, you might recognise FritBar from our vegan frites in Bruges blog. We had seen and smelled traditional Belgian frites across Belgium, but we'd struggled to find any that were vegan! This is because traditionally, these legendary fries are cooked in animal fat. So, with their plant-based fries and fully vegan mayo option, FritBar really saved the day for us!!
We headed down to FritBar and really loved how funky this bar was: I loved the hanging lightbulbs and the rustic aesthetic... and the service was absolutely fantastic too! The staff were really welcoming and friendly, and very accommodating of vegan diets. If you want more than just frites, they have a vegan burger on their menu too! But the main story here is obviously the frites: they were absolutely delicious. With a crisp, hot, and golden coating that gave way to a soft and fluffy potatoey inner, these frites really were an absolute joy to devour. My goodness FritBar, these frites were everything we wanted and more!
With cones of frites starting at €4, and an additional €1 for a big pot of sauce, these aren't the cheapest frites in Bruges, but they were so, so worth it!! To enjoy a traditional cone of frites, safe in the knowledge that they were completely vegan - and so was the vegan mayo we chose on the side - we thought this was a very fair price to pay! Our frites cost €5 per person (approx. £4.28 or $5.44) and, given that this was a small cone, we thought the portion was quite generous. We love frites, and were over the moon with these!
5th: Chocolat Bar
Mallebergplaats 3a, 8000 Brugge, Belgium
We thought we'd eaten our full share of vegan waffles while we were in Brussels - so much so that we ate an extra waffle on our final day in Brussels, as we didn't expect to find any more plant-based ones. But when we heard about Chocolat Bar, a funky, neon-lit, dessert cafe in the heart of Bruges, we had to check it out!
Now, most of what Chocolat Bar offer isn't vegan - though they offer a plant-based equivalent to some things, so far there's no dairy-free version of that incredible chocolate kebab that is proudly displayed in their cafe! But we were delighted to find that, within their massive dessert menu, is a full page of vegan choices. From waffles to crepes, and a delightful selection of hot chocolates, coffees, and other drinks, this menu leaves us vegans with plenty of choices! It was pretty chilly when we visited, so Mike and I settled on a firm favourite: a vegan waffle with chocolate sauce. Served warm, with gooey chocolate drizzle, this was exactly the dessert we needed to warm us up in snowy Bruges! It was a little denser than the waffles we ate in Brussels but still really tasty - and that chocolate was super creamy and sumptuous. Chocolat Bar offer a whole range of different toppings on their vegan crepes and waffles: so whether you're big chocolate fans like us, or would prefer fruit, or even no toppings at all, this place has you covered.
We were really happy hanging out here: and the location is perfect for a quick stop and a tasty treat while you're sightseeing in central Bruges. We thought that the prices for these speciality vegan desserts were pretty good too; depending on the toppings you fancy, you're looking between €5 and €9 for a waffle or crepe (approx. £4.28 - £7.71, or $5.44 - $9.80). The chocolate topped waffle that we ordered cost €5.50 (approx. £4.71 or $5.99). If you have a sweet tooth and fancy an authentic taste of Belgium while you're in Bruges, we really recommend checking this place out!
Where is your favourite place to get plant-based food in Bruges? Are there any new places or old favourites that we've missed? Leave us a comment to let us know (and others who might be visiting too!)
Recommendations
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Where should I stay?
Bruges may be a pretty expensive place to visit, but the city has plenty of cost-effective solutions too. Lybeer Travellers' Hostel prides itself on its friendly, homely atmosphere: you'll feel really at home in their clean and comfortable private and dorm rooms. Snuffel Hostel, meanwhile, has simple, modern rooms - again, a choice of dorms and privates are offered, with a really convenient location.
Tours & Experiences
Bruges is a beautiful place, with so much history. Many people like to include a visit to Flanders Fields while visiting Belgium, and this trip to the WWI battlefields offers a poignant experience with lots of opportunities to learn about the history here and pay your respects to the fallen soldiers. Or if that's not for you, check out some of the top-rated Viator tours below!
Please note that the tours displayed below are automatically selected for their popularity by Viator, not chosen or recommended by us. Please check whether any food or drink based tours are suitable for your dietary requirements before booking!