Eat

Restaurants are not always cheap or wonderful, although mussels and frites or fricadellen, frites with mayonnaise are outstanding here. Stay away from the central market place ("Grote Markt") and the Burg Square when eating. Tourists are easy victims here. One tactic used by tourist traps is to present items (e.g., bread) as if they were free with your meal, then charge you exorbitantly for them.
You will, however, find great food if you wander off the beaten track. Find a street with more locals than tourists and ask somebody. The locals will be glad to help.

• Books & Brunch, Garenmarkt 30, ☎ +32 50 70 90 79. Tu-F 8:30-18:00, Sa 09:00-18:00. An ideal combo of second-hand book store and a brunch/dessert-eatery (but you can have a cup of coffee or a tea too).
• Brasserie Forestière, Academiestraat 11. Nice and calm restaurant, good food, not too expensive. Good menu for vegetarians. A meal of the day (soup, main dish, dessert or coffee/tea) 
• De Drie Zintuigen, Westmeers 29, ☎ +32 50 34 09 94. Off the beaten track but not far from all the bars, this lovely restaurant does more than moules et frites.
• L'estaminet, Park 5, e-mail: cafelestaminet@telenet.be. Good food, nice terrace, cool bartender. Try the renowned spaghetti or the delicious croque monsieur.
• La Romagna, Braambergstraat 8. Excellent family-run Italian restaurant and pizzeria. Inexpensive. Good menu for vegetarians.
• In't Nieuw Museum, Hooistraat 42, ☎ +32 50331280. Belgian grill restaurant, well off the tourist track. Excellent steaks, reasonable prices.
• De Bottelier, Ezelstraat (close to Sint-Jacobsstraat). A favorite restaurant of many of Bruges' residents. Very reasonable prices and excellent food. Closed Sunday and Monday nights.
• Marieke van Brugghe, Mariastraat 17, ☎ +32 50 34 33 60, e-mail: marieke@pandora.be. A small but good restaurant that attracts the locals. 
• Tom's Diner, West Gistelhof 23. Fantastic upmarket take on satisfying, home cooked food. Prices are reasonable, as well.
• Kok au Vin, Ezelstraat 19/21. Memorable Kok au Vin (both the entrée AND the restaurant); the prices are reasonable for the high quality. Family owned and run. Reservations recommended.
• Restaurant Aneth. With only 7 tables, small and cozy, with a personal touch.
• Brasserie Medard, Sint-Amandsstraat 18. Huge deal for low budget just near the center: a mountain of (tasty) spaghetti with tomato sauce, cheese, and mushrooms for €3. Two options on the menu: vegetarian, non-vegetarian - both at the same price. Double its size for just €2 extra. Unbeatable. Very cheap beer too. Most tables order the spaghetti. Tourists aren't welcome until they sit - be sure to sit down and impose your presence to be served. Be warned that if you wait to be seated, you are likely to be sent away for no reason. Bring your musical instruments.
• De Karmeliet, Langestraat 19, ☎ +32 50 33 82 59. High-quality restaurant with 3 Michelin stars
• t' Gulden Vlies, Mallebergplaats 17, ☎ +32 5033 4709. 7PM-3AM. An excellent night restaurant. Small romantic restaurant east of the Burg with excellent food and reasonable prices. 
• Cambrinus, Philipstockstraat 19 (near the market place), ☎ +32 5033 2328. 11:00-23:00 daily. This is a very popular place, and for a reason. They have some of the best selection of Belgian beers, more than 440 in total. Some beers have odd names like Satan, Lucifer, Nostradamus, or the Brunette. It's primarily a restaurant though, as all their hearty food are prepared with a special kind of beer. It's delicious.
• Le Pain Quotidien, 21 Philipstockstraat. A sandwich chain founded in Brussels but now found in the US, France and some other countries. Most of the food is organic, and the sandwiches (in particular the Tartine Bouef Basilic) are delicious. Somewhat expensive.
• Maximiliaan van Oostenrijk, Wijngaardplein 16-17, ☎ +32 50 33 47 23. Midrange restaurant offering plenty to eat including oysters and meat cooked several ways plus, of course, frites. There is not much for vegetarians.
• Grand Cafe Passage, Dweersstraat 26, ☎ +32 5034 0232. Attached to the Passage hotel/hostel (see below) is the atmospheric Grand Café, serving traditional Belgian cuisine and beers. Prices are slightly lower than the tourist traps and well worth it. Try the beef stew (very tender) or the ribs.
• Trattoria Trium, Academiestraat 27, ☎ +32 50333060. This is a great spot to have a nice dish of pasta or pizza and is fully Italian. They also sell olive oil, pasta sauces, and other authentic products. The decor has a warm home feeling. Try out their antipasto and the excellent house wine. 
• Bittersweet, St Amandstraat 27 (close to the Grote Markt and Belfry), ☎ +32 50 34 87 69. Tu-Sa 09:00-18:30. 'Cosy and Delicious' just like it says. Great for breakfast and indulgent afternoon teas. Reasonable prices, better quality and friendlier service than the tourist traps on the Markt, it's well worth the short walk down this quaint side street. Also serves the best coffee in the city!
• Den Gouden Harynck, Groeninge 25, ☎ +32 50337637. Gastronomic restaurant which offers three-course meals at very reasonable prices.
• Laurenzino, Noordzandstraat 1, ☎ +32 50 333-213. Su-Th 11:00-20:00, F 11:00-22:00, Sa 10:00-22:00. This is a good place to try out freshly baked Belgian waffles. They have them with chocolate, caramel, whipped cream or anything you want on top of it. They also have traditionally prepared ice cream available. It's easy to find, as you can smell the flavor of the waffles around the shop. 
• Chocolaterie Spegelaere, Ezelstraat 92, ☎ +32 50336052. Bruges '"Best Kept Secret, a place for chocolate-lovers.
• The 57, Wollestraat 29a, ☎ +32 50336242. 11:30 - 22:00. The 57 is a romantic restaurant in Bruges.
• Curiosa, Vlamingstraat 22 (just off the main square), ☎ +32 50 34 23 34. A good place for a lunch as well as a beer.

Drink

• De Garre, 1, De Garre (When walking from De Markt to De Burg via the Breydelstraat, find a small door between two shops on your right side to enter De Garre street. The pub itself is the only door inside that street.), ☎ +32 50 34 10 29. Hidden in a backyard, this pub offers a nice atmosphere and about 100 different kinds of beer, including home-brewed ones. The house beer is called 'Triple de Garre' and is 11% strong, a good way to start the night. The pub is very often full, but there's a limit of two drinks per person, which means that new places become available pretty quickly.
• 't Brugs Beertje, Kemelstraat. This excellent pub (recommended in the CAMRA guide to the Benelux region) has hundreds of different beers and an authentic beer-cafe atmosphere. The clientele is majority tourists. The front bar is crowded; what looks like the door through to the restrooms opens on another bar area. In 2005 it was closed for most of July - this might be an annual occurrence.
• Curiosa (just off the main square). A good place for a lunch as well as a beer.
• Herberg Vlissinghe (Cafe Vlissinghe), Blekerstrat 2 (on the way to the Jerusalem church), ☎ +32 50 34 37 37. closed Mondays and Tuesdays. One of the less touristy bars, with a nice selection of draught and bottled beers. It's probably the oldest pub in Bruges dating from 1515.
• The area north of the performing arts center has various cafes, most with sufficient beer selections, such as Café Leffe.
• The Druid's Cellar, St Amandsstraat 11/b, ☎ +32 50614144. A very nice cozy place to drink a beer and listen to some good music. The bar is located underground and gives the impression of a cellar. Usually plays rock music. The bar has a wide selection of drinks, from simple beer to 16-year-old Bushmills whiskey.
• Bean around the World, Genthof 5, ☎ +32 50703572. American coffee house in the center of Bruges - offers free American newspapers and Wi-Fi to its customers
• Délisa 'Délices & Saveurs', Jan van Eyckplein 7, ☎ +32 50 34 09 89. Just a short walk from the Markt, this place undoubtedly has some of the best coffee in Bruges. With a genuine espresso machine, the Conti, and a passion for good quality, the owner Sabine, is great for a chat and a good coffee.
• De Bierbistro, Oude Burg 14 (1 min from market), ☎ +32 470296006. Beautiful cellar from the 15th century. Nice place to have a drink or eat homemade dishes made with beer. The prices are very reasonable, and the location is excellent if you want to experience some history of Bruges.