Belgium on a Budget: Where to Find Delicious Cheap Eats?
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Belgium is a country filled with tasty treats and authentically unique dishes, from the famous frites (fries) to chocolate and many more. It’s a destination with a great tradition of good food. And while iconic Belgian cuisine can be pricey, there are many inexpensive places to eat in Belgium to suit any budget.
From cozy cafés to market food stalls, the limited amount of money a tourist brings with them will go a long way when it comes to enjoying a meal in this European nation. Whether you are a local or a tourist on a shoestring budget, there are many affordable options for eating out.
Brussels: Capital of Culinary Delights
Brussels, the Belgian capital where different peoples and foods find a home, is a hub of food fusion. Here, you’ll find the traditional Belgian cuisine that we love, as well as international foods — and all at good value.
Frites and Street Food
Any visitor to Brussels is almost obliged to try the city’s famous fries. The trademark crispy, golden fries are part of the country’s culinary heritage. They are often served with a range of sauces and toppings at street food stalls like the legendary Maison Antoine or Frites Rue de l’Etuve and cost from a few euros.
While frites may be the city’s best-known street food, Brussels also offers a variety of other options. Try the lively Rue Neuve or the Gare du Midi area for delicious street fare, like the mitraillette (a frites-laden baguette sandwich usually with some type of meat and sauce) or a frikandel (a deep-fried sausage snack).
Ethnic Eateries
Shifting the lens through which you view Brussels shows a city where the lines between the EU and Africa are blurred in the city’s unique multicultural fabric, with the varied ethnic cuisine at the core. In every nook and cranny in the city, you’ll find bright Turkish kebab houses, warm Moroccan tagine cafés, and damp Italian trattorias offering delicious traditional family food at very affordable prices.
Another safe bet for cheap eats is in the Matonge, a lively neighborhood home to many African restaurants and markets, alongside plenty of stalls that sell clothes, souvenirs, and other stuff. Here, you can find loads of good food on the cheap – hearty stews, grilled meat, flavour-packed vegetarian dishes – to attract the residents living around the area.
Traditional Belgian Cafés and Pubs
To experience the Belgian flavor, visit a café or pub, where one can enjoy traditional Belgian bread or pastries or Belgian stews such as stomp (potato, turnip, and vegetable mash with sausage) or carbonnade flamande (beef and beer stew).
Matched to a pitcher of Belgian beer, this makes for a quintessential Brussels dining experience without busting the bank.
Ghent: Student-Friendly and Affordable
Ghent is a university city in the Flemish region of Belgium with a frugal food culture.
University District Gems
The university district of Ghent is a good place to get a price-friendly bite, as the city’s students flock to the uptown Overpoortstraat or the more central Vlaanderenstraat for great cafés, cozy bars, and simple restaurants serving anything.
These cheap and cheerful student hangouts also have the vicarious thrill of a student hangout where you can feel like a student (if only for a moment).
Vegetarian and Vegan Options
Ghent has found a niche as a vegetarian center of gravity, a destination where the scene is bustling with a variety of vegetarian eateries, from café to restaurants. Located within the historical fabric of the Central Station and the inner city, you will find a multitude of vegetarian options at most price levels.
One anomaly is the vegetarian and vegan restaurant Komkommertijd café, where you’ll find tasty meals made with locally grown, seasonal ingredients, such as their delicious lentil and mushroom-filled stoofpotje or falafel sandwich, all for a steal of a price.
Local Markets and Food Halls
To get closer to Ghent’s gastronomic roots, you should go to one of the city’s lively flea markets or food markets. Don’t miss the Vrijdagmarkt (Friday Market) with its colorful street-food stalls slinging smoutebollen (deep-fried dough balls) and pitas, among other affordable delights.
Alternatively, hit the Oude Beestenmarkt food hall, where you can try all manner of local dishes and international cuisine at bargain-basement prices.
Bruges: Affordable Indulgence in a Fairy Tale Setting
Bruges might be the ‘Venice of the North’, but it looks more like a fairytale than a lagoon city, with its cobbled streets and canals surrounded by gothic Flemish architecture.
It’s not the most obvious budget weekend destination, but if you’re in town with a friend or loved one in tow, the Belgian city boasts excellent value eats; all of our meals came in at under 30 euros (£25) each, and there was a heck of a lot of eating.
Belgian Waffles and Chocolate
When in Bruges, it is essential to taste its traditional specialties, which include renowned Belgian waffles and chocolate. Some good tourist traps have overpriced waffles and chocolates. Still, they are widely advertised when you enter the Old Town, and many other affordable waffle and chocolate stands are spread across the city.
Pop into Chez Albert for a tasty Liège waffle (a sweet waffle made with pearl sugar and eaten while hot and crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside) or the friendly Chocolatier Dumon for dark, creamy, handmade truffles – both at pocket-change prices.
Cozy Cafés and Breweries
There are numerous small cafés and breweries here in Bruges where you can get a big menu selection of great beers from everywhere in Belgium and all kinds of classic snacks for a reasonable price. These places are hidden away in the narrow alleys of Bruges, offering a lot of heat while you can avoid the commotion and discover more about the beer culture of the town at an affordable rate.
Another is the Bruges Oud Zedelijk Genoeg (Old Bruges Enough) café, which is the perfect place to down a cooling Bruges Zot (the name of a locally brewed blonde beer) and wash it down with a plate of bitterballen (deep-fried meat croquettes) or kaaskroketten (cheese croquettes).
Budget-Friendly Fine Dining
Bruges is renowned for its gourmet dining scene, but if you look hard, you will find a few gems serving seriously good food at very reasonable prices. My favorite is De Loge, housed in an old coach house right in the center of town.
The rustic Provençale dining room boasts views out to a cozy courtyard. The traditional Belgian menu is generously priced and includes excellent classics such as waterzooi (a creamy fish stew) and konijnenbout (braised rabbit leg).
If you do a little research and know the right places, then Bruges can give you a pretty respectable fine dining experience for a fraction of what you’d expect.
Antwerp: Urban Flavors on a Budget
Antwerp is a place where food and drink converge most wonderfully. Across the city, there are gourmet food trucks and pop-ups, ethnic enclaves, former industrial regions, and centuries-old beer bars. But Antwerp isn’t just for tourists or the rich and famous – it is also a place where incredible food is affordable, breakfast is a joyous event, and leisure time is relished.
Trendy Food Trucks and Pop-Ups
Having its own BME (that’s Bad Mothership) scene, Antwerp also boasts a prosperous food truck and pop-up scene. You can find almost any type of mobile eatery you’d want, from gourmet burgers to authentic ethnic delights. Check out the Greektown Food Truck or the Spice Baked Truck, among others, for tantalizing meals at student-friendly prices.
Many of these food trucks and pop-ups come together at festivals, markets, and events all over town to create raucous effects and often affordable treats.
Multicultural Neighborhoods
Antwerp’s cultural diversity is represented in its lively, developing, multicultural neighborhoods, where you’ll encounter a swathe of affordable ethnic restaurants.
Around the district of Borgerhout, you’ll find Moroccan and Turkish cafés and restaurants serving tasty tagines, kebabs, and mezze platters for a pittance. Alternatively, go to the district of Linkeroever for Asian fare from all over the continent, from Vietnamese pho to Chinese dim sum.
Belgian Beer Bars and Cafés
A beer lover’s paradise, Antwerp is packed with cozy little beer bars and cafes that feature a wide choice of Belgian brews without breaking the bank.
One such is the Kulminator, a beloved tiny bar with rows and rows of chilled, wooden shelves holding hundreds of Belgian beers. Here, you can go down the occasional foederbier with the front door open and cheery German owners, along with a mixed crowd of locals, rock musicians, students, or just passersby passing the time and waiting for the day to end.
Here’s some more food for thought on the best places to get your fricadelles in Brussels, Belgium.
Kulminator: sit up at the old bar to quaff your Belgian ale and snack on cheap bar food – you could eat for four days on the cost of London’s prix-fixe ‘taster menus’ of half a dozen dishes. The mix of loud conversation and convivial banter gives it the feeling of a quintessential Antwerp dining experience – on a budget.
Tips for Eating Cheap in Belgium
With a dizzying array of budget eats on offer in Belgium, there are a few well-kept secrets that will ensure your belly is permanently sated without breaking the bank.
Embrace street food
Street food in Belgium still offers incredible value; seek out markets, food stalls, and pop-ups to sample local favorites at a wallet-friendly price.
Look for lunch specials
In Belgium, for instance, plenty of restaurants offer lunch menus or fixed-priced meals for a reduced cost during the mid-day period. These are great opportunities to obtain a quality meal at a lower price than usual.
Seek out student-friendly areas
Districts like university areas, for instance, can often be prime hunting grounds for cheap food (as shown in the city of Ghent above).
Indulge in Belgian beers
Belgium is known for its beers, and although some might be pricey imports, many bars and pubs around the cities offer cheap beer, especially compared with cocktails or wine. Drinking Belgian ale can help you shake off the jetlag and gently slide into the Belgian way of life.
Embrace the market culture
There is no better place to find local, seasonal produce at bargain prices in Belgium than local markets. And as a bonus, street food. Sausages, beignets, oysters, and some of the best food around are found at these bargain-basement prices, and all are best enjoyed off the beaten path. Market culture embracing, wallet-friendly, happy eating.
If you follow these tips and enjoy the myriad of cheap restaurant options in Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, and even Antwerp, you can eat your way through Belgian flavors at a fraction of the price.
Final Words
Belgium’s cuisine is innovative and forward-thinking yet old-school and homey. I haven’t seen a country that offers better quality food at such reasonable prices. Cheap eats radiate throughout the country, from the fries and waffles that have made Belgium’s cuisine famous to the casual cafés and multicultural restaurants.