Garnaalkroketten appears as a signature dish in 2 Belgium cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Garnaalkroketten · Antwerp
Crisp-fried shrimp croquettes built around Belgian grey shrimp from the North Sea, with a thick béchamel binding. Fried parsley and lemon to garnish.
The North Sea grey shrimp is Belgium's coastal signature, hand-peeled and folded into a thick velouté. Belgian kitchens serve them as a starter or pub plate; the canonical version uses fishermen's catch from Oostduinkerke and Zeebrugge. Antwerp riverside brasseries like RAS put them on the daily menu when shrimp is good; the dish appears on Michelin-starred plates with refined fillings and crispier shells.
Where to eat in Antwerp:
- RAS
- Mampoko
Garnaalkroketten · Bruges
Crisp breadcrumbed croquettes filled with a hot bechamel studded with North Sea grey shrimp, fried golden and served with deep-fried parsley and a lemon wedge. The defining Flemish coast starter.
Garnaalkroketten are rooted in Belgium's North Sea fishing culture, built around the tiny grey shrimp, Crangon crangon, that have long been caught off the West Flemish coast and even harvested by fishermen on horseback at Oostduinkerke. Hand-peeling the shrimp is slow work, which is why a good kroket is prized. In Bruges the dish lands fresh from the Zeebrugge boats and the Vismarkt stalls, and it anchors the starter list at classic rooms across the city.
Where to eat in Bruges:
- Breydel-De Coninck
- Assiette Blanche
- De Stove