Brussels, Belgium, was our first stop on our return to Europe - and we were so excited to check out this beautiful city! There is so much incredible architecture, classic culture, and plenty to do and see in the Belgian capital city. There was another reason that we were excited to visit Brussels too: Mike had wanted to visit The Atomium ever since he first saw it as a child - and wow! I didn't know what to expect when we visited, but I was wowed by the uniqueness of the structure, and of course that amazing light show inside! This really set the tone for this amazing city: it was such a pleasure to visit!
Eating Vegan in Brussels
“Belgium is such a beautiful place with so much history and charm” – Andi Dorfman
Brussels is a pretty expensive place to eat, as you might expect from a European capital city - but we were really impressed by the wealth of vegan food on offer! We visited some really cool places, and the vibe throughout these places was consistently friendly and welcoming... and the food quality was really impressive too! Read on, then watch the video at the end of this post, to see what we really thought of some of Brussels' best vegan eateries!
1st: Veganwaf'
Galerie Agora 48, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
There was one food that we knew we wanted to try while we were in Belgium, and those who are familiar with mine and Mike's sweet tooth will probably predict that it was the classic Belgian Waffle! Waffles are everywhere you look while you're in Brussels, but plant-based versions are a lot more difficult to find. Fortunately, if you've read our vegan Belgian waffle in Brussels blog, you'll know that we managed to find the most incredible vegan waffles at Veganwaf'!
Veganwaf' are located in a little arcade, not far from The Grand Place - so it means you're never too far from a tasty vegan waffle! The waffles are freshly made to order, with loads of choices when it comes to toppings. Whether you want some plant-based Belgian Chocolate, a fruit topping, cream, or salted caramel - or even to have your waffle plain, there is sure to be a combination of toppings that will suit your tastebuds! Mike chose to have the thick, warm chocolate sauce with some whipped vegan cream, while I went for the traditional topping combo that sold Belgian waffles to the world at the World Fair: strawberries and cream!
The chocolate and cream waffle was simply incredible! I’ve had a lot of waffles in my time and as a base on its own it was phenomenal. Even without toppings it would have been super tasty, it really didn’t even need the toppings: but they enhanced it so well! It was gooey, chewy and slightly crisp on the outside but then it only gets better. The chocolate sauce that they use, well you would not know it was vegan! It has the most authentic, slightly dark chocolate taste - it was warm and just mouthwatering. When we took it out in the cold it started to solidify on the waffle... and Mike gave this waffle the impressive title of the best thing to date that he has eaten to review on this website! Meanwhile, my strawberry and cream waffle was really fresh and tasty. I loved how the fruitiness of the strawberries complemented the sweetness of the waffle and the cream, I loved this and could eat this every day - I can see how this waffle launched Belgian waffles into the world!
We recommend Veganwaf' so highly, and absolutely recommend that anyone visiting Brussels heads over to check them out. Though the prices are steeper than the average waffle in Brussels, due to the added expense of vegan toppings, it genuinely is so worth it. A waffle with two toppings, like we had, costs €6.50 (approx. £5.56 or $7.08) - though if you pick fresh fruit like me, it will cost an extra €1.50. There is so much to love about Veganwaf' - so much so that we made sure to head back a couple of times before we left Brussels to see a little more of Belgium!
2nd: Liu Lin
Rue Haute 20, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
Oh my goodness, I cannot explain how much I wish I could head back to Brussels right now for another meal at Liu Lin. If you're heading to this fully vegan, Taiwan-inspired street food place, we'd advise making a booking: they're so popular that the restaurant is often full not long after opening! And there is good reason why!
Table bookings are generally limited to an hour, which doesn't sound like long, but service is so fast that it's much more practical than it sounds! Place your order at the counter, and your food will be with you before you know it - then, one you're finished, you'll need to clean up your own table, by taking your plates and any leftovers to the relevant labelled stations. Simple!
We were really excited to indulge here, with vegan versions of some of the most delicious food I had been missing available here! We started with vegan prawn crackers, which are something that I find very rarely, but am always very excited when I do! They were really good: crunchy, authentic, and they give you a full portion (in fact, the portion was so good that I'd say definitely one is enough between two). For a main course, I tried the Crispy Chicky Rice Bowl, while Mike went for Lin's Noodle Bowl. I absolutely loved my Chicky Bowl: the chicken style strips were topped with a sauce with a little kick (not as spicy as it suggests on the menu), and the stir fried veg was really delicious, peppery and perfectly cooked. The shredded hoisin beef style topping was a big highlight, as was the salad. I cannot emphasise enough how many flavours and textures were in the dish: my tastebuds were having a wild ride!
Lin's Noodle Bowl was absolutely worth being named after one of the sisters who run the restaurant. While the noodles themselves rice are plain, not seasoned, this makes perfect sense: there’s so much flavour in the rest of the dish that it more than makes up for it! The stir fried veg was really flavoursome, and complemented the rest of the dish really nicely. It comes served with spring rolls, which were standard but came with a sweet chilli topping which, mixed with the rest of the dish, added more layers of complexity to the taste. The star of the show without a doubt was the tofu, which had an unusual amount of flavour! It was so, so good and altogether made for a really well engineered dish with plenty of flavour, palate cleanse, and everything in between! We finished our meal off with the chocolate mousse. Made from silken tofu, I was really impressed with this. It had a really nice, homemade quality to it that was very enjoyable in reusable glass jars. It was kind of like the second layer in a chocolate cheesecake, less bubbly than mousse but very enjoyable.
Overall, we were really pleased with the prices at Liu Lin. The dishes were packed full of fresh veg and meat replacements, and with so many flavours, it was great value for money. The veggie prawn crackers cost €3 (approx. £2.57 or $3.27), while the chocolate mousse was an equally reasonable €4 (approx. £3.42 or $4.36). When it came to the mains, the Crispy Chicky Bowl cost €16 (approx. £13.69 or $17.44), with Lin's Noodle Bowl coming in at €15 (approx. £12.84 or $16.35). We'd definitely recommend this as a place for an incredible Asian vegan meal while you're in Brussels.
3rd: The Judgy Vegan
Rue des Capucins 55, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
You might remember The Judgy Vegan if you've been following our blogs: this is the place we visited to try the classic Belgian dish, Boulets à la Liégeoise. If you've not heard of this dish before, it consists of meatballs in a complex sweet and sour syrup, served alongside Belgium's favourite potato dish: fries (or frites, if you're Belgian!)
Honestly, it was amazing to have a vegan version of this traditional dish! The seitan meatballs were dense and filling - it’s traditional to have a serving of two or three boulets and I understand why now, having seen their size. I wouldn’t have been able to manage any more! The chips were really well cooked, homemade and delicious - the kind of chips that I search for all the time. The Liegeoise sauce was sweet but tangy. It worked well with the savoury dish, and I totally understand why it’s so popular here - but it would be a little sweet for me to eat more! The dish was really neatly presented and the salad with balsamic was flavoursome too.
Though we only tried this one dish at The Judgy Vegan, they have a menu packed full of delicious sounding Belgian and Western classic dishes, all homemade - and everything we saw looked and smelled great! If we hadn't been so full, we would have tried something from their impressive cake counter too. It was a really funky and unexpectedly spacious restaurant - the staff were really kind, and helped us out when we were struggling to translate the menu (which is accessed via a QR code). For a vegan version of a traditional Belgian speciality, and a portion that kept us very full, we thought €17 (approx. £14.54 or $18.52) really wasn't a bad price. Check out the opening hours before you visit, as they are open a little less than other places - but don't let this deter you from checking out this excellent, fully vegan place.
4th: Tich
Rue de Namur 25, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
An excellent spot for a healthy and very instagrammable lunch, the food at Tich is vegan by default - but vegetarians, pescatarians, and omnivores can choose to add cheese or fish to their meal for a supplement. This cafe is light and airy, with a great atmosphere and excellent music: it was a really great place to take a little time to chill away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
There are lots of exciting things on the menu (including plant-based pancakes!) but Mike and I both fancied something savoury and healthy on this day. Mike went for the Avo Toast, while I picked the Italian Toast. Both looked absolutely incredible! We loved the way that the Avo Toast was presented, with whole avocados topped with vibrant pickled onions. The Italian Toast, on the other hand, had the most distinctive aromas, with the look and smell of a beautiful Mediterranean brunch. We were super excited to eat these, they looked so good!
The avocado itself was a little hard, but it was really tasty, and made us thing that we need to eat more whole avocados! Mike really enjoyed the sweetness mixed with savoury, it was such a great lunch dish. Meanwhile, I loved the homemade pesto and vegan parmesan on my Italian toast; the flavours worked together so well with the sweet sharpness of the balsamic too. All the seeds added great texture, but my favourite part was the punchy flavour from the sun dried tomatoes! Yum!
For such incredibly beautiful and flavoursome food, we thought that the prices here were good: especially for notoriously expensive Brussels. My Italian Toast cost €9.60 (approx. £8.21 or $10.46), while Mike's Avo Toast was a little more expensive at €9.90 (approx. £8.47 or $10.79). We would love to try more of their tasty-sounding menu, and see if it is as aesthetically stunning as the dishes we tried!
5th: Lucifer Lives
Rue Haute 120, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
We visited Lucifer Lives when they opened on a weekend morning for breakfast - and we were pleased that we got there so early - this place fills up fast! It's no wonder that Lucifer Lives is so popular: this fully vegan cafe has a really chilled and laid back setting, super friendly staff, and some of the most delicious looking cakes, pastries, and enormous breakfasts!
We ordered two of their famous breakfast dishes: I picked The Hangover, which consisted of a bagel, packed with vegan egg, super melty vegan cheese, juicy fried onions, ketchup, and thick and smoky vegan bacon. The bagel itself was really tasty, and the eggs had a lot more flavour than on the English breakfast. The melty, cheesy sauce was good but the star of the show was definitely the delicious tomato sauce on the bagel. It was sweet but savoury, giving the whole dish maximum flavour. The bacon was tasty too, and it was great that it came with chips and mayo, making this a super hearty breakfast dish that kept me full all day!
Mike went for the English Breakfast, which was absolutely huge! There was a wide variety of things on the plate, with the unexpected, delightful surprise of a cheese toastie, which he really loved! The baked beans were flavoured with cinnamon which wasn’t really our tastes, but might be perfect for others. The bacon, although slightly charred, was pretty tasty, and the sausage was filling though it’s flavour was a little overpowered by the other things on the plate! We are big fans of corn, and even though it was quite unconventional, we actually loved having a BBQ corn on the cob with breakfast!
There was one more thing that we couldn't leave without trying: we grabbed a pan au chocolat from their counter, since it was a long time since we'd seen a plant-based one! They were crisp and crunchy, owing to the tasty sugar glaze on top. These are clearly one of Lucifer Lives' most popular items, and I saw people queueing for multiple servings - I really can see why! They were really tasty, with that delicious, classic chocolate flavour running through. A little crunchier than I am used to, but they were so tasty!
Lucifer Lives was a really funky place to hang out, and is a great shout for a big vegan breakfast while you're in the city. It's pretty expensive for breakfast, with both The Hangover and the English Breakfast coming in at €18 each (approx. £15.39 or $19.61), though the pan au chocolat was much more reasonable at €2.50 (approx. £2.14 or $2.72). Though we were a bit taken aback by some of the flavours, their food is certainly innovative and creative, and the portions are really big, easily justifying the money.
Where is your favourite place to get plant-based food in Brussels? 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
This section contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase via one of our links, we may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Where should I stay?
With Brussels being a capital city it is definitely not short of places to stay! For a small and friendly hotel that is only a short walk from the main attractions, check out The Sun Hotel. Or if a social hostel vibe is more your scene, Generation Europe is the highest rated hostel in Brussels, with a good choice of private and dorm rooms to fit all group sizes.
Tours & Experiences
Brussels is an incredible city packed full of things to see and do - however, some of the main attractions (including our favourite, The Atomium) are a little far apart. So why not take advantage of this bicycle tour, which shows you the highlights of the city on the convenience of your own two wheels. 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!
Comments