Waffles and Belgium seem to go hand in hand. Apart from maybe America, no other country has a closer connection to the sweet, tasty treat. So of course I had to search for the best waffles in Brussels during my recent stay there.

Waffles were the first thing I ate after arriving in Brussels and the last thing I ate before leaving. Before I waffle on any further, I should come clean. I didn’t actually realise that there are two main types of waffles in Belgium. I’ve had both before, but have only now made the connection.

The Brussels waffle, or what we typically call Belgian waffles, have “a lighter batter, larger squares, and deeper pockets than American waffles” according to Wikipedia and are often served with toppings. I feel like this is what I usually picture when I think about Belgian waffles.

Meanwhile, Wikipedia notes for the Liège waffle: “it is smaller, the dough is a dense and heavy brioche, it contains pearl sugar, and… is traditionally eaten plain“. I think I’ve most often come across this type of waffle pre-packaged at the supermarket.

I ended up trying both types while roaming around Brussels… and maybe broke the rules by having a Liège waffle with a topping. Anyway, here’s a non-exhaustive list of the best waffles in Brussels.

1. Belgian Waffles

After arriving at Brussel-Centraal station from Amsterdam, I took a detour on the way to my hostel. After a short walk, I arrived at the creatively named Belgian Waffles. With a 4.6 rating on Google and close to 1,300 reviews, it seemed like a solid option for a late breakfast.

After a quick explanation about the two types of waffles, I went with a Brussels waffle. I somewhat regrettably chose speculoos as my one and only topping. I took a seat outside and after a few minutes was served my hot and fresh waffle.

My regret wasn’t because it was bad or anything, it was in fact delicious. I just think I would have been better off choosing fruit, chocolate and/or cream. I’d be happy to literally drink speculoos (biscoff) syrup but it does make things claggy.

While my taste arguably isn’t, the waffle itself was great. With just a single topping, it cost me €7 ($11.50). All things considered, I rate Belgian Waffles 4/5.

2. Galet

While researching a place to get a quick grab-and-go waffle, I came across Galet. There are multiple Galet stores around Brussels. I went to the highest rated one with 4.4 stars and 1,350 reviews.

This seems to be the kind of place that always has a line. There was also only one person working when I went. After waiting around 10 minutes or so, I got to the side counter, ordered and went to the front to wait. Keeping on theme, I went with speculoos again.

Rather than being spread on top, the flavours here seem to be mixed into the waffle. Since these are Liège waffles, they are quite sweet but I didn’t think mine had enough speculoos flavour.

The best choice here seems to be chocolate. When people ordered these, I saw the worker insert chocolate batons into fresh waffles like a chocolate croissant. Sadly it was too late for me to get one and I wasn’t waiting in line again. Like the waffle’s €3.50 ($5.75) price tag, I give Galet 3.5/5.

3. Obe Belgian waffles

Another highly rated waffle place that pops up on Google is Obe Belgian waffles. The store, which is listed as a “frozen yogurt shop”, has a 4.6 rating and 520 reviews.

This time I went all out and got multiple toppings. I went with the second suggestion on their menu called caramel, a Brussels waffle with “full caramel crunch & caramel sauce”.

This was pretty disappointing. I’m not exactly sure what the caramel crunch was meant to be. My waffle just had average caramel sauce with equally average caramel chocolate shavings on top.

At least it was hot and, coming it at €5.90 ($9.70), it wasn’t the most expensive waffle I tried. 2.5/5.

4. Random waffle van

Wandering around the city, you’ll regularly come across random vans serving waffles. These are particularly common around hotspots, but seem to be popular with tourists and locals alike.

These usually serve Liège waffles. I was originally going to get a plain one. But then I changed my mind at the last minute and got caramel sauce on top.

The sauce, which I think was the same one used by Obe, detracted from the whole thing. I shouldn’t have been influenced by the people in front of me in line and just stuck with plain.

These are both cheap and easy to find anywhere. Plain costs only €2.50 ($4.10) and with a topping costs €3.50 ($5.75). Worthy of a 3.5/5 rating in my opinion.

5. Australian (?)

Imagine my surprise when I spotted multiple Australian-branded waffle outlets when walking around the streets of Brussels. We love our Belgian waffles, so do Belgians love their Australian waffles?

Probably not based on my experience. I spotted a good deal for a hot drink and waffle for €5. I ordered for a hot chocolate but they were out so I went with a cappuccino. (This is about waffles, but for some reason I was given a coffee filled with whipped cream…)

I wouldn’t bother going here, as the waffle was the worst I tried. It was doughy and sticky to the point of clinging to the cardboard wrapper. This was a 1.5/5 waffle from a 0/5 store, because they also charged me €6 instead of €5 for no reason. How un-Australian.

It would be interesting to know this place’s connection to Australia. It has the vibes of Häagen-Dazs where they’ve just chosen a name that sounds exotic or foreign. In any case, it’s not worth it. The one I went to is just a short walk from Galet, so go there instead.