BRUSSELS Grand Cafe by the Bourse

Trip: Europe 2023

We spent the day exploring Antwerp and returned to Brussels for dinner. We had no dinner reservations and popped into the Grand Cafe by the Bourse after walking around to check out our various dining options. The Grand Cafe was centrally located for people watching and had plenty of available outdoors seatings.

Grand Cafe sur la place de la Bourse

Recommendations: The food was pretty decent and it was very nice to sit outside and people watch. The location is perfect. We found better vol-au-vent elsewhere (Aux Armes de Bruxelles - requiring a reservation.)

BRUSSELS Charli Bakery

Trip: Europe 2023

The Charli bakery was not too far from our AirBnb in Brussels, so we took a nice walk one morning to check out the breakfast pastries.

Charli offers French baked goods, and we wanted to check out their chocolate croissants. We ended up ordering a chocolate croissant, a Clafoutis a la Framboise, a coffee and a hot chocolate.

Charli Boulangerie

Recommendations: Everything was good, but not exceptional. 

BRUSSELS Chez Leon

Trip: Europe 2023

Chez Leon is located in the middle of Grand Place, Brussels, right in the touristy area of Brussels. It has mostly outdoor seatings, with just a dozen or so small tables for two or four. 

Just getting a table was a fight, since the manager did nothing to take your name down. We camped near a table that looked like they were finishing up, but even that was risky since Europeans tend to sit and smoke and drag it out for who knows how long. We were lucky that the table we bet on did clear up and we happily grabbed it.

Chez Leon was known for its moules-frites, and it did not disappoint. We did not bother looking at the rest of the menu.

Moules-frites at Chez Leon

Amazing broth

Recommendations: Highly recommended. It was very hard to get a table, but it was definitely worth it to wait for one. Order a moules-frites here.

BRUSSELS Pasta Divina

Trip: Europe 2023

We went for Italian fresh pasta on our first night in Brussels, at Pasta Divina, near Grand Place. The family-run restaurant only has outdoor seatings, and even though we were there for an early dinner, it was packed. We were lucky to grab a table for two.

The owner of the place walked around each table and greeted the guests, telling them that his wife made pasta by hand from scratch every night, and made recommendations on his favorite items on the menu.

One of the popular items was already sold out, but the black ink squid pasta with shrimp scampi, another popular item, was still available, so we went for that and the cheese ravioli.

The owner of Pasta Divina

Fresh pasta from Pasta Divina

Recommendations: Highly recommended. There is no good way to make a reservation online, but if you are in Grand Place doing touristy things, stop by Pasta Divina to put your name down for dinner later in the evening,  and you will be all set.

AMSTERDAM Gebr. Niemeijer Bakery

Trip: Europe 2023

On our last morning in Amsterdam, we seeked out Gebr. Niemeijer, a French Artisan bakery near our AirBnb, for some breakfast pastries and sandwiches to-go for the train ride.

We ordered a chocolate croissant, an apple tart that comes with creme fraiche, a mille feuille, and a coffee and mocha drink for our breakfast. We also ordered two ham and cheese baguettes to-go.

Gebr. Niemeijer - a French bakery in Amsterdam

Recommendations: This was the best apple tart of the trip so far (not counting the apple strudel in Germany, because they are not the same thing after all.) The chocolate croissant was average. The mille feuille was good, nicely layered and crispy. Coffee and mocha drink were excellent. We recommend this bakery for a nice French breakfast if you are in the area.

AMSTERDAM Rijsttafels

Trip: Europe 2023

Rijsttafels is a Dutch word that translates to "rice table," and is an Indonesian elaborate meal adapted by the Dutch following the hidang presentation of nasi padang from the Padang region of West Sumatra.

This was a lavish banquet, popular in the Netherlands.

We starved ourselves, had a few snacks instead of lunch, to get ready for this feast. We chose Blauw, highly recommended by Conde Nast Traveler and Michelin Guide.

Rijsttafels at Blauw

 

Recommendations: We enjoyed trying rijsttafel at Blauw. We made reservations ahead of time. There was a lot of food, and we couldn't finish everything, but it was cool to be able to try a little bit of everything. If you have time and the appetite while in Amsterdam, we recommend trying this.

AMSTERDAM Stroopwafels

Trip: Europe 2023

Another snack food that was recommended to try in Amsterdam was Dutch Stroopwafels. They are thin, round waffle cookies made from two layers of sweet baked dough held together by caramel filling. They come in many different toppings to choose from.

We went to van Wonderen Stroopwafels, located in the middle of a very touristy area, and shared one stroopwafel.

Stroopwafel at van Wonderen

Recommendations: The stroopwafel was too sweet for us. We were glad to check this off our bucket list, but would not go back for more. 

AMSTERDAM Salted Herring

Trip: Europe 2023

Based on our research, Thanh felt the need to try the salted herring snack in Amsterdam. The more famous Stubbe's Haring was not open every time we walked by the stand, but we ran across the Haring & Zo stand and ordered one.

Salted herring at Haring & Zo

Recommendations: Skip it, unless this is on your bucket list to try. We did not like this very much. The combination of the salted fish and raw onion and pickles was a bit much for us.

AMSTERDAM Dutch Pancakes

Trip: Europe 2023

We wanted to try Dutch pancakes in Amsterdam, and Pancakes.Amsterdam was conveniently located near Anne Frank's House museum where we were heading to.

The Dutch pancakes are thin, flat and crepe-like pancakes, and can be ordered with various toppings.

Recommendations: A good but very filling breakfast. We would be better off sharing one single Dutch pancake. Service was not super fast, even though all we ordered were the Dutch pancakes. It was a good thing that Anne Frank's House was next door to it. We had to eat quickly to get to our time slot at the museum.

AMSTERDAM Cafe Winkel 43

Trip: Europe 2023

We read great reviews for Cafe Winkel 43, conveniently located within walking distance of our AirBnb in Amsterdam. Many reviewers claim they have the best Dutch apple pies, so we had to try.

We went late at night, so we just wanted a snack and a slice of their Dutch apple pie.

Recommendations: Can skip. The fried meatballs were a specialty of the Netherlands, but we weren't particularly into with them. The Dutch apple pie was okay, but cannot compare to the German appelstrudel of Feldmann's Bierhaus in Bremen. However, if you need to find a place to eat at odd hours of the day, their opening hours are very convenient.

BREMEN Aldi and Train Station food

Trip: Europe 2023

The morning leaving Bremen, following our typical routine, we bought food and drink to eat on the train. Our Marriott hotel was located just outside the train station, and the Aldi grocery store was also just outside the train station. We also noticed that there were a lot of food places inside the train station. This was all super convenient.

At the Aldi grocery store, we bought some juice and fresh strawberries. Inside the train station, we bought apple turnover, chocolate croissants, two Portuguese egg tarts, and two sandwiches to go.

We ate the breakfast pastries and strawberries back at the hotel, and decided the Portuguese egg tarts were very yummy so we bought some more for the train. The strawberries were in season and very sweet.

 

Recommendations: We always book our train tickets to travel around the lunch hour since this works well for check out time (typically by 11am) at the departing hotel and check in time (typically after 3pm) at the arriving hotel. We find it good to research the area ahead of time to know where to go for our grab-and-go food. We love that the Bremen train station has such a convenient grocery and food places for our travel food.