Restaurant review #1 – Some British friends told us that in one of the small alleys not too far from ‘tZand, they’d seen a sign in front of a restaurant that mentioned ‘vegan’. What?? really??

Restaurant Réliva, Bruges

After searching on the internet, we stumbled upon the website of restaurant Réliva. Their menu explicitly mentions “vegan”, which we haven’t seen much yet in these parts of the woods.
We telephoned to check whether vegan was really possible, explicitly stating this is without butter, cheese and eggs (‘yeah sure, no problem, that’s all possible‘), and we promptly made our reservation!

appetizer: Season’s salade with fresh raw vegetables, pine nuts and Thai pepper salsa

The general menu card (à la carte) mentions some vegetarian items, including a vegan dish. The specific menus also list a Veggiemenu (35euro), with a vegan option for the appetizer, main dish and dessert.

Organic quinoa with red lentils, peas, paksoi, shiitake, broccoli and purslane with Dhania Massala dressing, coriander and sesame	baked terryaki tempeh with organic salad and tabouleh
Lemon sorbet with vodka and lime	slush (smoothie) with organic red fruits

The vegan menu (35 €) was:

• Season’s salade with fresh raw vegetarbles, pine nuts and Thai pepper salsa 
• Organic quinoa with red lentils, peas, paksoi, shiitake, broccoli and purslane with Dhania Massala dressing, coriander and sesame 
• Lemon sorbet with vodka and lime 

To our surprise, at the time of our visit, one of the suggestions for a main course was also vegan! Namely baked terryaki tempeh with organic salad and tabouleh (19€). So we even had different options to choose from! Very nice that we each could order a different menu. For dessert, I took a slush (smoothie) with organic red fruits.

The dishes were delicious, nicely presented and service was swift! There also an extensive list of beverages, with lots of wines which can be ordered per glass.
After dinner, we had a chat with the host, who told us that the restaurant has opened about a year ago. His girlfriend, early twenties, is the chef of the restaurant. They aren’t vegetarian or vegan themselves (and it is a traditional restaurant with meat and fish on the menu) but because of lactose intolerance, the chef had started looking for alternatives for dairy. They want to use as much organic products as possible.
The suggestions change at regular intervals, so the suggestion I had isn’t always vegan, be he assured is that there will always be a vegan dish on the menu. Great!

Going out for dinner in Bruges as a vegan is not so obvious. There are not that many restaurants that (want to) offer vegan food. This new discovery (we went here in the summer of 2013) was a pleasant surprise. We will surely visit again!

EDIT: See several reviews HERE. Our last visit was beginning of 2017.
UPDATE Summer 2017: prices have increased, vegan options have decreased (only one vegan option), and strict and selective reservation policy (eg pay deposit to confirm reservation).
– UPDATE 2022: Réliva is no longer serving vegan dishes, also not on request. So disappointing …

Restaurant Réliva
Goezeputstraat 6
8000 Brugge / Bruges
050/33.13.07

location on Google maps

Restaurant Réliva, Bruges

See our lists of restaurants where vegans are welcome – in and around Bruges – in the menu section of The Bruges vegan!