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!
UPDATE: Opened a second location in Brussels centre.
With the addition of Patatak to the food scene in Saint-Gilles—already a year ago—there are really no excuses left to have a bad beer with your chips. This chip shop even has three beers—by Dupont and De la Senne—on draught! The chips themselves are freshly cut, and fried in beef fat, which has become a rarity in Brussels.
From the outside, it would be easy to think Fernand Obb is yet another greasy spoon, but both the food and the beer menu will quickly show you it’s not: upscale burgers, luxury shrimp and cheese croquettes, and a wide range of local beers.
Don’t expect to find any chips though, but we promise you: you will not miss them at all!
With a name like Les Brassins (The Brews), we had to visit this restaurant in Ixelles. An old sign against the wall facing the entrance promised us lambic by the pitcher, but unfortunately that was all it was: an old sign, amidst many other old beer commercials, not quite representative of the current beer offer… Luckily there were some other beers available — even some from the newest generation of Brussels breweries — and a baker’s dozen of meat dishes to choose from, some fish dishes, salads and pastas.
After a gueuze and lambic filled weekend, we decided to visit a venue best know for its sweet lambic in earthenware jugs: À la Bécasse. The bar is visited by both tourists – a lot of them – and locals, looking for something ‘authentic’ and probably easy to drink. The upper bar room even is quite popular with students, ordering 10 and 20 liter jugs to keep them hydrated during a cantus, a tradition filled evening of singing and – of course – drinking.
UPDATE: Closed permanently…
When it comes to beer and food, you can’t look past Restobières. Their Belgian dishes, often using beer as an ingredient, combined with beers from mostly smaller breweries — no InBev here — makes the restaurant a must-visit on the list of many beer tourists coming to Brussels. But even though many of the customers here are tourists — I think we were the only locals during our visit — the quality of the food and beers here is much higher than in the Rue des Bouchers!
In a fancy area like the one around the Sablon square, one would expect a champagne bar rather than a beer bar. Now, we wouldn’t really call Chez Richard a beer bar, but it did manage to surprise us nevertheless. First of all: they have Jambe-de-Bois on draught. That’s a good start, but not too uncommon anymore nowadays. Noticing BrewDog‘s Punk IPA on the menu made us happy, only to be disappointed when we were told it was temporarily out of stock. The unexpected alternative offered however, made more than up for the discomfort: Cali from Tiny Rebel!
UPDATE: Closed permanently…
“Restaurant – Shop – Bar – Brewery” it says in the logo of Chez Bobonne, and at first I thought that last word was just a wrong translation of the French word ‘brasserie‘, the type of restaurant. But lo and behold: on one of their Facebook photos, there was a real — albeit small — brewing installation! Not only that, but they displayed a great love for beer as well, and even before the official opening, we could see a couple of bottles of Dochter van de Korenaar pictured. A visit was inevitable…
A puppet theatre wouldn’t be the first place you’d look for a nice beer, would it? But hidden away at the end of a narrow alley, the estaminet attached to Théâtre Royal de Toone is serving beers from Oud Beersel and Boon on draught, and a few more interesting beers on bottle! Even though we’ve been at Toone a couple of times already, so far, we have never seen a show. But if you’re interested, there are plenty of puppets hanging around — literally — to get an idea of what you can expect ‘on stage’, three nights a week.
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!