At first glance, MangiaSempre is a shop, or more specifically, an Italian ‘bottega’. The shelves and fridge counter are stacked with high quality products, everything you need to cook up an Italian meal at home, and yes, even some beers.
But then you’ll notice the beer taps and the menu with the daily specials and sandwiches, and you’ll quickly realise MangiaSempre is so much more than just a shop! Although the terrace with Brasserie de la Mule parasols probably was a bit of a giveaway already…
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!
Update: Out of business…
Whenever I pass Bobbi Bao, I can’t help but think of the Blues Brothers‘ rendition of the song Rubber Biscuit, which includes the words “Bow bow bow” at some point… However, there’s nothing rubbery about the soft Chinese steamed buns served there, and the tasty filling make you quickly forget the sad lunches described in the song.
What lured us in—apart from the prospect of pulled pork and fried chicken—was the fact this restaurant had their own brewery!
It seems Korean food is becoming more and more popular in Brussels, and some of them really make an effort to make their beer menu as attractive as their food menu. An excellent example of this is Bap and Dak, in the Rue Lesbroussart in Ixelles.
Not only do they offer a tasty selection of Korean comfort food inspired by the vendors of the steamy Gwangjang market, but they also showcase some of the best local craft breweries!
Liesse is a bit of a strange place: you could be enjoying some Alsatian cuisine like flammekueche and bretzel one day, and returning some time later, only to find a completely different, undefinable, eclectic combination of dishes on the menu, like a lentil dahl, mayonnaise eggs, and crispy pork belly!
What does seem to be a constant through all menu changes, though, is a motivated team helping the chef in residence to get the food to the hungry customers, the high quality of said food, and a selection of incredible Cantillon bottles!
The smash burger is one of the newest trends in burgers, although strangely enough, it has quite a long history already. This trend finally descended upon Brussels, when in January this year, Rambo opened its doors. At the time you could only order them to go, but even then, long lines ensued… Fortunately, you can now also sit inside or on the terrace, to enjoy your burger as fresh and crispy as possible. And as they once stated themselves: “A fine cheeseburger deserves a great beer”, so you’ll have that smash burger with a beer of course!
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!
It was the worst of times, but probably also the best of times, to open Zennebar. The worst of times, since we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, which is a hard time for anyone in the hospitality industry. But it was also the best of times to open such a place, because a spacious terrace in an area with hardly any car traffic, is ideal in these times of social distancing. Add to that a fresh selection of Brasserie de la Senne‘s beers on draught, food by Fermenthings, and you’ve created the perfect—and safe—place to spend a couple of hours away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic measures, going to a bar or restaurant to enjoy a fresh draught beer isn’t an option anymore for the next couple of weeks… After drinking all the beers you had in your fridge, where can you get some more?
When the first version of this article appeared about a week ago, there were still plenty of options to go out and stock up, but even though beer shops are legally allowed to stay open*, many have decided to close their doors anyway, and—if they haven’t closed completely—rely on delivery and pickup only…
This article was updated regularly until 31/05/2020. By that time, most brewery shops were open again, bars who could and wanted, started selling beers for takeout.
We’re now counting down to the reopening—in whatever form—of the bars…
UPDATE: Closed permanently…
Nothing about Bélier Bar exactly screams craft beer bar: the modest number of six, unbranded taps could be pouring anything, and the amount of spirits on the shelves behind the bar, would rather give you the impression this is a cocktail bar. They do cocktails indeed, but once you discover the beer list, you’ll immediately see that those are not their only strength!