With two nights in Brussels, after three nights in Antwerp for Bierpassie Weekend, there was a chance to visit some beer bars for the first time with Richard and Andrew on Monday and solo on Monday evening after their return to London.
Monday 24 June was warm and mainly sunny. We met up and enjoyed a relaxing start to the day in the shade of the trees in Parc Bruxelles with its fountains, bandstand and a choice of kiosks with outside seating for customers at the southern end. Fritz Kola or coffee were our initial choices from the
Woodpecker kiosk.
From here it was mainly downhill, past several Brussels landmarks including St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral and the west entrance to Galeries Royale Saint-Hubert to reach our first traditional bar of the day.
Au Bon Vieux Temps
Tucked down an alley off Rue du Marche aux Herbes which is also accessibe from Galerie du Centre, we had our pick of tables inside
Au Bon Vieux Temps as there were no other customers when we arrived.
Europop music was playing from the radio and there were incongruous 'No Smoking' stickers on the walls, both of which seemed inappropriate for the traditional setting which includes stained glass windows and a strange stovelike structure, with brass knobs, on that protruded from the big fireplace next to our inner corner table.
Richard and Andrew enjoyed glasses of Tripel Karmeliet while my lower strength and price choice was Lindemans Kriek (5 euros) served courteously by the lady at the bar. The simple menu includes a limited range of draught and bottled beers.
We didn't have an opportunity to also visit
A l'Imaige Nostre-Dame situated off an adjacent alley but to visit both would be a sensible option for visitors.
Le Corbeau
We reached
Le Corbeau (The Raven) at Rue Saint-Michel 18, after a ten minute walk, mainly in a north easterly direction along bus pedestrian shopping streets, passing Primark en route.
Le Corbeau is a traditional brasserie, dating from 1874. The long room has a bar midway down one side next to an alcove and kitchen entrance towards the rear.
We chose a table on the opposite side to the bar giving us further views of the rear with a charming Stella Artois publicity image and the front entrance with etched glass and a model Atomium above the inner porch.
Our waistcoated waiter asked if we wanted food because none was available at this time today. Now it was my turn for a Tripel Karmeliet while Andrew and 'Beer Fridge engineer' Richard chose large chunky glasses of Hoegaarden.
Among the many enamel brewery signs on the walls is one for
Non Peut-Etre brewed by
De Proef Brouwerij near Ghent. Spotting this Richard commented that the name is a Brussels usage meaning Yes surely although literally it is No perhaps. Google confirmed this anomaly!
The music playing here was more to our taste and selections included Welcome to Tijuana by Manu Chao and Mr Jones by (appropriately) Counting Crows. (Tim's SoundHound App proved useful in identifying these tunes.)
The raven / crow theme is cleverly featured on wall decorations including a blue neon outline by the kitchen and film posters with adapted titles or altered images on the wall behind our table.
The red seat coverings are looking rather worn but the wear on the table tops gives them an interesting patina. Some research shows that this wear may be due to people dancing on the tables at night when the bar takes on a different personality!
The long room shape and the tables in lines layout at Le Corbeau reminded me of
Le Coq and
A la Mort Subite. I'm not a fan of Le Coq but warmed to Le Corbeau on a quiet afternoon.
The renowned
A la Mort Subite, visited in several previous years, would be our next destination and this is where Tim bid farewell to Richard and Andrew outside, before they headed to Brussels Midi for their Eurostar train back to London.
Now left in sole charge, Tim headed north back to his Apart Hotel in Schaerbeek via the Botanical Gardens.
Interesting landmarks passed included '
The Container', a public artwork by
Luc Deleu at the roundabout on Boulevard Pacheco. (Tim's first job was in freight forwarding and this role included booking space in shipping containers destined overseas for UK exporters.)
After a walk through the green spaces of the
Botanical Garden he looked inside
Le Botanique cultural centre with its impressive orangery to find that, apart from the ticket office, it was closed on Mondays.
L'Ermitage Sant-Gilles
A little later in the day and after a decision to spend the evening in the Saint Gilles area, to the south of Brussels Midi station, Tim caught a #3 tram from Thomas stop (above ground) to
Parvis de Saint-Gilles premetro station (underground).
The broad paved pedestrian area, to the east of St Gilles church, was busy with cafe customers enjoying the warm weather outside and buzzing with the sound of their conversations and music from the cafes.
It's only a few minutes walk to the cream coloured
L'Ermitage Sant-Gilles with an entrance on the corner of Rue de Moscou and Rue de la Forge, just downhill from Brasserie de l'Union.
With large windows, white walls and a blond wood bar, the space seems light and airy. There's a feature spiral staircase to an upper floor at the end of the bar. The colourful graphics and minimalist furniture give the taproom a contemporary feel.
My beer choice was a 25cl glass of 5.5% ABV Le Pendu 'Une NEIPA mettant en avant les houblons Enigma, HBC 586, Amarillo et Bru-1. Bombe aromatique!' (4.80 euros) from tap XII. This was after a sample from the only working handpump (X) of Le Grand Oeuvre 7% ABV grape ale which was flat and too sour for my taste.
You can find out what is on the taps 'The Tarot Deck' at L'Ermitage Sant-Gilles using the
Untappd App as it's a verified venue.
Music played here included How Soon is Now? by the Smiths.
Pizzas and snacks are served here and it's open daily from 5pm.
There's a stylish staircase down to the toilets, accessed from near the corner entrance to the bar.
Note that this bar is different from the original rustic style
Brasserie L'Ermitage brewery and taproom at Rue Lambert Cricx 26 which is near Brussels Midi station and Cantillon in Brussels and only open on Fridays and Saturdays.
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| Brasserie de l'Union Brasserie Verschueren |
