Special diets and food allergies: Brussels remedies

Moving to a new foreign city like Brussels is particularly agonizing for individuals with food allergies or special diets; be it gluten or lactose intolerance, egg and nut allergies or simply a commitment to healthy eating, finding places with adapted food menus takes time – time your rumbling stomach doesn’t have. Thankfully for these people, Brussels’ market for special diets has been developing exponentially in the last few years, with more and more restaurants, organic stores and caterers opening monthly. 

For a short and easy recipe to special diet shopping in Brussels, look no further than this list of restaurants, stores and markets specially prepared and allergy-free by The Bulletin.

Veggie Apps and Maps:

• Brussels Veggie Map: Put together by the non-profit EVA, this veggie map gives you a complete overlay of restaurants, organic stores and markets throughout Brussels’ main neighbourhoods (most of the restaurants and stores in this article are on this map). For people with food allergies this is really a must-have when walking around the city. You can print the map out on the website our grab a free copy at a variety of organic stores.

• App: Also developed by EVA non-profit, this app has over 500 restaurants in Brussels and Flanders where you can find vegetarian and special diet meals. You can search by criteria and location, and make your own comments on restaurants for others to see.

Restaurants:

Vegetarian/Vegan

• Dolma: A great address for food allergy friends: a Tibetan restaurant that offers a vegetarian all-you-can-eat buffet! In addition to their variety of vegetarian dishes, Dolma also proposes gluten- and lactose-free preparations as well as vegan (meat-free) meals. 
  329 Chaussée d'Ixelles, 1050 Brussels

• Le Soul Resto: A restaurant serving delicious organic food without any additives. All food is made fresh and without butter, cream or gluten.
  20 rue de la Samaritaine, 1000 Brussels 

• Les Nourritures Terrestres: This vegetarian restaurant is fine dining at its best featuring vegetarian versions of world-renowned dishes.
  Parvis de St Gilles 43, 1060 St Gilles

• La Saga: This restaurant in Etterbeek offers 100 pourcent vegan dishes and desserts. It also does catering and has a store selling vegan products and BIONAM bread.
  Avenue de la Chevalerie 9 1040 Etterbeek 

• Den Teepot: This organic store offers delicious vegan and vegetarian dishes at lunchtime right in the centre of Brussels. You eat here in a very cozy atmosphere with just a dozen tables and fun worldly deco.
  Rue des Chartreux 66, 1000 Brussels 

• Ozfair: a fairtrade/organic store that also prepares delicious and hearty vegetarian meals for lunch and dinner.
  Avenue Jean Volders 9, 1060 St Gilles. 

Organic/healthier eating

• Chez Josy: A nice café in Watermael Boitsfort that offers healthy organic  dishes to eat in-restaurant or take-away. The café also has a store where it sells organic products as well as a vitamin bar.
  Place Keym 15, 1170 Watermael Boitsfort

• Bio Lounge: Enjoy this restaurant’s contemporary deco as you eat savoury dishes prepared fresh each morning in Bio Lounge’s kitchen. The dishes are prepared with mostly organic products (not all), but the positive is that all dishes can be ordered for takeaway and even delivered to offices situated within 1km (you can order by internet).
  Rue de l'enseignement 116-120, 1000 Brussels

Italian style

• Italia In Tavola: People with gluten intolerances who miss good Italian cuisine should look no further than Italia In Tavola. Certified gluten-free, this restaurant makes everything from gluten-free pizzas to fresh pastas  and Italian desserts. Mama mía!  Egg, lactose and meat-free dishes are also possible.
  98 rue de la Croix de Fer, 1000 Brussels

• Il Veliero: Italian restaurants are often the worst for people with gluten allergies; thankfully there’s Il Veliero near Place Jourdan that offers gluten-free Italian dishes!
  15 avenue General Leman, 1040  Etterbeek

• Mare E Monti: Another great Italian restaurant in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert with a gluten-free pasta dishes. 
  198 Avenue des Cerisiers, 1200 Brussels 

Beer

• Délirium Café:  Gluten allergies are particularly hard in Belgium given the overwhelming desire you get to drink a beer in this country. Thankfully, among the hundreds of beers available at the Délirium Café are of course a selection of gluten-free brews so that tourists with gluten allergies can still enjoy a cold one.
  4 Impasse de la fidélité, 1000 Brussels

 Fast food  

• Greenz BioBar: An organic fast food joint? Now that’s more like it! Greenz BioBar in Uccle prepares delicious fruit and veggie juices (including grass and wheat juice…interesting), but also organic-certified meals made with sustainable ecological practices. They are all packed in recycled-paper to-go packages. Ran by a young, eco-minded and energetic couple, Biobar also has a store to buy organic food (soon available online) and propose organic catering services. Rue de Nieuwenhove 84, 1180 Uccle

• L’arrière Cuisine: While it looks like any old café where you’d grab a quick sandwich at lunchtime, L’Arrière Cuisine is a diamond in the rough for special-diet eaters. Right next to Manneken Pis, this tea-room makes gluten-free baked good (breads, croissants, cookies). Ran by the charming couple Aurélie and Jean-Benoît, they give baking workshops on occasion and will also prepare a gluten-, egg- or lactose-free breakfast/brunch for you on demand.
  11 rue des Grands Carmes, 1000 Brussels

• Exki:  Exki is a major Belgian food chain that proposes a variety of fresh and natural dishes with no artificial flavouring or preservatives. With stores located throughout Brussels and Belgium, Exki is a great go-to for a quick, food allergy-friendly meal on the go. One of the nicest qualities of the store is how clearly they label their dishes with calories and ingredients.
  See different store locations

Stores/Shops:

• Delhaize: While this major Belgian food chain certainly does not have the variety you will find in the organic stores listed below, Delhaize has been making leaps and bounds in just the last year towards making food allergy related products more available (and cheaper) to the general public. The store offers basic lactose-free cheese and yoghurts (Valio brand), a variety of meat (Quorn, tofu, seiten) and milk alternatives (soja, rice, oat and almond milk!), and has recently welcomed a whole new line of decent gluten-free bread products. It also has diabetic friendly products as well as products low in sodium.

• Tan: This organic store is a haven for people with special diets. Located in the heart of Ixelles near Chatelain, this store has products for all allergies and diets (gluten-free, lactose-free, egg-free, meat-free, vegan). What’s makes this store stand out is its size and large variety of products (try their homemade veggie hummus or seaweed salad). The store also has a small restaurant and gives workshops and classes on living and cooking with special diets.
  Rue de l'Aqueduc 95, 1050 Ixelles

• Bio Shanti: Near Brussels Free University (ULB), Bio Shanti is one of the oldest organic stores in Brussels and proud of it. From gluten-, lactose- and salt-free products to diabetic and vegan products, everyone finds what they want in this store.
  70 Avenue Buyl, 1050 Ixelles

• Dame Nature: Dame Nature is a chain of natural food stores in Brussels and Wallonia. A variety of brands are sold in their stores with gluten-free and lactose-free options. 
  Several stores in Brussels

• L'Atelier bio: Atelier Bio seems an organic shop like any other located in Uccle that proposes products for all types of food intolerances. But the great feature of this store is that it has an e-shop where you can get your favourite allergy-friendly foods delivered straight to your home. Finally, the store also organises conferences and cooking classes.  
  75, Chée de Drogenbos, 1180 Uccle 

Bakeries

• Au pays de l’épeautre: A bakery nestled away in Auderghem that specialises in spelt breads and several gluten free products.
  25 avenue Pré des Agneaux, 1160 Auderghem

• Glutenvrijspecialist: The GlutenFreeSpecialist is a consortium of specialists making gluten-free breads. The gluten-free breads are based on corn/maize, rice, tef, quinoa and buckwheat. Their products are sold in various stores throughout Brussels

Ice Cream

• Sikou: For those plagued with lactose allergies who nevertheless crave a good ice cream on a mid-summer’s day, Sikou is your saving grace. Not only does this local eco-minded company make 100% organic ice cream (including speculoos!), they also make creative and delicious sorbets among which almond-milk ice cream. You can buy their brand throughout organic stores in Brussels, but also at their sorbet paradise in Etterbeek.
  66 rue Champ du Roi, 1040 Etterbeek

Butcher

• Boucherie Van Dyense: This butcher is prepared to make gluten-free meat products on request!
  24 rue de Laeken 1090 : 02/426.56.17