With its wealth of specialities, Brussels is teeming with precious know-how in terms of bakeries and patisseries. Whether your tastes are traditional or more original, whether you like sweet desserts or creamy viennoiseries, Bruxelles Secrète has decided to list its five favorite bakery-pastry shops in the capital. Yummy!
Renard Bakery
Not to be confused with Maison Renardy, one of our favorite tearooms, also in Ixelles! At Renard Bakery, bread is given a new lease of life like nowhere else: here, the baguette is returned to its purest form – water, flour and sourdough, quite simply! It’s hardly surprising, then, that Renard Bakery is beloved by the locals: the crumb is light, creamy and of the highest quality. As for desserts, let yourself be tempted by a choice of éclair, choco-praline cake or cinnamon brioche: the delights of the house!
📍 Place Fernand Cocq 3, 1050 Ixelles. Open every day except Tuesday from 7am to 6:30pm (2pm on Sundays). 🚇 Stéphanie (streetcars 8, 92, 93, 97).
Aux Merveilleux de Fred
Okay, the location is very touristy, but how can we not mention the number 1 address for marvelous in Brussels? This delicious cake of meringues sprinkled with chantilly has something for every sweet tooth. Offering marvelous cakes in a variety of flavors and sizes, this heart-of-town bakery also makes a speciality of cramiques: brioche buns stuffed with chocolate chips, yum! One of the best bakeries in the capital!
📍 Rue du Marché Aux Herbes 7, 1000 Brussels. Open Monday to Sunday, 8am to 7:45pm
🚇 De Brouckère (metros 1 and 5, streetcars 3, 4 and 32).
Brian Joyeux
Thanks to the open kitchen in the heart of the patisserie, you can chat with the owner, no more, no less! But the surprise is also in the cakes: their Brussels chocolate moelleux, Paris Brest and apple tarts are unquestionably among the best we’ve tasted in Brussels! Refined workmanship, often organic ingredients, precise and delicate combinations… as the festive season approaches, you know where to go!
📍 Rue du Congrès 3, 1000 Brussels. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 7am to 6pm 🚇 Congrès (streetcars 92, 93).
Boulengier
If you’re looking for the best bakeries in Brussels, Boulengier is a must! No, you read that right, there’s no spelling mistake in the name: Boulengier is a fine artisanal bakery as we love them in Saint-Gilles. Here, breads are made with ancient, organic flours, giving them an absolutely inimitable taste. The workshop, which is visible to customers (a bit like Brian Joyeux’s), gives it a unique atmosphere, as close as possible to the know-how of its creators. Their millstone-wheat breads are simply exceptional.
📍 Avenue Jean Volders 11, 1060 Saint-Gilles. Open Tuesday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. 🚇 Porte de Hal (metros 2 and 6, streetcars 3, 4 and 51)
Cake
The name couldn’t be simpler! At Gâteau, the pastries are of such high quality that you’ll have to get there early in the day, or risk leaving empty-handed! In addition to 100% artisanal work, a wide choice of breads awaits you: seed, rye, wholemeal, wheat… But our favorites are undoubtedly their pains au chocolat and croissants, airy and tasty. Here again, a view of the workshop shows us first-hand the passion of its craftsmen. One of our favorite bakeries in Brussels!
📍 Rue des Boers 7, 1040 Etterbeek. Open Tuesday to Friday 7am to 7pm, Saturday 7am to 3pm and Sunday 7am to 2pm. 🚇 Place Saint-Pierre (streetcar 81).
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