We don’t go to the theatre often, and even this time, it was only to grab a bite in its restaurant, Au Marché National. Well, we were lured there by the prospect of an exclusive beer—No Science‘s TNT, brewed especially for the Théâtre National. Unfortunately, it’s only available—on draught—in the bar of the theatre, right next to the restaurant, which is apparently closed during lunchtime. Luckily for us, there are some nice bottled beers available in the restaurant.
quiche
Le Phare du Kanaal
Although you’ll find people working on their laptops in most bars nowadays, at Le Phare du Kanaal this is an even more common occurrence than elsewhere. This isn’t surprising, considering Le Phare is a co-working space first and foremost. However, none of the offices I ever worked at had such a selection of beers from Brussels breweries to enjoy once the laptop closes…
Chez Bobonne
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…
Wiel’s Renard Noir
The Marolles… A wonderful part of Brussels, mixing old and new, craft and commercial, and this goes both for the beers and the furniture and other objects sold in this part of town. Wiel’s Renard Noir — in the middle of d’Huugstroet (High Street) — is very much in touch with its past, with its old photos, paintings, and relief tiles with religious scenes, while serving twenty-first century ales to young hipsters and old geezers alike.
ViaVia Traveler’s Café
UPDATE: Moved to the other side of the Vismet and got a new name: Au Bassin
ViaVia Traveler’s Café is not new, but its current location is. And what a difference it makes! We had visited ViaVia quite a few times before at its old location, and then it already was a very pleasant place, with a nice covered courtyard, and on sunny days a terrace on the sidewalk as well. But now, in addition to a courtyard — open this time — there are two more covered terraces. the barroom itself is a lot bigger than the old one as well.
When it comes to the beers and bites bit, it seems not much has changed so far: the menu is the same as before, or at least very similar.
Moeder Lambic Fontainas
It surely was beery last weekend, and we hope you had the opportunity to visit one or more of the beer festivals. One of the smaller festivals — if you can even consider it a beer festival instead of just a themed weekend — was the Italian Beer Weekend at Moeder Lambic Fontainas. It’s the kind of weekend they organize on a regular basis, featuring a different country every time. But the bar is well worth visiting on normal days as well!