Restaurant review #301 – Monkey eleven is a rather new place in town, it opened nearly two years ago, in the beginning of 2020. There are several vegan options standardly available. The style is of ‘healthy fastfood’. Each section of the menu has a vegan option (vegan pizza, wrap, bowl).
restaurant review #297 – The Olive Street Food is a small take-away place in the city centre of Bruges, very close to the central Market and the belfry (like, 5 steps away!). It is associated with the Olive Tree restaurant a bit further down the street. We had take away from The Olive Street Food a couple of weeks ago, on a sunny Sunday in Bruges.
restaurant review #273 – Fitchen is a chain of restaurants with locations in Ghent, Antwerp and since the Summer of 2020 also one in Bruges. It is located in the Zilversteeg (an alley leading to the shopping center Zilverpand), near ‘t Zand. You can also choose to take your lunch with, as they offer take-away.
restaurant review #174 – Pret a Manger is a ‘healthy’ fastfood chain with several restos around the world (UK, US, France, and now also one in the Netherlands in Utrecht). One can easily recognise the restaurants with the distinguishable red logo. Pret A Manger offers light breakfast and lunch options, like soup, salads, baguettes and wraps, and has several items suitable for vegans. Some of their locations are also vegetarian (veggie prets, with vegan options) and have a characteristic green design. We have visited several Pret a Manger in London. Technically, this is not really a restaurant review, as we did not have our meals on site, but simply bought take away. But I wanted to post some photos of the food we bought at Pret a Manger during our last trip to London. All in all: good value for money, a good and freshly prepared snack. The amount of plastic packaging is a real pity though. The website mentions that Pret a Manger wants to have 100% recycable, reusable or compostable plastic, and eliminate all unnecessary …
Restaurant review #112 – Bistro Piazza in Louvain (Leuven) is a traditional brasserie style restaurant just opposite the train station of Louvain (So a 15 minute walk from the city center). It is large spacious place (high ceiling) and has a stylish atmosphere. We were here a couple of months ago in December 2016, and there were Christmas decorations up. UPDATE: the Place is now called ‘Grand Café Industrie‘, and has been renovated since. Bistro Piazza is regular (non-vegan) bistro with the usual suspects on the menu: croques, croquettes, spaghetti etc. Since a couple of months, there is also a seperate vegan menu, which is clearly indicated. Even with mention that it is served with vegan bread. I telephone beforehand to make a reservation and inquired about the vegan options. Unfortunately the vegan burger was no longer available (the burger they had used was from Boni – Colruyt and Colruyt changed it and made it non-vegan – so they were still looking for an alternative). The vegan gyros was also not available that evening. Bummer! They did mention …
Restaurant review #101 – Reminder – GIVEAWAY to celebrate 100 restaurant reviews & 3 years The Bruges Vegan. Greenway is a Belgian vegetarian brand (restaurants and products) and was founded by Paul Florizoone in the mid nineties. The first Greenway restaurant opened in Ghent in 1996 and I vividly remember it opening at that time (I worked nearby and was thrilled!). Meanwhile there are three Greenway restaurants in Belgium (Ghent, Louvain and Antwerp) and a take-away/foodstall at the railway station of Bruxelles-Midi. I already blogged about the Greenway in Louvain and the Greenway in Antwerp. We stopped for lunch at the Greenway in the train station of Brussels on our way to Vegfest London (see our blog, with also a review of lectures from the intersectionality Conference HERE). We had some spare time before boarding the Eurostar to London, and were a bit anxious whether we would get any (decent) vegan food on the train ride to London, so decided to have something to eat at Greenway beforehand. Vegan options are clearly indicated on the menu. You order at the counter, …
Restaurant review #90 – Vegaverso is a vegan lunch bar in the city center of Louvain. Vegaverso serves mainly sandwiches, burgers and also some hot dishes like stews or pasta (the menu varies). We’ve been here a couple of times before, and impressions from some of those visits can be seen here (#27) and here (#34). Vegaverso is a lovely charming place, soberly but stylishly decorated, with a relaxed atmosphere. Service by Tilly and her mom is always super friendly. It’s semi-self service: you order at the bar, take your drinks with you, and when your food is ready they bring the order to your table. Our you can also buy to take away. update – see below — The menu is pretty extensive, with several burgers, wraps, hotdogs to choose from. Also many different vegan sauces, and different types of bread. The combinations are endless! Also a great variety of vegan pastry and cookies. And the menu changes every once in a while too, so there’s always something new to try. We visited Vegaverso again in July for lunch. This is what we had: …
Restaurant review #79 – Greenway is a Belgian vegetarian brand (restaurants and products) and was founded by Paul Florizoone in the mid nineties. The first Greenway restaurant opened in Ghent in 1996 and I vividly remember it opening at that time (I worked nearby and was thrilled!). Meanwhile there are three Greenway restaurants in Belgium (Ghent, Louvain and Antwerp) and a take-away at the railway station of Brussels-Midi. I visited the Greenway in Antwerp a couple of weeks ago with a friend, and we had some lovely cakes (see blog here). It’s been a while since I’ve been to the ones in Ghent and Louvain, but we visited the Greenway in Louvain again for lunch recently. The Greenway in Louvain is located in the city center, just a short walk from the town hall. It’s a nicely decorated place, lots of space, modern style. Vegan options are indicated on the menu above the counter and on the large board on the wall, where the daily suggestions are written. We ordered at the counter – where you also get your drinks: a Mexican burger …
Restaurant review #10 – Bistro Pastis is one of the few places in Bruges which standardly has vegan main dishes available. We received this tip from vegan friends who had already been here for dinner. There are four vegetarian main dishes standardly available on their menu, of which two are without dairy and eggs. We had previously mailed with the question if we could get a vegan menu, explicitating what we do and don’t eat, and we got an affirmative reply. We went there on a friday evening, some months ago (November 2013). Remarkably, there were hardly any tourists, but a lot of locals. Although Pastis is very close to ‘t Zand, there seems to be little tourist traffic in the Speelmansrei. That night it was very quiet on the street. But the restaurant soon packed. So we do advise you to make a reservation. Tables are spaciously situated, which gives it a calm and more restaurant atmosphere than a bistro impression (at least downstairs, we don’t know about upstairs). Appetizer There’s nothing vegan to choose from on …
Restaurant review #5 – Brasserie Forestière in Bruges lists some vegetarian options on their menu. I had already enjoyed a vegan wrap with tofu when I was there for a work lunch, so we decided to go check it out for dinner. Before going there for dinner, we had asked whether it was possible to get a vegan menu (explaining what this means), and chef Kenny assured us this wouldn’t be a problem, and that certain items on the menu could be adapted à la minute (e.g. leaving dairy items out of the dish). Forestière doesn’t serve any desserts though, only starters (or soup) and a main dish. Forestière is located close to the theater (schouwburg), in the center of Bruges. Upon being seated, we immediately noticed the wide space between the tables. Contrary to many other brasseries or bistros, Forestière is not jam-packed with tables and chairs (they could at least add 10 more tables), and that gives a nice feeling of spaciousness. It gives you some breathing space and you don’t have to …
The Bruges Vegan 