Food hotspots in Belgium

Belgium is a relatively small country in between France and the Netherlands. I feel lucky as a Dutch person, to live so close to Belgium. The people are friendly and, also important, they’ve got delicious chocolate!
On this page I’m sharing my favorite vegetarian friendly food spots in Belgium with you. From Antwerp, to Gent, Brussels, Oostende and Zeebrugge.

Greenway, several locations
Greenway is a vegetarian (take-away) restaurant with 4 locations in Belgium. You can find them in Gent, Leuven and the Brussels South/Midi train station. Their mission is to show people how delicious vegetarian food can be. Pretty similar to my mission I would say! On their menu they’ve listed which dishes are vegan and/or gluten free. They’ve got several pasta’s and burgers; all vegetarian. This vegan yogurt with granola is perfect for your breakfast-to-go.

Ellis Gourmet Burger, several locations
Ellis Gourmet Burger opened their first restaurant in Belgium and now has several restaurants in both Belgium and the Netherlands. You can find them in 9 cities including Antwerp, Leuven, Brussel and Brugge.
They have 2 vegetarian burgers on their menu; one with portobello and goat cheese and the Crazy Red Veggie. I went for the latter. It’s a red pepper and soy burger with baby spinach leaves, rocket, pecan nuts and lime mayonnaise. It’s served on a nice toasted bun.

Caulifornication, Antwerp
Caulifornication (former Divers) is the perfect spot for smoothie lovers! They mainly serve smoothies and smoothie bowls. Everything is available for take-away, but you might want to sit down at this light, tranquil space. All their juices are vegan and gluten free and have no added sugar. Just like their smoothie bowls. As a matter of fact, everything on their menu is vegan and gluten free. Pictured above is their acai bowl, it’s acai mixed with banana, strawberry and coconut milk. Topped with homemade granola, banana, chia seeds and cocos flakes.
* Please note that Caulifornication is temporarily closed.

Blend 32, Antwerp
Brasserie Flo is the restaurant of the Hilton Hotel in Antwerp. It’s the perfect choice if you want to have a more fancy dinner in Antwerp. They have nice seats near the window with views of the Groenplaats square. Their main focus is fresh fish, but luckily they also have delicious vegetarian options. I had this starter with black quinoa, cured vegetables and pomegranate seeds for example. And as a main dish they have a delicious vegetarian ravioli with ricotta and artichoke. Want to spoil yourself some more? Book a room at the Hilton Hotel and enjoy what might be the best breakfast buffet in Antwerp the next morning.

Madam Bakster, Ghent
My favorite place for coffee and cake is Madam Bakster as all her cakes are ‘guilt free’. They don’t use any refined sugars and all their cakes are vegan and wheat free. You can also order a cake on their website and pick it up at one of their pick-up points in Belgium. Pictured above is the cake called ‘Raymond’, it’s a vegan chocolate raspberry cake.

Pain & Compagnie, Ghent
If you’re looking for a nice place for lunch in Ghent you should go to Pain & Compagnie. This bakery has delicious bread, sweets and sandwiches. You can have them to-go, but you can also sit down at one of their tables outside on a lovely square. They have several vegetarian options, I had this one with mozzarella, tomato and pesto!

Click here for all my favorite food spots in Ghent.

Manhattn’s, Brussels
As the name suggests, this Brussels restaurant wants to bring the taste of New York burgers to Belgium. All their burgers names have a reference to the Big Apple like the ‘Gotham burger’ or the ’empire cheeseburger’. It can get quite busy in this small restaurant, but the burgers are great. I went for the veggie burger, as always. This ‘Brooklyn Veggie Burger’ is served with grilled aubergine and salsa verde. You can skip the cheddar if you’re not a fan (like me). They’ve got two locations, one on the Avenue Louise and one in the city centre in front of the old stock exchange building.

Kokuban, Brussels
Kokuban serves authentic Japanese food. Ever since our trip to Japan I’m more critical about which food is actually Japanese as most of the sushi we eat in Europe is very different from Japanese sushi. But at Kokuban they serve dishes as they would serve them in Japan as well. They’re mostly known for their ramen and they also have a good vegetarian ramen.

Charlies, Antwerp
Charlies is a cosy coffee bar and lunchroom in Antwerp owned by a young woman called Charlotte. I had this delicious gluten free chocolate cake here, but most people come here for the extensive coffee, tea and hot chocolate menu. Charlies has no less than 8 different hot chocolates! They also have breakfast and lunch and everything is available in gluten free version! Every day they have different cakes, you can check the menu or the display!

Belle de Jour, Oostende
Belle de Jour is a bistro located in the city center of Oostende. This restaurant is perfect if you want to enjoy culinary dishes in a warm and welcoming environment. They’re open for lunch and dinner and they work with as many organic and local products as possible. They’ve got all the haute cuisine classics like Vitello Tonnato and sea bass. I went for this vegetarian option: polenta with red beets and turnip and a basil sauce.
Click here for all my favorite food spots in Oostende.

Lily’s Noodle House, Kortrijk
Lily’s Noodle house has just opened up in the old city of Kortrijk. Here you can enjoy your Asian meal with a view on the Broeltorens. Lily is Vietnamese herself but after her travels in Japan and South-Korea she decided to open up Lily’s Noodle house. On the menu are several vegetarian and vegan dishes. I went for the Soba Noodles with tofu, shiitake mushrooms and Chinese cabbage. But she also has vegetarian ramen and Korean Japchae that you can order vegetarian or vegan.
Click here for all my favorite restaurants in Kortrijk.

Restaurant Lagaaar, Zeebrugge
Restaurant Lagaar can be found near the beach of Zeebrugge and consists of two parts. The bistro that has a fancy atmosphere with white table linnen and big paintings on the wall. And the part where the bar is, that looks like an old train compartment. The name ‘Lagaar’ is derived from the French word for ‘station’ (La gare). This part has red walls and the seats are old train seats. You can choose your table according to your mood.
They serve high-quality meat and fish dishes but on request they also make vegetarian dishes. I had a very tasty burrata dish with courgetti and tomatoes as a starter. And as a main dish I had pearl couscous with veggie balls and soy beans.

You might also like to read more about Zeebrugge.