Brussels’ Waffle Best in Vancouver
When you don’t know better, you launch a dream. That’s what happened with Eilnaz Taagholi and Jan Dierckx when they arrived in Vancouver and decided to open a restaurant. Originally from Belgium, where a waffle is the perfect afternoon snack with a cup of coffee, the couple decided waffles were just the thing West Coast Canada needed. Nero Belgium Waffle Bar was born, and they haven’t looked back since.
Topped with Strawberries & Whipped Cream
“We were focused, right from the beginning. We have a core menu that’s built around our delicious waffles. Over the years, we’ve added to our first location on Robson: a Yaletown-adjacent Seymour corner spot and our take-out/production location just over the Granville Street Bridge. We have savory Liège waffles and sweet Brussels’ style, too. We’ve customized each location’s menu to what our customers love. Hard work, a passion for waffles, and a single focus has produced an amazing result,” Dierckx told us.
“Naivety is an under-appreciated accelerant,” he went on to add. “You can’t worry about things you don’t know, so we put our heads down and built a business we love working in. We’re always innovating to create hit-the-spot fusion flavour ideas, based on our waffle theme.”
Savory Options for Brunch…or Dinner
Liège waffles use a brioche-like batter and Nero incorporates genuine Belgium pearl sugar into their recipe. Brussels’ waffles are light, crispy, and unsweetened. With fruit and whipping cream, both are perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, an afternoon coffee bite, or destination dessert dining. And Nero doesn’t stop there.
Sweet and savory options abound: how about Eggs Benedict on a waffle base? Maybe Ham and Cheese melted inside bespoke “waffle pockets”? There’s French Toast waffles, coated in milky dip batter and flat-ironed a second time, Lemon Ricotta, or Berries with Honey Mascarpone. Wholesome ingredients mean these waffles are a meal unto themselves, or the perfect quick coffee snack companion.
Coffee & Baked Brie Waffles
“We have a small patio at our Robson location, expansive indoor/outdoor seating in Yaletown, and take-out only on South Granville. We focus on a friendly, family-style approach where everyone can relax and enjoy what we remember from growing up in Belgium,” Dierckx said. “We’re all about scratch-cooking goodness, the best European flavours, textures and combinations that are both surprising and pleasing, and visiting together with friends over a meal that delights.”
In a surprise twist along the entrepreneurial path, Nero discovered “Mini Waffles” were a customer favourite. Glazed or with sweet fillings, colourful or dipped in chocolate — there’s an ever-changing variety of Mini Waffles for pre-order or in-restaurant dining. With a high-production capacity kitchen, Nero Belgian Waffle Bar can meet your sweet or savory cravings today, plus fill retail and wholesale orders into the thousands — rainbow-coloured, glazed, sweet-filled mini-waffles. On your way for a walk at the beach or in the park, stop in and find out what the waffle-fuss at Robson and Bidwell is all about.