Shortly after arriving in Bruges and settling into our B&B, Andrew and I headed out on a walk and stopped for a drink at t’ Terrastje, a little gem where I got a flight of Belgian beers.

Our host, Lut, highly recommended the De Veloren Hoek, a restaurant within walking distance open that night.  We absolutely loved it!  Andrew and I shared a great bottle of wine, and I had some of the best moussaka ever.  We didn’t wait long for a table under the awning and were very well taken care of by our waiter, Thomas, and the owner, Daniel. We went back for lunch with some Brits from our bike tour later in the week!

I was craving truly Belgian food one night, so we popped into The Habit, a little hole-in-the-wall place with just a few tables.  I had THE BEST mussels I’ve ever had, hands down.  They called them the ‘Sophia Loren’ mussels since they had a bit of a kick.  I loved that instead of a simple wine broth, it was filled with delicious crunchy leeks and onions and celery. Delish!

On our bike tour, we stopped into Café Vlissinghe for a drink with the group.  It’s the oldest establishment in Bruges!  While there, we saw our host and her husband eating lunch, a sure-fire way to know you’ve found a local gem. Andrew and I went back later on for a drink in the evening another night.

After four days in Bruges, I realized we hadn’t gotten any Belgian waffles yet!  Sacrilege! Andrew knew of a Rick-recommended place off the main square, Fred’s Waffles, and it did not disappoint one bit.  Most waffle vendors simply throw a packaged waffle onto a grill; Fred’s made ours’ from scratch and you could smell them cooking a mile away!  So delicious and a great way to end our time in Belgium.