Keto Shopping at the Marché du Midi

The Marché du Midi runs every Sunday morning under and around the elevated railway at Gare du Midi. It’s one of the largest markets in Belgium, it covers several city blocks, and it sells an enormous range of food, a lot of which is excellent for keto and costs significantly less than the supermarket equivalent. It’s also loud, crowded, and parking anywhere near it on a Sunday morning is a genuine ordeal.

Go anyway.

What’s worth buying

Fish and seafood are the strongest argument for going. The stalls near the centre of the market carry fresh fish at prices that make the supermarket feel like a scam: whole fish, filleted fish, shellfish, smoked fish. The quality is generally good. If you eat fish regularly on keto, the Midi alone can cover most of your needs.

Meat is also strong. There are several butchers, including halal butchers with good quality lamb, beef, and merguez sausages, the real meat kind. Check the label if you want to be sure, but the pure meat ones are easy to find and are keto-friendly. Brochettes, chicken, whole cuts: it’s all there.

Vegetables are plentiful and cheap. The North African influence in the market means you’ll find things that supermarkets in Brussels don’t reliably carry: fresh herbs in quantity, preserved lemons, good olives sold by weight from enormous tubs. Olives are good keto food and the ones at the Midi are better than jarred supermarket olives.

Spices are worth noting. Ras el hanout, cumin, coriander, sumac: dry spices don’t have meaningful carbs and buying them here is far cheaper than the supermarket. The spice stalls are near the back of the market if you’re coming from the Gare du Midi entrance.

What to skip

The baked goods section exists and is best ignored if you’re being strict. The stalls selling prepared North African pastries are excellent but not relevant to your current project. The bread stalls likewise.

Some of the prepared food stalls sell things like kefta or merguez sandwiches: the meat is fine, the bread around it is not.

Getting there and getting out

The market opens early and the crowds build up quickly. Getting there before 9am means better selection, fewer people, and a marginally better chance of finding parking if you’re driving. The easiest approach from central Brussels is the metro to Gare du Midi, which drops you directly underneath the market. If you’re cycling, there’s usually somewhere to lock up at the edges.

Bring cash. Bring a bag, ideally a wheeled one if you’re buying fish and vegetables and anything else heavy. The market doesn’t have a logical layout so you’ll walk the whole thing at least once regardless. Budget about an hour, leave time for a coffee somewhere on the way back, and don’t drive if you can avoid it.

It’s a good Sunday morning, even without the keto angle.