Bia Mara, didn’t we write about that one already? Well, the one in the centre was one of the first venues appearing on this blog indeed, but recently, they opened a second restaurant in Ixelles, mostly offering the same menu. So why bother writing another article? Because Bia Mara – Place de Londres has one thing the one in the Marché aux Poulets hasn’t: beers on draught!
If you’ve ever been to Bia Mara in the centre, you know what to expect: excellent, new style fish & chips, covered in either panko or tempura, many tasty side dishes, and even some chicken for those who really can’t be convinced to eat fish.
Being in Ixelles, a part of Brussels even more full of students than elsewhere, this Bia Mara even has a very interesting student special in the works — how does a Bia Mara fish mitraillette sound? — to be picked up from the dedicated take-out window outside!
Bia Mara, and its British counterpart Hook, always made an effort to offer something special to drink, be it a cider of a beer, and this Bia Mara, with Marco at the helm, is no different. Of course the ‘special’ Bia Mara edition of Zinnebir is available, Jambe-de-Bois, as are some beers by Brussels Beer Project. Marco even peruses beer festivals to find something tasty to serve, so expect some interesting guest beers as well!
As mentioned, there are two beers available on draught: Moortgat‘s pilsner Vedett, and at the moment, Zatte, a nice tripel by Dutch brewery ‘t IJ. In a couple of months, the latter will be replaced by another beer from some small brewery, which in its turn will be replaced again the next season.
The close observer will notice that both that second tap and the glasses are branded “CraftWorks“. This is not a brewery, but a beer programme by Moortgat, in which the macro brewer tries to highlights quality and diversity. We’ll have to wait and see what this means for the beers offered, but even if the choice is limited to beers by breweries owned by Moortgat — think Boulevard Brewing or Firestone Walker — or breweries Moortgat has a minority stake in — as is the case for ‘t IJ and Birrificio del Ducato — we can still expect some interesting beers.
tl;dr
Beers
- 2 beers on draught
- A seasonally changing CraftWorks pump
- De la Senne & Brussels Beer Project on bottle
- Interesting guest beer
Bites
- New style fish & chips, in many different varieties
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What have people been drinking here recently?
- Vincent is drinking a Korean Sour at Bia Mara
- Serg Val is drinking a Korean Sour at Bia Mara
- Vincent is drinking a Schnelle at Bia Mara
- Some Pences is drinking a Zinnebir - Edition Spéciale Bia Mara at Bia Mara
- Steve B. is drinking a Blair Biche at Bia Mara
- Liz Lesman is drinking a Bel Pils at Bia Mara
- Liz Lesman is drinking a Vedett Extra Ordinary IPA at Bia Mara
- Patriq Fagerstedt is drinking a Jambe-de-Bois at Bia Mara
- Patriq Fagerstedt is drinking an ILLegaaL at Bia Mara
- Gregoire Fivet is drinking a Zinnebir - Edition Spéciale Bia Mara at Bia Mara