Food History of Bruges

Key eras

13th to 15th century, the Hanseatic Kontor

From the 13th to the 15th century Bruges was one of the great trading hubs of northern Europe, a Hanseatic League Kontor alongside London, Novgorod and Bergen. Spices, wine, dried fish and grain moved through its quays, and the merchant wealth of that age built the warehouses and squares that still shape where the city eats.

1515, Café Vlissinghe opens

Café Vlissinghe on Blekersstraat in the Sint-Anna quarter has poured beer since at least 1515, making it the oldest pub in Bruges and one of the oldest in Belgium. The room sets the template for the city's brown-cafe culture: dark wood, a short list of Belgian beers, and centuries of regulars.

1856, De Halve Maan and the brewing line

The Maes family has run De Halve Maan on Walplein since 1856, six generations of brewers inside the old city walls. Brugse Zot, named for the Bruggelingen nickname, and the stronger Straffe Hendrik anchor the city's living beer tradition, now piped underground to bottling since 2016.

1896 to 1907, Zeebrugge restores the sea

The Brugge-Zeebrugge canal, dug between 1896 and 1907 and opened by King Leopold II, gave silted-up Bruges a working sea port again. The North Sea catch landed at Zeebrugge, grey shrimp included, became the backbone of the city's fish kitchens and the Vismarkt stalls.

Immigrant influences

• Hanseatic and Mediterranean merchants: Medieval German, Spanish and Italian traders brought spices, wine and preserved foods through the port, shaping a merchant table richer than the Flemish countryside around it.
• French culinary tradition: Bordering francophone Belgium, Bruges absorbed French technique into its bistros, from sauces and charcuterie to the Franco-Belgian plates still served at rooms like Assiette Blanche.

Signature innovations

• The Belgian praline tradition, with Bruges among the densest chocolatier scenes in the country
• Garnaalkroketten, the hand-peeled North Sea grey-shrimp croquette
• The De Halve Maan beer pipeline, piping Brugse Zot under the cobbles since 2016
• Brugse Zot and Straffe Hendrik, the city's own brewery beers