My Places to get the Best Coffee in Brussels

Having lived in Brussels for a short while, I was able to fully immerse myself into its extensive cafe scene and find my personal best coffee in Brussels. Brussels has traditional coffee houses and some nice third wave coffees, chains and brunch spots. Some of them have become favourites that I still to this day revisit whenever I am in town. Curious where you can find the best coffee in Brussels, too? Then let me tell you the following:

Travel Insights: Best Coffee in Brussels

• The average price for a cappuccino sits at the 4.10€ mark.
• Water is not served with your coffee, because water from the tap is not considered of great quality. It is very rare that cafes offer tap water.
• WiFi is usually protected with a password and available upon request. Connectivity is a common issue in Brussel cafes.
• There is a strict laptop ban on weekends.
• Neighbourhood cafes are just as busy as the cafes in central Brussels.
• Every drink is served with a speculoos, a ginger spiced biscuit.
• History-related, it is absolutely normal that coffee is served alongside alcohol as late as 10pm.
• Belgian “cafes” are often pubs, whereas “koffiebars” and “speciality coffee roasters” tend to serve coffee products only.

Best Coffee in Brussels: Historic Overview

The roots of the best coffee in Brussels trace back to the city’s long history with the coffee trade and the evolution of local cafés.

Like other European countries, Belgium has an extensive and long historic relationship with coffee. Coffee was already known in Brussels by the mid-16th cent brought in through merchants, diplomats and travellers. Though at first it was a luxury drink for the elites. But here comes the twist that makes Belgium’s coffee history so unique and interesting: its colonial ties to the Congo.  

Back in the late 1800s, the Congo was a big source of coffee. That meant Belgium was one of the first European countries to serve high quality drinks, often in little cafés called “estaminets”.

The traditional cafe as we know it today, as a pure coffee establishment, was not the original form for Belgium. It is quite common that “Belgian cafes” serve coffee and primarily alcohol, which ties in with the country’s extensive passion for beer culture. Those places were preserved and are known today as the “brown cafes.”

The Belgian coffee scene and culture developed first out of those, then became the drink for the elite and saw artistic and literary coffeehouses emerge. Prime examples are the art nouveau cafes such as Falstaff and Le Cirio. Both are popular places today for their history and unique setting. 

These days, modern third-wave specialty “koffiebars” are a hot trend that’s quickly taken off in Brussels. Their rise has been driven by international expats and continues a story that started centuries ago, when coffee first arrived as a cosmopolitan curiosity, became an everyday drink thanks to colonial imports, and has always been part of the city’s unique cafe culture.

Serving a speculoos with your coffee has been a tradition, ever since the drink first came to Brussels.

Best Coffee in Brussels: My Winners

I have great news for you: You can find the best coffee in Brussels right in the centre, without having to travel far across the city. Below is a selection of my personal favourite coffee spots in Brussels. I have also written extensively about brunch in Brussels with Leopold’s and Franks also high on the list for great coffee. The cafes in Brussels that you will find listed below are first and foremost run as cafes and are excellent choices for a solo traveller.

Lloyd Coffee Eatery

Best for: generous and lively space with good house music
Avoid: not as intimate as other cafes in central

Lloyds is a chain across Belgium that started in 2018 in Brussels. Whilst some branches are run for brunch, others are more focused on coffee and treats. What they all have in common is the relaxed atmosphere and generous space. The branch near Grand Place has a small selection for brunch but it is mostly known for coffee, treats and a great atmosphere. The generous space is designed to make you feel at home in no time. 

The book wall with a huge case and the window seats with colourful cushions are features that make the space so inviting. If you wanted to, you could spend all day here. I have done so on many Sunday afternoons reading and enjoying my coffees. The music is house and whilst Lloyds is often busy, the turnover is frequent so you won’t have to wait too long for getting a table. Unlike the Louise branch, which is more focused on brunch, you’ll also find Lloyds as a smaller cafe in Antwerp’s Stadsfeestzaal. 

My cappuccinos have been consistently creamy with a balanced ratio of milk to coffee. Perfect price to size ratio. The staff have been friendly and generous with the additional speculoos treat to complement your drink. 

If you want to find out more about brunch in Brussels, I got the right guide for you, too. Brunch in Brussels Guide: the Best and Worst Cafés

Cafe Capitale

Best for: coffee roastery with intimate setting and outdoor seating
Avoid: if the space is busy, it can feel cramped

Cafe Capitale was established in 2007. It is not just a place for getting sustainably sourced coffee, it also has a micro-roastery (Black Potion Coffee) onsite, offers barista training courses, coffee for takeaway and a selection of small treats. 

The cafe served the best coffee in Brussels for me, because my drink was excellent. Its creamy profile was well balanced with a perfect ratio of milk to coffee. The flavour of the coffee was subtle, with a consistency of almost hot chocolate minus the sweetness. Instead, the dark flavour of coffee made for a lovely comforting taste experience. During the summer, you can sit outside and enjoy the lively atmosphere of visitors making their way to Grand Place. 

Momade Cupcakes

Best for: elegant dessert shop with style and substance
Avoid: if you prefer something more down-to-earth

Momade Cupcakes has a few branches across Belgium, e.g. you can also find it in Antwerp. The branch in Brussels is small and intimate, with an elegant interior and sweet treats. The tartlets and aesthetically pleasing cupcakes are on Parisian level minus the price tag. 

During my visit, I opted for a tartlet made of caramelised banana and dark chocolate ganache with a white chocolate marbled ball on top. The taste profile was rich, filling and strong. I prefer those cupcakes over the fluffy choux buns from Aux Merveilleux.  It complemented my cappuccino so well. Once again, in my opinion, I found the best coffee in Brussels. It tasted amazing, with milk and coffee working well together. There was a soft hint of coffee, not too overpowering but enough to give me a good caffeine kick. The consistency may have been a bit thin, but the flavour profile made up for it. 

I also valued the climatised interior during a hot summer’s afternoon, friendly staff and the charming seating area. Connecting to the WiFi was easy which is not always a given in Brussels. 

Best Coffee in Brussels: Average

These cafes were good but didn’t engage me enough to come back another time or weren’t satisfactory in other areas such as interior, ambient, staff friendliness, and general vibe.

MOK

Best for: hipster and alternative place at the edge of central
Avoid: the hygiene inside put me off and it’s not exactly a cosy cafe

My visit to MOK didn’t start on a good foot and it unfortunately went downhill from there. MOK is consistently voted as one of the best cafes in Brussels. So naturally, I had to check what the fuss was about. 

As all overhyped places, MOK was busy. I ordered my cappuccino and a matcha cookie which came with a 7.80€ price tag. I then looked for a seat to sit down. Whilst looking around, I noticed the minimalistic, hipster interior. In some corners, this place was very unkempt and dirty. I was glad to only have ordered a cookie, as I wouldn’t feel comfortable eating more in such an unhygienic environment.  

My cookie was crunchy on the edges getting more chewy towards the centre – a consistency that is right for me. The matcha was just enough. Usually it tends to be overpowering, but the pairing with white chocolate made it much more subtle. Overall though, not a special treat that I would come back for. 

The coffee was well balanced. Creamy with a beautiful barista art atop. I tasted a slight acidic note, but that unpleasant taste was so brief and fleeting, that I can excuse it. 

Kaffabar

Best for: dog friendly cafe & authentic local feel
Avoid: it is a bit of a walk at the edge of central

Kaffabar could be a nice stop for you if you decide to walk from Brussels Midi train station to Grand Place. It’s approximately a ten minute walk away from the centre in a residential area. In the summer, there is outdoor seating here. Inside it can feel a little cramped to some. To others this may represent the perfect “local feel” that so many travellers are after. 

The snoring “guard”, a cuddly English bulldog named Marcel, was a big plus during my stay. The cappuccino at 3.90€ was on the more affordable end in Brussels, but I was disappointed by its size. I could have definitely gotten a bigger cup closer to Grand Place. Taste-wise? Strong and bitter, but just tolerable for me. The creamy consistency rescued it from not being a total fail.   

Please keep in mind: I regularly visit Brussels. Therefore, my list for the best coffee in Brussels is a work in progress, which gets updated and extended as I discover more cafes in Brussels. 

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed the post and would like to support my blog & research, you can do so via Buy Me a Coffee.

Till next time,

Carolin

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