La Brocante

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UPDATE: Closed permanently…

La Brocante must have been the place we’ve fruitlessly been trying to get in to most often. Yes, it’s open every day, but it closes already at seven — on Monday and Saturday even at six — and that’s usually long before we make our way to the Marolles, especially if we’re going for a big bottle of gueuze, one of the specialities of the house. The name should have been a giveaway though: this place is all about the daily antiques / flea market on the Place du Jeu de Balle. We finally made it, though!

The market starts at seven in the morning, so the bar opens an hour earlier to allow the stall holders — or waiting customers — to have a first drink before the market opens. Not only the opening hours are geared towards the market thought: the decoration of La Brocante makes it look like it’s a flea market itself. And between all those items, the tables and chairs, and the customers, there’s the house cat roaming freely…

Since La Brocante is apparently not really a place to go for a drink in the evening, a lot of stress is on the food. So on the menu you’ll find simple bar food: a lot of sandwiches — made just with plain white baguettes — a whole range of croque monsieurs, cold dishes and salads, and omelettes. We had one of the sandwiches — the sandwich Brocante — and a ham and cheese omelette. The sandwich was okay, but the omelette was excellent: not overcooked, not too runny, and enough ham and cheese.

The beer menu is quite extensive, but once again, sorted by colour, so you’ll find a Saison Dupont, La Trappe Quadrupel and Palm all in the same category. There are some guest beers not listed on the menu as well, so make sure to check the blackboards.

The real star at La Brocante, is the gueuze and kriek section of the beer menu. The selection seems to be just as random as for the other beers, but there are some real gems to be found here. On the bottom end of the spectrum you’ll find Bellevue and Mort-Subite, but on the top end Cantillon, Tilquin, 3 Fonteinen, and a couple of HORAL Mega Blends.

So next time you’re going antique hunting at the Place du Jeu de Balle, make sure to stop by at La Brocante for a gueuze.

  

  
  

tl;dr

Beers

  • 6 beers on draught
  • Quite a large bottle list, sorted by colour…
  • An impressive list of gueuzes and kriek
    • Ranging from the commercial Belle-Vue Kriek, to a couple of HORAL Mega Blends

Bites

  • Portions of cheese, sausage, brawn, etc.
  • All kinds of croque monsieurs
  • Sandwiches
  • Omelettes
  • Cold plates & salads

 

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What have people been drinking here recently?