Gluten-Free Travel in Belgium: 21 Verified Addresses, and Dedicated Waffles

Belgium does not have many addresses in our database — 21, in 13 towns — but it has what few countries have: 18 fully dedicated kitchens, and among them two waffle houses. For a coeliac who gave up waffles years ago, that is reason enough to go.

What makes Belgium particular

Two communities, two associations: the Société Belge de la Cœliaquie on the French-speaking side, the Vlaamse Coeliakie Vereniging on the Flemish side. And a head start: So Bake It, in La Hulpe, opened in 2013, presents itself as Belgium’s first certified organic gluten-free bakery — sourdough breads, viennoiseries, biscuits and vegan pastries.

The other particularity is France crossing the border: Chambelland, the 100% gluten-free French bakery born in 2014, is in Ixelles; and Copines Paris is the Belgian version of Copains, the 100% gluten-free Parisian bakery-pastry shop — renamed in Belgium over an already-registered trademark —, which now counts four shops across the Brussels region: two in Saint-Gilles, rue Jean Stas and chaussée de Charleroi, and one in Ixelles, place du Châtelain.

Where to go: the best-served cities

Antwerp is the safest city in the country: 4 addresses, all dedicated. El Gato Gordo, a small Mexican with house corn tortillas — careful, not all the beer there is gluten-free, the listing flags it; Epiphany’s Kitchen, 100% gluten-free, vegetables in the spotlight and fresh house pasta made from buckwheat and rice; La Delizie Senza Glutine, an Italian gluten-free and lactose-free bakery-pizzeria founded by a couple from Puglia; and nono bakery, which carries on the legacy of the pioneering bakery “Eugene”. All on the Antwerp page.

Brussels and its municipalities: 9 addresses, 7 dedicated. The four Copines Paris shops and Chambelland for bread — the Louise–Châtelain area alone puts four of them within walking distance, our Saint-Gilles guide covers them in detail; The Sister Brussels Café, two steps from the Grand-Place, entirely organic and gluten-free — focaccia, vegan waffles, falafels, and even a gluten-free beer; and Veganwaf’, the waffle house in the Galerie Agora. Two addresses are not dedicated — VeganPot and Terter, shared kitchens — and the listing says so.

Elsewhere: Otto Waffle Atelier in Bruges, now joined by Batch 69, also fully dedicated; the Ghent branch of Epiphany’s Kitchen; near Leuven, Lucullus, a 100% gluten-free farm ice cream shop that serves its ice cream in individual jars to avoid any contamination; Bar Gust in Rotselaar, a dedicated coffee bar in a former florist’s; RABARBER glutenvrij in Boechout, by reservation. In Liège, Maison Darius offers a genuine gluten-free menu — waffles, pastries, bread — but in a mixed kitchen: to be discussed.

The waffles, at last

That is the subject, so here it is. Veganwaf’, Galerie Agora, near the Grand-Place: Brussels and Liège waffles, 100% vegan and gluten-free, in a dedicated kitchen, praised by coeliac visitors. Otto Waffle Atelier, on the main canal in Bruges: 100% gluten-free and lactose-free waffles, made to order, plant-based toppings. Two cities, two dedicated waffle houses. The “gluten-free” waffles of tourist kiosks, on the other hand, come off shared irons: not the same thing.

The phrases that open doors

• In French: “Je suis cœliaque”; “La cuisine est-elle entièrement sans gluten ?”
• In Dutch: “Ik heb coeliakie”; “glutenvrij”; “Is de keuken volledig glutenvrij?”

Our travel tips

• Antwerp for dinner without questions, Brussels for bread and waffles, Bruges for a waffle by the water.
• Belgian beer contains barley. Without an explicit label — The Sister serves a gluten-free one — leave it. Our listings flag the risk.
• Street waffles are not the dedicated waffles. The shared iron makes the difference; two addresses in our database have understood that.
• For what “dedicated” guarantees: cross-contamination.

In short

Twenty-one addresses, 18 dedicated kitchens, two waffle houses, the country’s first certified bakery and two French bakeries across the border: Belgium is small and travels well gluten-free. All 21 addresses are on the Nutrixe map — and if yours is missing, suggest it.