Fin de Siècle

When you pass by Fin de Siècle in the evening, there are usually a couple of people standing at the bar. They’re not there just to have a drink, but they’re waiting to be seated. It’s a logical result of their no reservations policy, but it’s always a good sign if you see people are willing to put up with the wait, isn’t it?

We were lucky when we went for dinner there this week, we only had to wait for a couple of minutes before being shown to ‘our’ table. ‘Our’ between quotation marks, since you’ll rarely have the table to yourself here: you’ll be seated where ever there are some places left at the long, communal tables.

Almost no waiting time, also meant almost no time to study the menu written on the chalkboards on the wall behind the bar. However, we weren’t the only ones that had to get up from our seats again to decide what to order, since there aren’t any paper food menus.

And there’s a lot to choose from, ranging from Belgian classics like stoemp saucisses de campagne, carbonnades à la Chimay and jambonneau moutarde à l’ancienne, to more exotic dishes like chili con carne, tandoori chicken and moussaka. So something for everybody!

But what about the beer? Well, the short waiting time at the bar was enough to notice a nice range of De la Senne beers on draught, which is always a good sign, in my book. One of the chalkboards on the wall also featured a couple of beers of the month, this month apparently by Fort Lapin. The drinks menu we found on our table, on the other hand, was a bit disappointing: just a couple of doubles, triples, and lambic beers. Nothing wrong with that per se – I do appreciate a Chimay, Rochefort or Karmeliet — but it didn’t even mention which brewery made the gueuze, kriek and framboise. A couple of beers were even struck out, giving the impression the drinks menu is due for a complete overhaul.

However, service was friendly and fast, the bread and our dishes — stoemp saucisses and gigot d’agneau grillé — delicious, and we did find some nice beers to accompany the meal.

Prices are very reasonable, although weird — none of them are rounded — but keep in mind you can only pay in cash here!

tl;dr

Beers

• 5 taps with mainly Brasserie de la Senne beers
• Monthly changing special beers

Bites

• Traditional Belgian dishes, like stoemp saucisses and carbonnades Flamandes
• An interesting selection of international dishes, like chili con carne or chicken tandoori

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What have people been drinking here recently?