Merlo

Now the last Winter Wonder chalets have finally been taken down, it’s once again possible to see café Merlo from our doorstep, and in a time when long journeys by tram and metro are undesirable — some bloggers have to spend a bit more time studying for exams now — a quick visit to our near-neighbours was almost unavoidable. ‘t Verzet‘s Super NoAH turned out to be the Beer of the Month on bottle, so we crossed the Vismet for a hoppy nightcap.

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: this is not a wine bar — the wine options are just the usual “red” and “white” — so there is absolutely no need to add a “t” to the name. The name Merlo actually refers to a blackbird, or “merel” in modern Dutch. The grandparents of one of the owners used to run a now long-closed inn in Dworp called In de Merlo, and when they opened the bar at the Vismet in 2008, they thought it would be a fitting name. “In de” was dropped, but on the wall inside there’s still one of the original, wooden inn signs. And if you can’t find it, there are plenty of other references to the bird everywhere!

Merlo is first and foremost a ‘brown bar’, where the Stella Artois very likely is the most popular beer. However, Merlo is probably one of the best places to drink a Stella, since their pouring skills are some of the best we’ve seen. This is not very surprising, if you know some of the bartenders have competed — and taken home some prizes — in beer pouring competitions. Even if you’re not drinking pilsner, it still is a joy to see a skilled bartender fill a dozen glasses in one go, while simultaneously skimming the foam, ending up with the perfect amount of head on all of them…

Plenty to drink for the ale lovers though: Zinnebir and a Beer of the Month on draught, lots of other De la Senne beers available on bottle, as is Brussels Beer Project‘s Delta. A nice selection of lambic beers — notably Oud Beersel and Boon — and trappist beers is on the beer menu as well, and don’t forget to check the blackboards for any special beers that might be temporarily available.

Apart from the usual brown bar bites menu of cheese, sausage and crisps, there are two more interesting snacks. The first one is an assortment of big artisanal dry sausages. You’ll just have to check the labels to see which ones they have, but after you’ve made your choice, the staff will cut it in bite-sized pieces for you. The second one is — quite surprisingly — pizza. Don’t expect anything home-made, but it’s still nice to have it as an option when you go hungry but just don’t want to leave yet.

That last thing is very likely to happen though, because it doesn’t get any cosier than at Merlo. Unless it’s concert night, of course, but then you’ll have another reason to stay!

tl;dr

Beers

• 5 beers on draught
  • Zinnebir
  • Beer of the Month
• More De la Senne beers on bottle
• Nice selection of trappists and lambic beers

Bites

• Cheese, sausage and crisps
• Big artisanal dry sausages
• Pizza

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What have people been drinking here recently?