Best Burgers in Brussels: Ixelles to Dansaert

The best burgers in Brussels are spread across Ixelles, around Flagey and the Châtelain, Saint-Gilles near the Parvis, and the Dansaert, Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Géry streets inside the central Pentagon. Each of these areas mixes sit-down burger kitchens with friteries, and both are worth testing.

Brussels already had its own fast-food sandwich long before the burger boom. The mitraillette is half a baguette filled with meat, often a beef patty, topped with fries and sauce, and every friterie builds its own version. Sauce is a serious matter here: andalouse, samouraï and américaine sit next to mayonnaise on every counter. Traditional Belgian fries are fried twice, often in beef fat, so the side dish gets as much scrutiny as the burger itself.

Burgers in Brussels: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Ixelles (Flagey, Châtelain), Saint-Gilles (Parvis), Dansaert, Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Géry.
• Local style: the mitraillette, a baguette with a patty or other meat, fries and sauce, sold by friteries.
• Sauces to know: andalouse, samouraï, américaine and the classic Belgian mayonnaise.
• Languages: Brussels is officially bilingual, so menus and street names appear in French and Dutch.
• Getting around: metro, tram and bus lines run by STIB cover all the areas above.
• Currency: euro (EUR), in the city that hosts the main institutions of the European Union.

Every guide we publish on Brussels is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. For the rest of Europe and beyond, browse our burger restaurant guides by city.