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<\/p>\nThis article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s early morning in February and Brussels is anything but festive. Gusts of rain have blown the streets empty, and the day\u2019s dull light brings a dissonant edge to the city\u2019s blend of architectural styles \u2014 gothic and baroque rubbing shoulders with brutalist and functional. Yet, the aroma from a single waffle van is enough to transport Laurence Bernard. \u201cIt\u2019s a smell of warmth,\u201d she says, \u201clike Christmas every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
A guide from tour operator City Unscripted, Laurence is taking me on a custom-made excursion around her hometown. I\u2019ve come to the Belgian capital to seek out its best waffles (gaufres in French), the crisp, grid-patterned snack that originated in the country and migrated to breakfast buffets, all-day diners and anywhere indulgence is called for. But in a city that takes its food icons seriously \u2014 where chocolate tastings are a standard offering and frites have their own museum \u2014 dedicated waffle experiences are surprisingly few.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re so used to waffles, we didn\u2019t consider them a speciality,\u201d says Laurence, who speaks in bursts, quick-stepping through the city as if on a sugar high herself. We pass shops proffering the snack with rainbow toppings: kiwi, caramel, mounds of whipped cream so generous you can\u2019t be sure what\u2019s underneath. \u201cThese places didn\u2019t exist two decades ago, they developed with tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Town Hall is an example of the city\u2019s gothic architecture.<\/p>\n
Natali Afsar<\/p>\n
With limited guidance and endless choice, the quest for a memorable waffle requires setting your own terms and understanding a few others. The Belgian speciality has two key variations. If you picture the dish, it\u2019s probably the rectangular Brussels kind, light and with a subtle taste. The Li\u00e8ge variety, smaller and rounder, has more flavour and body \u2014 and is a good one to start with.<\/p>\n
Belgian waffles can be traced to the Middle Ages, when a mix of flour and water was pressed between hot metal sheets and sold by street vendors. By the 1500s, these wafers had fluffed up, showing up in paintings by Flemish Masters looking something like the waffles we\u2019d recognise today. Aside from that, Belgians still enjoy the Li\u00e8ge variety much the same: in hand, on the go and without garnish.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, I added toppings, then I tried it plain and thought \u2018Oh my god!\u2019\u201d says Mustapha Zariouhi, dusting a waffle iron with powder sugar, then filling it with balls of dough. \u201cOther spots butter the plates, but done right, a Li\u00e8ge has enough character as it is.\u201d Wearing a black apron printed with a red crown, the Moroccan student has spent the past two years working the grill at Le Roi de la Gaufre (The Waffle King), an unassuming cafe in the city\u2019s historic heart.<\/p>\n
The space was previously home to La Fourche, a bakery some locals would defend as the best in town for Li\u00e8ge waffles. When the owner retired, assistant Abdelhamid Derraz took over his reins and recipe. Now stationed in the kitchen, the Moroccan native and 40-plus-year Brussels resident is a man of few words, but his ingredients are displayed in glass jars for all to see: milk, butter, eggs, flour, yeast and pearl sugar, a Belgian speciality sold in nuggets. Legend has it the Li\u00e8ge waffle was created when an 18th-century Prince-Bishop of Li\u00e8ge \u2014 now a city in east Belgium \u2014 asked for a dessert laced with these candy crystals. Because of their high melting point, they half-succumb to, half-resist sizzling heat, lending a Li\u00e8ge waffle its signature richness and crunch.<\/p>\n
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Mustapha Zariouhi prepares Li\u00e8ge waffles in a grill.<\/p>\n
Natali Afsar<\/p>\n
Mustapha offers me one iron-hot. This, he notes, is key; reheating Li\u00e8ge waffles is more common, but knowing Abdelhamid so well, he wants to do each pastry justice. \u201cWarmed up, a Li\u00e8ge is good,\u201d he says. \u201cFresh, it\u2019s perfect.\u201d I step outside to eat it as tradition commands. The caramelised coat catches the light and cracks gently as I bite into it, honey-yellow and flecked with specks of sugar. It\u2019s caramelised but not saccharine, dense but not chewy \u2014 a balanced sweetness that reminds me of treats eaten at childhood fairs, making me delight in each mouthful.<\/p>\n
Tearoom tradition<\/p>\n
\u201cMaison Dandoy was founded by my grand-grand-grand\u2026\u201d Antoine Helson trails off, counting generations in his head, \u201cseventh great-grandfather.\u201d That was 1829, making his family business one year older than Belgium itself. It made pastry history as one of the first to sell Speculoos, that most Flemish of caramelised biscuits. But ask anyone, and it\u2019s the Brussels waffle for which the bakery, which has become a multi-venue franchise, is locally famed.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve come to try it at Maison Dandoy by the magnificent Grand-Place, the city\u2019s Unesco-listed baroque main square. It was here \u2014 a short walk from the original biscuit shop, still in business on aptly named Rue au Beurre (Butter Street) \u2014 that they started selling waffles in the 1980s. \u201cIt was a dream of my grandmother\u2019s,\u201d says Antoine, who looks younger than his 38 years but nonetheless heads up the company with his brother Alexandre. He shows me a yellowed photo of the woman, crowned with backcombed hair, selling glaces (ice cream) and gaufres to go from a hole in the wall.<\/p>\n
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Maison Dandoy has multiple spots around Brussels.<\/p>\n
Natali Afsar<\/p>\n
Today, the cafe\u2019s takeaway counter draws queues, while the two floors above are for lingering. Waffles became a mainstay of Belgian tearooms in the mid-19th century, and the Brussels variety lends itself particularly well to table dining. Made from a lighter batter and granulated sugar, it not only has to be eaten freshly made, but it\u2019s also a perfect base for toppings. I opt for a Speculoos spread that coats my entire palate, and biscuit crumbs that cut through with peppery spiciness. The waffle itself is light as air, adding a third texture and perfectly balancing the whole bite.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a secret,\u201d says Antoine when I ask what makes his grandmother\u2019s recipe so delicate. \u201cBut we use the best-quality ingredients.\u201d Since being at the helm, Antoine and Alexandre have sourced suppliers who work locally and sustainably; in 2024, Maison Dandoy was awarded a B Corp Certification, which guarantees high environmental and social standards. \u201cMy brother has two children. What can we do for them, today and tomorrow?\u201d asks Antoine. \u201cWe\u2019re thinking about the eighth generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Marla is co-owner of Pardon, a spot for speciality coffee and waffles in Saint-Gilles area.<\/p>\n
Natali Afsar<\/p>\n
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The Grand Place is lined with gold-leafed 17th-century buildings.<\/p>\n
Natali Afsar<\/p>\n
The new classic<\/p>\n
For my last stop, I head to Saint-Gilles, a district south of the historic centre known for its village atmosphere, independent restaurants and trendy nightlife. It\u2019s a place where Pardon fits right in. The speciality coffee and waffles spot is decorated with wall art of its mascot, a grinning gargoyle, and there\u2019s a vintage clothing shop at the back. \u201cWe don\u2019t like to follow rules,\u201d says chef and co-owner Adrien \u2018Robert\u2019 Bertrand, sporting a T-shirt depicting a banana peel dropping missiles. Even the apology in the name is tongue-in-cheek. \u201cWe\u2019re French, but we reinvented the Belgian waffle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the past seven years, Robert and his barista partner \u2018Marla\u2019 \u2014 also a monicker, and the only name she goes by \u2014 have prepared Brussels waffles with extra butter, yielding a creamy inside; vegan waffles replacing eggs with linseed, blended and soaked into a jelly; even bite-size brioche waffles. I\u2019m here to try their waffle bread, made from a savoury sourdough base and served on changing brunch platters that Robert designs with seasonal ingredients.<\/p>\n
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A brunch platter at Pardon in Saint-Gilles.<\/p>\n
Natali Afsar<\/p>\n
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Pascalino waffle vans are a common sight in the capital.<\/p>\n
Natali Afsar<\/p>\n
Mine arrives heaped with baba ghanoush, red cabbage sweetened with white peppers, and fennel seasoned with garam masala and apple curry. There\u2019s also a pumpkin soup with a hint of ginger, to be mopped up by a waffle bread of smoked paprika and dried tomato. It\u2019s a menu that elsewhere might seem overtly experimental \u2014 waffle doughs enriched with truffle or topped with yuzu sorbet have graced the city\u2019s Michelin-starred kitchens. But here it\u2019s determinedly playful, an extension of Robert and Marla themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to try new things but remain welcoming,\u201d says Robert. \u201cIn France, we\u2019d host parties, feed our guests. We made making people comfortable our profession.\u201d The best Belgian waffles follow this simple rule \u2014 it\u2019s soul food prepared with someone in mind. Christmas every day indeed.<\/p>\n