It has been a while since we’ve visited the very first smash burger restaurant in Brussels, and even Belgium… Many more have popped up since, but few qualified for our blog. The burger joint Smash in the Flagey area however, went the extra mile, and exclusively serves beers from Brussels breweries with their pressed patties.
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!
Closing off the beer festival season as usual, is Brussels Beer Project‘s anniversary festival Wanderlust, this weekend September the 14th and 15th! As usual, visitors can expect a modest (14 breweries) but still very interesting selection of befriended breweries, each bringing at least four beers for you to sample.
We don’t like to repeat ourselves, but the amount of burger places with some attention for beer is considerable, so once again, we visit a burger restaurant: Broebbeleir. This time, we have to compose the burger ourselves from scratch, there aren’t any chef’s suggestions to avoid it. However, there are enough options to make yourself a tasty burger, and a couple of sides if you don’t think it will be enough. And there is beer, of course!
UPDATE: After being closed for a while, it reopened under new management. We have revisited it since, and it seems mostly unchanged.
Once again, we found ourselves in the Marolles, right next to the location of the famous flea market, this time at CHAFF. While the band was getting ready to play later on that evening, we picked a table on the first floor to have a couple of local beers—almost every brewery in Brussels was represented with at least one beer—and something to eat. Despite the large choice of rather healthy looking dishes, we decided to go for the burgers.
The Huggy’s Bar is a burger restaurant chain with two location in Brussels, in American sports bar style — there was even a cycling race on when we were in — but with a difference: instead of some commercial lager, they serve a whole range of their own beers, neatly paired with their burgers. Noteworthy as well: you can have an unlimited amount of chips with your burger!
Most beer lovers familiar with foreign beers, already know BrewDog, or at least have heard of it. The sometimes controversial Scottish brewery doesn’t only brew beer, it also runs a few dozen bars. Already quite a while ago, BrewDog Brussels opened right next to Central Station, but a recent change is finally turning it into the beer geek mecca it should have been from the start. The hoppy beers BrewDog is known for, are now fresher than ever, the Buffalo wings hotter than ever, and the staff is more passionate than ever. If you haven’t done so recently, now is the time to (re)visit BrewDog Brussels!
We’ve always liked the members of the Peck family: the original Peck 47 of course, but Woodpecker and Streetpecker as well. All of them have at least a couple of beers from De la Senne available, either on draught, or in bottle. Apart from that, their menus can vary quite a bit. At Peck 20 you can enjoy an evening meal, like in 47, but some menu items you won’t find in the centre. Take that Vietnamese style pulled pork burger, for instance…
In all the excitement over the upcoming weekend activities, we almost forgot to share all that beery information with you, our thirsty readers. So if you haven’t done so already, quickly clear your schedule for Wanderlust, Brussels Beer Project‘s second anniversary festival, and #Collabfest2017, BrewDog‘s fifth edition of their bars & breweries collaboration festival. Both are starting today — Friday the 20th of October — but Wanderlust will already end with a big party on Saturday evening, while you can still try those brand spanking new #Collabfest2017 beers — since they’re brewed especially for this festival — in BrewDog Brussels on Sunday afternoon!
Schaerbeek is huge, and to get from 1030 Café to the Barboteur is quite a walk. Luckily, about halfway, you’ll find Central Park, right on the edge of the Josaphat Park it is obviously referring to. During your pit-stop there, you’ll be able to choose from ten beers on draught, among which a few familiar locals — like ‘super chilled’ Delta and Zinnebir — a classic like Saison Dupont, but a changing guest beer as as well.