BUDDY BUDDY · Nut Butter Coffee Bar — Restaurant in Ixelles - Elsene

If Willy Wonka ditched the sweets and went full coffee snob, you’d get Buddy Buddy.

Hidden down an unassuming Brussels street, this isn’t your average café. It’s a nut butter-powered, merch-slinging, vibe-punching sensory playground. And honestly, I loved every minute of it.

Let’s start with the name: Buddy Buddy: Nut Butter Coffee Bar. Try saying that without smirking. It sounds like a cartoon sidekick, but these guys are not playing. Everything here — from the vibrant red interior and curvy counters to the cult-status branded cups is slick, playful, and totally dialled in. It’s branding that bites back (in the best way).

I kicked off with my usual iced oat latte, and damn that house espresso blend sings. Deep, floral, a touch of funk, and somehow still punching through the oat milk like it had something to prove. Then came the matcha revelation. Which, for me to say, is… rare. Ceremonial-grade matcha shaken with a spoonful of their own peanut butter. Earthy, rich, a little wild and completely unexpected, like green tea got a gym membership and a makeover. I’m not even a nut butter obsessive and it still slapped.

Even the kombucha’s got hazelnut butter in it. I don’t know who gave them permission, but it works. The carrot cake? Looked humble. Tasted elite. Light spice, moist crumb, and a buttercream swirl that knew exactly what it was doing.

The seating’s mostly stools but surprisingly comfy. Outside, there’s a small street-facing setup that catches the sun, nothing postcard-worthy, but it does the job. Inside, it’s part café, part concept store, part merch corner. Shelves of nut butters, beans, t-shirts, tote bags. If you’ve ever wanted to leave a coffee shop with almond butter and a logo cap in matching fonts, this is your moment.

Final verdict? A standout Brussels café that genuinely earns its hype. It’s niche, it’s nutty, and it’s fully committed to the bit. Come for the coffee, stay for the surprise nut butter...

although I love the concept of buddy buddy and found it refreshing to find a coffee place that tries something innovating as peanut coffee I feel like the experience fell short.

It was slightly busy but I still had to wait more time then I was expecting. I was helped by a friendly girl that made good coffee, so no complaints there, but she was working alone. Meanwhile behind the counter I saw 2 others in the back just having a chat and a laugh during a busy time. Bare in mind I was not the only one in line who found this inappropriate as they complained to the girl. from what I understood of her excuse it was a manager which made the situation worse to me as a manager should have known better.

I also came to the shop based on the resent positive reviews but was surprised to find out that some are written by their own staff. I don't know whether its an intentional scheme of boosting their reviews or just a genuine mistake but it didn't help my experience.

REPLY: I was in Brussels from the 20th to the 22nd for a visit and have been in many coffee places. I don't remember which day it was exactly that I went to buddy buddy but remember that I got a coffee here closer to the end of my stay...

This place has a very cute modern colorful minimalist design and was very curious to see this place live. Although visually it’s a really cute place, there are several things that ruined the experience. This place is really small and packed with likely almost zero chances of finding a place to sit if you’re with two or more. Service is understandably slow because for such a small place you can’t place a lot of staff or else everyone would be in everyone’s way but perhaps they should invest in a bigger venue for a bigger staff and more space for customers? The other reason why the service is slow is because these drinks are well made and that can understandably take time. I ordered a ‘Fruity Buddy’ which I enjoyed flavor wise but not quantity wise because half of my drink was ice cubes. Compared to other place that make these types of drinks, for the price you pay, half of your drink isn’t ice. That was disappointing but for a €6,50 with peanut butter, raspberry purée and oat milk I’ll let it pass in this economy. Overall, this place is more of a quick, spontaneous spot to visit and if you’re lucky you might have a...