Northeast Belgium
Hidden away in the rear of the De Borght flower and interior design shop, this indulgent lunch spot has a menu of regularly changing sharing plates:…
Must-see restaurants in Belgium
Wallonia
In two small, understated, casually elegant dining areas separated by a tight spiral staircase, this husband-and-wife team present carefully prepared…
Liège
Excellent-quality rural French food served in a candlelit 16th-century building whose traditional gingham-and-beams interior is enlivened by some bold…
Antwerp
In the heart of the tourist zone, this ivy-clad medieval masterpiece has an astounding interior decked with angels, saints, pulpits and several…
Wallonia
This loveable spot has streetside seating and a sweet little garden area. It does a great line in Lyonnais-style dishes, with such bouchon classics as…
Liège
Shuttered mirror 'windows', blue-glaze seagulls and skeletal lamps create a surprisingly charming ambience, vaguely like a denuded English teashop but…
Liège
Seeking some special chemistry at dinner? Here they take the idea quite literally, seating you between the test tubes and unchanged 1960s wooden…
Liège
One of many jolly cafe-restaurants whose ever-busy terraces line Place du Marché, As Ouhès ('Aux Oisseaux' in Walloon) gives itself a slightly more…
Brussels
On a quiet, unpromising backstreet, this unpretentious brasserie is decorated with old enamel brewery adverts and serves reliable, well-priced Belgian…
Antwerp
Celebrity TV chef Roger van Damme's Het Gebaar occupies the romantic former caretaker's house at the entrance to Antwerp's petite botanical gardens,…
The Ardennes
One of the best in a strip of appealing brasserie-restaurants set just back from the Vesdre River's north bank, this atmospheric place covers the typical…
Antwerp
The Dôme's renowned Zurenborg bakery-cafe now also has an old-city address whose two upper rooms are lavished with mouldings and camp colours. Perfumed…
Northeast Belgium
Facing Kasteel van Horst's drawbridge, with terrace tables surveying the moat, this popular café-restaurant is a high-roofed antique barn with giant A…
Northeast Belgium
Part of an original working watermill-complex, this popular cafe-restaurant has given its interior a gently contemporary rework and can get crowded at…
Namur
The food is authentic Walloon and French, while the cosy restaurant lays on the charm in thick brush strokes with gingham tablecloths and scarlet-framed…
Liège
Confident contemporary cuisine with a subtle creativity influenced notably by styles of 'the south' (Provence, Italy, northern Spain) add up to a…
Northeast Belgium
Facing Mechelen's cathedral and a contoured green space onto which a giant, bright yellow Op-Sinjoorke appears to have fallen, this big-windowed terrace…
Namur
The homey candlelit interior here matches the fuss-free atmosphere and service. The cuisine, however, is rather more sophisticated, with plenty of…
Leuven
Reminiscent of a big old-English country pub, this brewery-café has heavy beams and rough-plastered part-brick walls generously adorned with photos,…
The Ardennes
Just west of Alle, a footbridge crosses Renoir-like water scenes to this punnily named village eating spot whose centrepiece is a large rocking horse. The…
Northwest Belgium
Tiffany-glass windows, wrought-iron lamps and 1930s decor create a welcoming feel at one of East Flanders' better-value brasserie-cafes, where beautifully…
Northeast Belgium
For very fine bistro food with a rock-and-roll soundtrack, cosy up with fellow diners at a long rough-wooden table and choose from the day's three…
Antwerp
In a classic Zurenborg building with an interior that's all white but for a mirror-topped blue stripe of an aquarium, this professional seafood outfit…
Antwerp
Discover a veritable museum of African artefacts in a historic old Antwerp house while perusing the multilingual menu supplement that helpfully explains…
Leuven
Interesting combinations of high-quality, locally sourced ingredients, plenty of seafood and classy vegetarian alternatives feature at Zarza, and are best…
The Ardennes
Beer flagons dangle from the beams of this compact, traditional Ardennes-style café-eatery, and summer tables overflow onto neighbouring pavements. The…
Bruges
Modernist café with weather-worn terrace tables right at the waterside, where a canal dead-ends beside a Buddha-head fountain. Access is via the easily…
Northeast Belgium
At the northeast corner of the begijnhof, this antique-styled hostelry has a manorial charm with a central barbecue hearth and a lovely rear terrace area,…
Leuven
Hidden away within the 30cc arts complex, between the former farm buildings of an Augustinian convent, this 1735 mansard-roofed building was originally…
Wallonia
Affordable Belgo-French cuisine is served in this high-ceilinged room with exposed-brick walls and a tribe of marionettes hanging from hefty wooden beams…
Ostend
Floor-to-ceiling glass and masses of outdoor seating – including an easily missed upper-floor balcony – draw in tourist diners, as do the English-language…
Wallonia
With a cheery good vibe, expansive menu and outdoor seating on Rochefort's main street, La Gourmandise hits all the right notes. The space features a shop…
West Flanders
Though wildly overpriced, this delightful new restaurant is hard to turn down. The simple menu comprises Lily's take on Japan's three staple noodle…
Brussels
For a dose of Italian Dolce Vita in the epic area between Flagey and Avenue Louise, grab a seat at Bistrò Nazionale, Cocina’s little sister. Share a plate…
Liège
Since 1971 it's been named for its (road-blighted) view of the city's 19th-century opera house, though in fact this tourist-friendly brasserie occupies a…
Antwerp
Ciro's is an authentically nostalgic restaurant that dates back to 1962 and sports an almost untouched mid-century interior. The well-reputed cuisine…
Wallonia
Facing Aubechies’ barrel-vaulted 1077 church, Taverne St-Géry is one of rural Belgium’s most authentic village pubs. It’s a whitewashed farm-style place…
Northeast Belgium
At first glance it's easy to mistake this restaurant for a half-closed cooking-utensil shop. But the gorgeous aromas soon prove otherwise, drawing you…
Ostend
Although the loveable art nouveau corner shopfront which houses it has seen many incarnations, Albrecht is a relative newcomer on the Ostend cafe-dining…
Brussels
Delightful bistro featuring globes, an antique-map ceiling and a travel library. If your date's late, flick through an old National Geographic in your…
