Chocolate Tours BrusselsThe Best Waffles in Brussels
The best waffles Brussels sells come in two kinds, and knowing which one you want is half the answer. This guide separates the Brussels waffle from the Liège waffle, lists the shops the sources actually name with their addresses and prices, and shows which guided tours fold a waffle into the walk. If your sweet stop of choice is chocolate instead, the best chocolate in Brussels has its own page. The bookable tours are compared on all chocolate tours in Brussels.
A Brussels waffle dusted with powdered sugar in the city centre. Photo: Fernando Losada Rodríguez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quick answer Best waffles in Brussels
Inside Brussels lists the cheapest named waffle at €1, a plain Liège waffle at Le Funambule on Rue de l'Etuve 42, with chocolate versions around €3, while another guide gives €3 to €6 there. Brussels has two waffle traditions and they are not interchangeable. The Brussels waffle is light, crisp and rectangular, eaten warm with icing sugar. The Liège waffle is dense brioche dough with caramelised pearl sugar, eaten plain by hand.
Key takeaways
- Pick your waffle first: the two types differ in dough, sugar and texture, see Brussels Waffle or Liège Waffle.
- Named shops and stalls with addresses and prices are listed under Where to Eat a Waffle.
- Three guided walks include a waffle, starting at $50 per person, compared in Waffles on a Tour.
- The pick for waffle lovers is the History, Chocolate and Waffle Tour, which starts with a fresh waffle on Rue Lebeau.
Brussels Waffle or Liège Waffle
Two different waffles carry the Belgian name, and the difference starts in the dough.
The Two Waffles Side by Side
Most of the rows below come from Focus on Belgium and Wikipedia, with the recorded dimensions of the Brussels waffle included so you know what to expect on the plate. The shorthand "Belgian waffle" used in English-speaking countries hides this split, because inside Belgium people use the regional names instead.
One historical note belongs here. The oldest recognised reference to Brussels waffles points to the Swiss baker Florian Dacher around 1842 to 1843, and Philippe Cauderlier printed the first recorded recipe in his 1874 cookbook. Ghent credits Maximilien Consael with a yeast waffle sold at the 1856 Brussels Fair, though he claimed 1839. The first full Liège waffle recipe appeared only in 1921, with recipes from 1814 to 1834 gradually adding brioche dough and caramelised sugar.
| Feature | Brussels waffle | Liège waffle |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Rectangular with straight sides, about 17.3 to 18 cm long, 10 to 11.2 cm wide and 2.8 to 3.2 cm thick, with 15 or 20 deep square holes | Denser brioche-based waffle |
| Dough | Butter, milk, flour, salt, egg yolks and whisked egg whites in the traditional recipe, with no yeast and no beer, Wikipedia adds that some versions use egg-white or yeast leavening, traditionally ale yeast | An adaptation of brioche dough |
| Sugar | Sweetness comes from the topping, such as icing sugar | Chunks of pearl sugar that caramelise on the iron |
| Texture | Lighter and crisper, with larger pockets | Richer, denser, sweeter and chewier, with a sticky bite |
| How it is eaten | Warm, traditionally with icing sugar, whipped cream or strawberries, tourist areas add cream, fruit or chocolate spread | Plain, often sold as a handheld street snack |
Which One to Order
If you want a fork-and-plate dessert, order the Brussels waffle and dress it lightly. The traditional toppings are icing sugar, whipped cream and strawberries, and the large pockets carry them well. Popular extras at modern counters include speculoos crumbs, chocolate sauce, fresh fruit, hazelnuts, cherries and chantilly cream.
If you want to keep walking, buy a Liège waffle and eat it from the paper bag with nothing on it. The caramelised pearl sugar has already done the work, and locals traditionally take it plain. A useful detail for the road: in the 1800s, waffle shops clustered around Vrijheidsplein in Brussels.
Sources: Focus on Belgium, Wikipedia
Where to Eat a Waffle
Every place below is named by a published source, with the address as the source gives it. Prices in euros are exactly as listed.
Le Funambule
Rue de l'Etuve 42, on the same street as Manneken Pis, which sits at the junction of Rue du Chene and Rue de l'Etuve. Inside Brussels lists the plain Liège waffle at €1 and chocolate versions around €3, while Girl with the Passport puts the range at €3 to €6, so expect some spread between listings. Bruxelles Secrete adds that eating on site costs €2 extra, which makes the takeaway price the real headline here.
Maison Dandoy
Rue au Beurre 31, with another address listed at Galerie du Roi 2 in the Galeries Royales. The house was founded in 1829 by the baker Jean-Baptiste Dandoy and is now run by the seventh generation across 13 stores. Inside Brussels reports long queues at weekends.
Girl with the Passport prices a waffle with coffee at about €10, while Inside Brussels, in a search result, gives about €20 for two waffles with toppings and two coffees. Check the shop for current prices. This is the classic sit-down choice.
Aux Gaufres de Bruxelles
Rue Marche aux Herbes 113, per Inside Brussels, which notes the shop has been open since 1970 and serves early enough for breakfast. The source does not list a price, a waffle type or opening hours for this address, so check on arrival rather than planning around a number.
Gaufres & Waffles
Galerie du Roi 6, inside the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, the 213-metre glass-roofed passage inaugurated in 1847. Girl with the Passport lists waffles from €8.50, open Wednesday to Sunday from 12:00 to 19:00. Inside Brussels describes the concept as toppings devised by a Michelin trained chef.
Chez Gaston
Quai aux Briques 86 per Inside Brussels. The listing places it among the city's waffle stops but gives no price, no opening hours and no description of the waffles themselves, so treat it as a name and an address to verify locally. Nothing further about this address is stated by the sources.
Waffles 'n Beers
Place de la Vieille Halle aux Bles 27, listed by Bruxelles Secrete. The source gives an address only, with no price, hours or waffle style, so it is a lead rather than a verified recommendation. If you are combining a waffle with an afternoon of beer, the Cantillon brewery guide covers the lambic half of the day.
Veganwaf'
Galerie Agora 48, listed by Bruxelles Secrete as the vegan option among the city's waffle addresses. Bruxelles Secrete gives no prices or hours for the shop, so treat the address as the confirmed fact and everything else as unconfirmed. It is the only plant-based name in the source lists.
Mokafe
Mokafe Taverne sits at Galerie du Roi 9 inside the Galeries Royales per Bruxelles Secrete, and Girl with the Passport lists waffles from €3.90 and advises the Mikado waffle with thick chocolate sauce. Two sources, one address area, so it is well corroborated. The galleries hold about seventy shops, which means you can combine the waffle with chocolate browsing under the same glass roof.
Waffle Factory
Rue du Lombard 30, listed by Girl with the Passport with waffles from €4.70. The source gives a starting price but no upper price, no waffle type and no opening hours, which is common for the chain-style counters in these lists. For the chocolate history, see Choco-Story Brussels at Rue de l'Etuve 41.
Belgaufra
Rue Neuve 102, at about €4 per Girl with the Passport. The address number is the most precise thing the sources give, alongside the price. No opening hours or waffle variety are stated.
Galet
Boulevard Anspach 2, with waffles from €4.95 per Girl with the Passport. No walking time from the Grand-Place is given. The listing gives a starting price only.
Belgian Waffles
Rue du Marche aux Poulets 51, at about €6 per Girl with the Passport. The name on the sign is the generic one, and as the sources note, the label Belgian waffle is used mostly in English-speaking countries while Belgium itself uses the regional names, so ask which of the two waffles is being served before you order.
Los Churros and Waffles
Rue du Marche aux Herbes 87, per Girl with the Passport. It is on the same street as Aux Gaufres de Bruxelles at number 113, and the Galeries Royales address is Rue du Marche aux Herbes 90. The source gives the name and address only, with no price, hours or waffle type, so it rounds out the street rather than competing on detail.
Woodpecker
Bruxelles Secrete lists Woodpecker for savoury waffles served with eggs, chorizo or goat cheese, which makes it the outlier on this page since every other name sells the sweet versions. The source gives no street address, no price and no hours, so you will need to locate it before you plan around it. For anyone travelling with a companion who refuses dessert for breakfast, it is the one name on the list that solves that argument.
No further detail about the waffles is stated.
Waffles on a Tour
Three guided walks in the comparison fold a waffle into the route. The table shows the list price in dollars exactly as the booking platforms give it, the running time and what the waffle moment actually is, so you can see that none of the three lists lunch, hotel pickup or admission.
Comparing the Waffle Tours
The History, Chocolate and Waffle Tour starts with a fresh waffle at Waffle Heritage on Rue Lebeau 25, with coffee or tea mentioned in the meeting-point text, and then covers Grand Place, Manneken Pis, the Saint-Hubert Royal Galleries, the cathedral and Mont des Arts in 2.5 hours with groups capped at 14, for $50 per person at 4.8 from 1,531 reviews. No museum admission is listed. The Beer, Chocolate and Fries Tour runs 2 to 3 hours at $79.93 per person and includes 8 premium chocolates, a flight of 4 Belgian beers and a choice of a waffle or fries, the only one of the three where the waffle competes with the fries.
The Chocolate, Beer, Waffle and Whiskey Tour is the long form at 5.5 hours and $170.14 per person, capped at 10 with a minimum age of 16 and a minimum booking of 2 travellers, and it includes a plated waffle in the Royal Galleries.
| Tour | Price | Hours | The waffle |
|---|---|---|---|
| History, Chocolate and Waffle Tour | $50 per person | 2.5 hours | Starts the tour, a fresh waffle at Rue Lebeau 25 |
| Beer, Chocolate and Fries Tour | $79.93 per person | 2-3 hours | A choice of waffle or fries, with 8 chocolates and 4 beers |
| Chocolate, Beer, Waffle and Whiskey Tour | $170.14 per person | 5.5 hours | A plated waffle in the Royal Galleries |
What None of Them Include
None of the three lists lunch, hotel pickup or museum admission, and all three offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. If your priority is the waffle rather than the walk, the tour that names it first is the History, Chocolate and Waffle Tour, because the waffle opens the itinerary rather than appearing as a stop. If you would rather build your own waffle day, the shops in the section above are the place to start, and the chocolate side of the city is covered in the guide to the best chocolate in Brussels.
A Liège waffle with its caramelised crust, photographed in Laeken, Brussels. Photo: Fernando Losada Rodríguez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Waffle Tips for Brussels
Short rules, each with the reason attached.
Do
- Do eat a Liège waffle plain, because the pearl sugar caramelises on the iron and gives it its chewy sticky bite, and the tradition is to take it as a handheld street snack.
- Do eat a Brussels waffle warm, because street vendors serve it warm with icing sugar and the crisp texture is the point of that recipe.
- Do try both kinds in one day, because they differ in dough, sugar and texture and choosing a favourite without tasting each is guesswork.
- Do start early at Aux Gaufres de Bruxelles on Rue Marche aux Herbes 113, because Inside Brussels notes it has opened for breakfast since 1970 and the weekend queues elsewhere are long.
- Do budget €2 extra to sit down at Le Funambule, because Bruxelles Secrete lists that as the on-site surcharge over the takeaway price.
Don't
- Don't expect a Liège waffle to need toppings, because the sweetness is baked in through the caramelised pearl sugar and adding more is not the custom.
- Don't queue at Maison Dandoy at peak weekend hours without a plan, because Inside Brussels reports long weekend queues at the Rue au Beurre 31 shop.
- Don't ask for a Belgian waffle in Belgium and assume the label means one recipe, because the name is used mostly in English-speaking countries while Belgium uses the regional names.
- Don't assume the historic Brussels batter contained yeast or beer, because Focus on Belgium says the traditional recipe has neither, though Wikipedia says some versions traditionally used ale yeast.
Waffle Questions
What is the difference between a Brussels waffle and a Liège waffle?
A Brussels waffle is a light, crisp batter waffle with rectangular sides, larger pockets and 15 to 20 deep square holes, eaten warm with icing sugar. A Liège waffle is brioche dough with chunks of pearl sugar that caramelise on the iron, so it is denser, sweeter, chewier and eaten plain. The full comparison is in the Brussels Waffle or Liège Waffle section.
Where is the best waffle in Brussels?
No official ranking exists. The guides name Maison Dandoy at Rue au Beurre 31 for a sit-down waffle with coffee at about €10, Le Funambule at Rue de l'Etuve 42 for a plain Liège waffle at €1 per Inside Brussels, and Gaufres & Waffles at Galerie du Roi 6 for chef-devised toppings from €8.50. All the named addresses are in Where to Eat a Waffle.
How much does a waffle cost in Brussels?
Listed prices run from €1 for a plain Liège waffle at Le Funambule (Girl with the Passport gives €3 to €6 there) to about €10 for a Maison Dandoy waffle with coffee. Mokafe, Waffle Factory, Belgaufra and Galet list prices from €3.90 to €4.95. Bruxelles Secrete adds a €2 surcharge to eat on site at Le Funambule. Guided walks that include a waffle start at $50 per person, as shown in Waffles on a Tour.
What toppings go on a Brussels waffle?
The traditional toppings are icing sugar, whipped cream and strawberries, per Focus on Belgium, while tourist areas add cream, fruit or chocolate spread. Modern counters list speculoos crumbs, chocolate sauce, fresh fruit, hazelnuts, cherries and chantilly cream, and Mokafe is advised for its Mikado waffle with thick chocolate sauce. The toppings logic follows the two waffle types, since the Liège version needs nothing.
Is there a waffle tour in Brussels?
Yes. Three guided walks include a waffle: the History, Chocolate and Waffle Tour at $50 per person opens with a fresh waffle at Rue Lebeau 25, the Beer, Chocolate and Fries Tour at $79.93 offers a waffle or fries, and the Chocolate, Beer, Waffle and Whiskey Tour at $170.14 includes a plated waffle in the Royal Galleries. None lists lunch or hotel pickup.
Are waffles actually Belgian?
Waffles have been eaten in Europe for centuries and are not a Belgian invention, VRT notes, but the two waffles this page covers are regional Belgian recipes with recorded histories: the Brussels waffle traced to Florian Dacher around 1842 to 1843 with a first printed recipe in 1874, and the Liège waffle credited to the chef of the Prince-Bishop of Liège in the 18th century with a first full recipe in 1921. The histories sit in the Brussels Waffle or Liège Waffle section.