1762, it says on the facade of In ’t Spinnekopke, and it certainly looks the part! We can’t vouch for all of its history, but it has been there ever since we moved to Brussels. However, in 2022 it was taken over by a team of young people, passionate about Brussels and hospitality, and they definitely succeeded in breathing new life into the centuries old estaminet!
For centre dwellers like us, it was quite a trek to get to Silex Bar… It was totally worth it though, and the inhabitants of the until recently beer bar deprived south-east of the Brussels capital region, can finally take delight in having a bar with an excellent and varied beer selection in their area. And, with a bit of luck, they’ll still be able to enjoy some glasses on the off-street terrace!
Le Pantin is a strange bar. It certainly is a bar run by beer lovers, but it is definitely a student bar as well. On the one hand, there’s a beer menu that ranges from boring blondes, to the latest beers of local brewers. On the other hand, a beer is rarely served in the correct glass here…
Addict Bar really was a lucky find. The Jupiler sign outside wouldn’t exactly lure us in, and a flickering gambling machine in the back usually is a warning to keep out… However, when one late night a friend dragged us to her neighbourhood bar, we discovered that these guys actually love beer! Local breweries on draught, and fridges full of beers from all kinds of independent breweries!
With the name Chez Lutgarde, it is not surprising they mostly serve beers from the young Lasne brewery Abbaye d’Aywiers, better known by the name most of their beers carry: Lutgarde. You could even consider this bar the downtown taproom of the brewery. What drew us in, however, were the advertisements for some Brussels breweries you don’t see in that many other bars yet, like Brasserie Vandekelder! Once inside, we discovered that actually all the beers they serve, are from small, independent breweries, and quite a lot of them even from Brussels!
When Beer Capital Brussels opened and we briefly peeked inside, we could only see ‘big beer’ on draught. Consequently, we dismissed it as ‘just a tourist bar’ and didn’t really consider it for our blog. However, when we ended up there some time later, we discovered it actually had quite a nice and extremely large selection (1464 different beers, last time we checked their Untappd menu) of canned and bottled beers in their cellar and fridges, and even local beers Zinnebir (from Brasserie de la Senne) and Delta (from Brussels Beer Project) on draught!
At every beer festival you’ll find them: groups of friends playing a card or board game, while sipping on the available beers. That means there’s clearly some overlap between gamers and craft beer lovers, and for them there is Le Bar à Jeux! An excellent selection of beers, combined with a huge library of games to play, makes it easy to spend quite a bit of time there without even noticing. And when the rumbling of the stomach draws attention to the passing of the hours, there is some food available as well to keep you going!
We stumbled upon Chez Mon Ex when Wonder Bru‘s first beer Mate Brew was launched there. With the signs advertising the Luxembourgish Battin beers outside, one wouldn’t immediately expect a craft beer bar here… As it turned out, they do really like the Brussels and other craft breweries there, and quite a few of these beers feature on the menu, both on draught, and in bottles and cans! It still has the look and feel of a neighbourhood bar, because, well, it is!
After many months of anticipation, the pieces of the administrative puzzle fell into place, and Mazette could finally open its doors and beer taps. Mind you, having a brew kettle, a kitchen, a huge wood-fired oven, and a comfortable space for the customers, all in one open space, was never going to be simple. But since the fire department gave its final go-ahead a little over a month ago, we’re able to enjoy all the products this utterly loveable cooperative brewpub in the Marolles has to offer: freshly brewed beers, straight from the tank, homemade sourdough bread baked in the aforementioned oven, and seasonal food.
Bars and restaurants all over Brussels have been busy over the past couple of days—maybe weeks—preparing for another attempt at opening the hospitality industry again. For now, only the terraces will be allowed to open, but it’s a start at least, and a very welcome one! Tomorrow, rain or shine, I’m sure the Brusseleirs will be there in great numbers, drinking draught beer from real glasses, eating food from real plates, with real cutlery…
And for this blog, this means the end of our hibernation!