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't Nieuw Walnutje Food Identity independently reviewed
Food Identity How restaurants source, cook and care. Independently reviewed

't Nieuw Walnutje

A sibling run Flemish brasserie on the Walplein in central Bruges, serving tapas and bistro standards built on produce from the countryside around the city.

Food Identity How restaurants source, cook and care. Independently reviewed

't Nieuw Walnutje

A sibling run Flemish brasserie on the Walplein in central Bruges, serving tapas and bistro standards built on produce from the countryside around the city.

The essentials, at a glance


Documented practices
Independently
reviewed
Local sourcing
Low waste

Documented practices

Local sourcing Chef Locale participant with named Vivenkapelle beef
Low waste Butternut squash used from skin to seed

Style
Brasserie
Casual
Cosy
Cuisine
French
Seafood
Good to know
Terrace
Recommended by
City of Bruges
Recommended by
City of Bruges·Initiative 'Chef Locale'

The delicious details

Glenn and Lynn Vanden Broucke have run 't Nieuw Walnutje since 2017, keeping the rustic character of this old house on the Walplein while setting their own direction. Their aim is plain: tasty, flavourful and affordable food, classics given a modern turn.

Ingredients come largely from the Brugse Ommeland, the farmland and villages around Bruges. The kitchen won the 2022 Chef Locale round, the city's local produce challenge, with a butternut squash used from skin to seed, and returned in 2026 with partridge and savoy cabbage.

Croquettes, steak tartare and desserts are made in house. The beef for the côte à l'os is Blonde d'Aquitaine from Vivenkapelle, just east of the city. The terrace sits on the square itself, and the dining room is small and cosy.

Menu
What's on the table, and what's left off

The menu opens with Spanish tapas (patatas bravas, grilled squid and Cebo ham) before settling into Flemish standards: beef stew, shrimp croquettes and Zeeland mussels in six preparations. The côte à l'os is Blonde d'Aquitaine beef from Vivenkapelle, just east of Bruges. Croquettes, steak tartare and desserts are made in house.

The card opens with Spanish leaning tapas, patatas bravas, grilled squid and a Cebo ham board, then settles into Flemish standards: beef stew in its own gravy, shrimp croquettes and Zeeland mussels in six preparations. Fish and seafood hold a section of their own, and the côte à l'os for two is Blonde d'Aquitaine beef from Vivenkapelle, just east of the city.

Croquettes, steak tartare and the desserts are made in the kitchen rather than bought in.

Vegetarians can take the pasta with fresh truffle, parmesan and mushroom, or patatas bravas from the tapas; meat and fish lead the rest of the card. Each November the kitchen adds its Chef Locale main, a dish the programme requires to be at least half vegetables, this year partridge with textures of savoy cabbage. Staff can talk guests through the allergens on the card.

Cuisine

French
Seafood

Dietary options

Vegetarian options
Allergies & intolerances
How this kitchen handles the EU-14 allergens
Handled on request
Public sources point to a working level of allergen accommodation, but no dedicated preparation area. Treat this as a starting point and confirm directly.
Always confirm your allergy directly with the restaurant when booking.
Researched from public sources · tnieuwwalnutje.be · not yet confirmed by the restaurant
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
2 - Engaged

Ingredients come largely from the Brugse Ommeland, the farmland and villages around Bruges. The card names one origin directly: the côte à l'os is Blonde d'Aquitaine beef from Vivenkapelle, a village just east of the city.

The kitchen cooks vegetables whole. The dish that won the 2022 Chef Locale title used a butternut squash from skin to seed, and croquettes, steak tartare and desserts are made from raw ingredients in the kitchen rather than bought in.

Chef Locale is run by the city of Bruges with the Brugs Food Lab, and asks each participating kitchen to build a main course around a local seasonal vegetable while keeping food waste down. 't Nieuw Walnutje won the 2022 round, judged by an independent panel on taste, presentation and environmental practice, and is taking part again in November 2026 with partridge and textures of savoy cabbage.

The impact dimensions

Local & direct sourcing✓

Seasonal cooking✓

Low waste & circular practices✓

Sustainable animal products

Social impact

Plant-forward menu

Chef Locale participation and the côte à l'os from Vivenkapelle support documented local sourcing.

Chef Locale 2026 participation and the 2022 award document regional sourcing. Glenn Vanden Broucke stated all ingredients come from the Brugse Ommeland, the farmland around Bruges.

The current carte names one origin directly: the côte à l'os is Blonde d'Aquitaine beef from Vivenkapelle, roughly eight kilometres east of the city. Cebo ham from Spain, lobster, fresh truffle, monkfish and Zeeland mussels represent non-regional choices.

Strongest sourcebrugge.be ↗

Seasonal engagement limited to annual Chef Locale main; the standing carte is fixed.

The restaurant takes part in Chef Locale, the City of Bruges programme built around one local seasonal vegetable each November. The 2026 entry is partridge with textures of savoy cabbage; it won the 2022 edition with butternut squash.

The standing carte reads as a fixed brasserie menu with no seasonal section, no stated rotation frequency and no evidence of quarterly change. Year-round items such as lobster ravioli, Cebo ham and pasta vodka carry no seasonal framing.

Strongest sourcebrugge.be ↗

Butternut squash used from skin to seed; current Chef Locale participation includes food waste reduction.

Whole vegetable use is documented through a chef quote in regional press: 'Al de ingrediënten zijn afkomstig uit het Brugse Ommeland en er komt geen voedselverlies aan te pas. Zo gebruikten wij de butternut-pompoen van schil tot pit.' This 2022 quote from the Chef Locale award coverage describes skin-to-seed vegetable preparation.

The restaurant currently participates in Chef Locale 2026, a city programme whose requirements include minimising food waste. The carte names croquettes, foie gras, steak tartare and desserts as prepared in house, supporting whole ingredient working.

Strongest sourcehetnieuwsvanwestvlaanderen.be ↗

Foie gras present as starter and supplement; named beef and mussels sourcing without welfare certification.

Foie gras is confirmed on the current carte as a starter and as a supplement to several mains. The carte also lists hondshaai (dogfish), a small shark species on widely used avoid lists, without sustainability qualification.

Two named origins are documented: the côte à l'os is Blonde d'Aquitaine beef from Vivenkapelle and mussels are specified as Zeeland mussels. No welfare or fisheries certification is evidenced for any category.

Strongest sourceRestaurant submission

Presented as family-run by siblings with stated warm atmosphere; social themes lack named commitment.

The restaurant presents itself as family-run by siblings Glenn and Lynn Vanden Broucke since 2017, with a stated warm, informal atmosphere. It has repeatedly joined Chef Locale, the city food programme run by Stad Brugge and the Brugs Food Lab, which frames a social and community connection.

Strongest sourceRestaurant submission

One vegetarian pasta main and tapas; annual Chef Locale vegetable-forward entry.

The carte lists roughly 14 mains. One is vegetarian: pasta with fresh truffle, parmesan and mushroom. The tapas section offers patatas bravas. No vegan main, starter or dessert is listed. Vegetables appear as accompaniments rather than as the subject of dishes.

The kitchen participates in Chef Locale, a city programme requiring at least half of the seasonal main to be vegetables. The 2026 entry is partridge with textures of savoy cabbage. The programme has generated vegetable-led competition dishes since 2022, but a single annual campaign entry does not reshape the standing menu.

Strongest sourceRestaurant submission

Sourcing signals

✓
In-house preparation

The carte specifies that croquettes, foie gras, steak tartare and tiramisu are prepared in house. Independent press documents whole vegetable cooking, including butternut squash used from skin to seed.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Walplein 3, Brugge, Belgium
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€
Format
À la carte brasserie, small dining room, phone bookings
Hours
Monday12:00–14:30, 18:00–21:00
Tuesday12:00–14:30, 18:00–21:00
WednesdayClosed
ThursdayClosed
Friday12:00–14:30, 18:00–21:00
Saturday12:00–14:30, 18:00–21:00
Sunday12:00–14:30, 18:00–21:00
Style
Brasserie
Casual
Cosy
Good to know
Terrace
Web
tnieuwwalnutje.be
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 28 Oct 2026
Reserve To website
Link copied
How we score
The My Treats impact scale

Every restaurant is assessed against SEERO, our six-dimension sustainability framework — covering sourcing, seasonality, waste, animal products, social impact, and plant-forward cooking. Each finding is weighted by how strongly it is corroborated. The combined result is translated into an impact score from 1 to 5.

The five levels

SEERO is an acronym for Starting, Engaged, Endorsed, Recognised, Outstanding:

Starting First verified signals of sustainable practice.
Engaged Credible practice across two dimensions.
This place
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
Outstanding Top-tier practice, confirmed by recognised third-party audit.

How a level is reached. Each level needs two things together: a minimum number of dimensions covered, and a minimum overall strength of evidence across them. A dimension only counts once its evidence is specific and substantiated — a passing mention doesn't qualify. Meeting only one of the two keeps a restaurant a level lower.

Scores of four or five require human validation and, at the top tier, an external audit. Scores are based on publicly available evidence and restaurant submissions at the time of assessment.

Full methodology→
Impact dimension
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How this dimension works
—
How evidence is weighted
Self-declared Stated by the restaurant on its website, menu or in a submission. Plausible, but not yet independently corroborated.
Researched Found through independent research; one credible third-party source backs the claim.
Vouched Corroborated across more than one independent source. Some gaps may remain.
Audited Fully corroborated across independent sources or by a recognised third-party certification.
What the sourcing checkmarks mean
✓ Full check — independently verified: corroborated across more than one source, or audited / third-party certified (vouched or audited).
✓ Light check — self-declared or from a single source. Not yet independently verified.
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