Vol-au-vent is a signature dish of Belgium; we have verified places to eat it in Antwerp and Brussels. Puff-pastry case filled with creamy stew of chicken, mushroom and veal meatballs in a sherry-spiked velouté, served with frites.
Vol-au-vent · Antwerp
Puff-pastry case filled with creamy stew of chicken, mushroom and veal meatballs in a sherry-spiked velouté, served with frites. The Sunday-lunch staple of Belgian brown cafes, served at brasseries year-round in Antwerp.
The vol-au-vent (literally 'windblown') was popularised by Antonin Carême in early 19th-century Paris but adopted across Belgian brasseries. The Antwerp version uses chicken, mushrooms and meatballs in a sherry-spiked velouté inside a tall puff-pastry shell. Brown cafes from Elfde Gebod to Den Engel serve it on Sunday lunch; brasseries like Mampoko and Bistrot Benoit run it year-round.
Where to eat in Antwerp:
- Bistrot Benoit
- Mampoko
- Den Engel
Where to eat Vol-au-vent in Antwerp: the editor picks
Vol-au-vent · Brussels
Belgian-style chicken or veal pie in a puff-pastry shell: a creamy sauce with mushrooms, chicken meatballs and herbs, served with frites.
Vol-au-vent translates as 'flying with the wind' for the lightness of its puff-pastry shell, an Antonin Careme invention from early 19th-century Paris. The Belgian adaptation filled the shell with a thick cream sauce of chicken or veal and mushrooms, with small meatballs alongside. The dish became a Sunday-lunch brasserie staple across Brussels and Flanders, served with a bowl of frites to soak up the sauce.
Where to eat in Brussels:
- Brasserie Ploegmans
- Au Vieux Saint Martin
- Aux Armes de Bruxelles
Where to eat Vol-au-vent in Brussels: the editor picks