Where to eat in Bruges: Flemish stews, shrimp croquettes and bistros, with opening days

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Bruges restaurants keep short weeks, and Monday is the hardest day: Cafedraal, Den Amand, Bistro Refter and Den Gouden Karpel are shut on Sunday and Monday, and De Vlaamsche Pot opens only Wednesday to Sunday. For stoofvlees, the beef stew braised in beer, go to De Vlaamsche Pot or ‘t Zwart Huis. For a set lunch, Cafedraal (€36), Bistro Refter (€35) or Goesepitte43 (€39). For shrimp croquettes and a long menu, Pieter Pourbus; for North Sea fish, Den Gouden Karpel on the Vismarkt. For a waffle, Otto Waffle Atelier is open daily 10:00 to 18:00. Or book a tour: the private food tour with ten tastingsad (from €139, 4.6 stars from 102 reviews) covers savoury and sweet tastings in three hours, so you need not book several small restaurants that close on different days.

⚠️ Check the day before you walk over. Every kitchen below is closed on at least one weekday. The table shows which days.

Food tours worth paying for

A food tour is the quick way to taste more than one dish if you have a single evening, and it spares you the closed days in the table above.

Private food tour with ten tastings

From €139 · 4.6 stars from 102 reviews · 3 hours · private

Bruges: Private Food Tour – 10 Tastings with Localsad combines savoury, sweet and drinks tastings with city highlights between the stops. The €139 “from” price is the cheapest option in the product.

Belgian food and historical walking tour

From €80 · 3.9 stars from 24 reviews · 2.5 hours

Bruges: Belgian Food Tour + Historical Walking Tourad visits stops for waffles, chocolate, fries and beer with a local guide, and you can choose a tasting package or buy what you like.

Waffle-making workshop

From €39 · 4.6 stars from 241 reviews · 1.5 hours

Bruges: 1.5-Hour Waffle-Making Workshop – All You Can Eatad teaches the batter, the baking and the toppings, and ends with unlimited waffles.

The restaurants below take bookings directly and need no tour. For a plan that puts meals around the sights, see 2 or 3 days in Bruges and Bruges in one day.

Flemish dishes and where to order them

Stoofvlees, beef stewed in beer, served with frites, salad and a beer. Photo: Andrew Nash, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Restaurants

De Vlaamsche Pot

Helmstraat 3-5 · Wednesday to Friday from 17:30, Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 · card guarantee on bookings

A “living-room restaurant” serving Flemish home cooking, with stoofvlees as the dish it names first. Starters are served only with a main course, dishes cannot be shared, and the restaurant has no wifi. Bookings need a credit-card guarantee, and it says it keeps €35 from no-shows. Minimum age is 14 on its concept page (12 on its contact page). It accepts Visa, Eurocard and Bancontact, and serves waffles and pancakes in the afternoon.

Den Amand

Sint-Amandsstraat 4 · Tuesday to Saturday 12:00 to 14:00 and 18:00 to 21:00, closed Sunday and Monday · phone bookings only

A bistro on a small traffic-free square beside the Markt, with an open kitchen run by chef An Vissers. The menu follows the season, with fish, meat and vegetarian dishes served with generous vegetables, and wild-game stews when they come into season. It takes bookings by phone on +32 50 34 01 22, not online, and gives the table away after 15 minutes without word.

‘t Zwart Huis

Kuipersstraat 23 · Monday and Thursday to Sunday from 17:00, kitchen 17:00 to 22:00 · closed Tuesday and Wednesday

A bistro that reopened in late 2025 with a Flemish menu: stoofvlees with Trappist beer, vol-au-vent of Bruges corn-fed chicken, cod Ostend-style and homemade shrimp and cheese croquettes. It pours 18 draught beers and holds live-music evenings on dates listed on its site. It opens at 17:00.

Cafedraal

Zilverstraat 38 · closed Sunday and Monday · two-course lunch €36, Tuesday to Saturday

A restaurant in the shadow of the Sint-Salvatorskathedraal, five minutes’ walk from the Markt and ‘t Zand, with a regular menu, tapas, seasonal suggestions and a courtyard garden for warm days. The lunch menu changes every week and is posted on its site. Book by phone on +32 50 34 08 45 or through its site. It is closed on 24 to 26 December 2026, 1 and 2 January 2027 and 16 to 30 March 2027, and open on the evening of 31 December.

Pieter Pourbus

Pieter Pourbusstraat 1 · kitchen Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday 17:30 to 20:45, Sunday 12:00 to 13:30 and 17:30 to 20:45 · closed Wednesday and Thursday

A restaurant in a building from 1561, named after the 16th-century painter who may have worked there. The à la carte menu runs from shrimp croquettes (€24) and gratinated oysters (€29 for four) to a rib eye (€39), scallops (€42) and lobster (€64). Chef Xavier Popelier has cooked there for 20 years. It accepts bookings of up to six people, on +32 50 34 11 45.

Bistro Refter

Molenmeers 2 · closed Sunday and Monday · lunch €35, seasonal menu €69

A bistro with a terrace, serving a three-course seasonal menu at €69 (glazed pork belly or marinated salmon, then hutsepot “Royal” or market fish, then rice pudding) and a €35 lunch from Tuesday to Saturday. The à la carte menu starts at €27 for a starter, €33 for a main. Book by phone on +32 50 44 49 00.

Goesepitte43

Goezeputstraat 43 · lunch 12:00 to 13:30, dinner from 18:30 · closed Wednesday, Thursday lunch and Sunday · seats 20

Chef Jan Supply cooks with a Mibrasa, a charcoal oven, and puts vegetables on the plate as more than a side. The restaurant calls its style “bistronomy”: a business lunch is €39, including on Saturday, and the Saturday-evening menu is four courses at €85. It holds 20 diners, so book ahead. Visit Bruges lists Jan Supply among the local chefs whose tips it collects in Flavourite Bruges.

Den Gouden Karpel

Vismarkt 9-11 · restaurant Tuesday to Saturday 12:00 to 14:00 and 18:30 to 21:00 · closed Sunday and Monday · reservations not required

A fish restaurant, fish bar and fishmonger on the Vismarkt that buys at the Zeebrugge fish auction. The restaurant names a seafood platter, lobster in garlic butter, a North Sea fish waterzooi and Normandy-style sole strips as its chef’s signature dish, and the fish bar serves bar snacks such as shrimp croquettes and smoked eel. The shop at Huidenvettersplein 4 sells fish Tuesday to Saturday 8:00 to 18:00 and prepares take-home dishes. Booking is not required, but it takes reservations on +32 50 33 34 94.

The Vismarkt, with its colonnade and the Burg buildings behind. Photo: Marc Ryckaert, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The colonnade dates from 1820, and Visit Bruges calls it the oldest preserved fish market in Belgium; fresh seafood is still sold there from Wednesday to Saturday morning (Visit Bruges).

Waffles and frites

Otto Waffle Atelier

Katelijnestraat 1 · daily 10:00 to 18:00

Waffles made from oat dough and unrefined organic coconut blossom sugar, baked in an unusual shape and topped with fruit compotes and purées. They are dairy-free and gluten-free, and can be made vegan.

Frietmuseum

Vlamingstraat 33 · daily 10:00 to 17:00, last ticket 16:15 · adults €12, students and over-65s €10, ages 3 to 11 €7

A museum of the fry, with food on site, that takes about 45 minutes to visit. It is closed on 25 December and 1 January and closes at 16:00 on 24 and 31 December. A combined ticket with Choco-Story costs €22.50 for adults; see the chocolate shops guide. The Frietmuseum lists the other prices.

Huidenvettersplein, the small square next to the Vismarkt. Photo: Zeisterre, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Paying and tipping

Service is already in the price in Belgian restaurants, and tipping is optional. Visit Bruges says 5% to 10% of the bill is the typical amount for good service, and at a café you can round up (Visit Bruges). De Vlaamsche Pot names Visa, Eurocard and Bancontact as the cards it takes, so ask at the others if you carry a different card.

Plan the rest of the day

Pair a table with a beer at the bars and breweries on our beer page, buy pralines at the chocolate shops, or fill the hours between meals with free things to do in Bruges and the one-day Bruges itinerary.

Common questions

What is the dish to eat in Bruges?

Stoofvlees, a Flemish beef stew braised in beer and served with frites. 't Zwart Huis cooks its stoofvlees with Trappist beer and De Vlaamsche Pot lists it as its signature dish.

Do I need to book a restaurant in Bruges?

Book the small ones. De Vlaamsche Pot asks for a credit-card guarantee and says it keeps €35 from no-shows. Den Amand takes bookings by phone only and releases the table after 15 minutes. Pieter Pourbus accepts reservations for up to six people. Goesepitte43 seats 20.

Which Bruges restaurants are closed on Sunday and Monday?

Cafedraal, Den Amand, Bistro Refter and Den Gouden Karpel are closed on both days. De Vlaamsche Pot is open Wednesday to Sunday only, Pieter Pourbus is closed on Wednesday and Thursday, and 't Zwart Huis is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

How much does a meal cost in Bruges?

Cafedraal's two-course lunch is €36 from Tuesday to Saturday and changes weekly. Bistro Refter's lunch is €35 and its seasonal menu €69. Goesepitte43 has a €39 business lunch. At Pieter Pourbus a rib eye is €39 and shrimp croquettes are €24 as a starter.

Do I have to tip in Bruges?

No. Visit Bruges says hotels and restaurants add service to their prices, and tipping is optional. If you do, 5% to 10% of the bill is the usual amount, or round up at a café.