Leuven (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The 35th Hapje-Tapje festival in Leuven drew 60,000 visitors. Slo & Brutal won Best Dish, Café Belge Best Beer Stand, and Chef Guy Van Tortelboom got the Press Award.
As VRT News reported, the 35th Hapje-Tapje food and drink festival brought around 60,000 people to the centre of Leuven on Sunday, Aug 3, 2025. Starting at noon, the streets of Muntstraat, Tiensestraat, and Grote Markt were filled with food stands set up by local restaurants, cafés, and breweries.
What made Leuven’s 35th Hapje Tapje festival stand out?
There was a bartender race. Workers from bars and cafés ran through a course with a full tray of drinks. At the end, prizes were given out. Slo & Brutal, a place on Naamsestraat, won Best Dish for their pulled chicken croquette. There were also prizes for the stand and the best beer stand. The prize for the most beautiful stand went to Moorinneken. Taj Mahal and Café Renécame in second and third.
Some special prizes were given at Hapje-Tapje by expert and press juries. The press award went to Traiteur Kapucin on Hogeschoolplein for its beef tataki. Chef Guy Van Tortelboom got his weight in Stella Artois beer as a fun prize. A cooking group called Les Disciples d’Escoffier also gave an award. They chose Bistro Tribunal on Vaartstraat as the winner.
Hapje-Tapje is a long-running food and drink festival held every summer in Leuven, Belgium. It started over 3 decades ago and has grown into one of the city’s biggest culinary events, attracting 10k visitors each year.
