By Brussels Bourse

View of the Bourse from interior of Falstaff

The streets around Brussels neoclassical style Bourse are now pedestrianised. As well as Belle Epoque brasseries there are nearby alleyways leading to traditional bars. The Bourse itself is now the home of Belgian Beer World with a rooftop terrace and Beerlab bar which may require a ticket to access.

Brasseries

Falstaff

Dating from 1903, Le Falstaff is situated south-west of the Bourse at Rue Henri Maus 19. The interior is laid with matching tables and chairs. 

There are many mirrors and art nouveau style features including the design of the front windows that overlook the Bourse.

At lunchtime on Monday 10 March, 2025, Falstaff was very quiet and a lone waiter eventually served a 33cl glass of Hoegaarden Blanche with an unrequested lemon slice together with a complimentary bowl of sweet popcorn (€5.50). 

Luckily my reply had been 'small' to his earlier question of normal or small! 

A full menu is served and the beer menu also includes draught Jupiler Pils, Leffe Blond & Brun and Belle-Vue Kriek Classique. All draught beers are available in 50cl and 1 litre measures as well as 'small'. Bottles of Trappist beer are competitively priced e.g Westmalle €4.50, Chimay Bleue €4.80 and Orval €4.80 (March 2025).

Natural light reaches the back of the large room through stained glass windows.

A visit to the toilets downstairs reveals three traditional full height white ceramic urinals and various posters for live music events.

Le Cirio

Founded in 1886, with redesigned decor from 1909, Le Cirio is situated north-east of the Bourse at Rue de la Bourse / Beursstraat 18.

Our group visited on a sunny Friday lunchtime - 7 March 2025. A reasonably priced full menu is available but as we were only visiting for a beer, our waiter directed us to a table in the back part of the large room. Curved mirrors line the walls above bench seating with high backed chairs to match the wooden tables.

Our beer order was mainly bottled Westmalle beers. Westmalle Dubbel, Tripel and Extra were all priced at €4.70 (March 2025). The draught beers include Maes Pils, Blanche du Bruges, Grimbergen Dubbel and Leffe Blonde.

A visit to the toilets will reveal a bank of three full height white ceramic urinals that have served male customers well over the years.

Although Le Falstaff and Le Cirio are very close, unless you are especially interested in comparing their styles immediately, there is an argument for visiting them on different days to gain a better overall experience as the beer range in both is rather limited.

A La Mort Subite

Galeries Royale Saint Hubert

Some distance from the Bourse and approachable via the pedestrianised Rue du Marche au Herbes and the covered arcades of Galeries Royale Saint Hubert, A La Mort Subite can be found at Rue Montagne aux Herbes Potageres 7. Theodore Vossen founded A La Mort Subite in 1928 and gave his brewery the same name.

With a more interesting beer range, a visit here combined well with our previous visit to Le Cirio that had been followed by an al fresco lunch of Belgian beer and frites from Friterie Patatak, Rue de la Bourse 34.

A narrower room than at Falstaff or Le Cirio, but just as deep and again featuring bench seating against the walls with mirrors above.

Memories of unsympathetic waiters were forgotten when our waiter approached in a friendly manner eager to advise us in our chosen language. The menu includes Gueuze sur Lie and Lambic Gueuze but my choice was draught Lambic Blanche (€6.30). Trappist bottles are expensive here e.g. Orval €7.50. As at other bars, the menu specifies that only a single bill will be issued for each table.

Alleyway bars

Sadly, two of the long established alleyway bars near the Bourse and just off Rue du Marche aux Herbes have closed. These traditional small bars: A l'Imaige Nostre-Dame and Au Bon Vieux Temps are found in Impasse des Cadeaux and Impasse Saint-Nicholas respectively. A 2024 blog post features Au Bon Vieux Temps.

A la Becasse

Near the Bourse and in an alley at Rue de Tabora 11, A la Becasse was visited by our group before Le Cirio. The date over the door is 1877. The bird with a long beak in the images is a woodcock.

We picked a table near the bar at the end of the room which has wood panelling on the walls, windows with stained glass, floor tiles, bench seating against walls, high backed chairs and attractive wooden tables with curved edges. The draught beers served in jugs are Timmermans Lambic Doux and Lambic Blanche. I enjoyed a bottle of Timmermans Kriek Lambicus.

Toone & Delirium Cafe etc

We passed (Theatre Royale de) Toone and Delirium Cafe while walking to / from the Bourse. 

Toone, established 1830, has regular puppet theatre shows and also has a bar. It can be approached from an alleyway off Pt Rue des Bouchers at Impasse Schuddeveld 6. 

Delirium Cafe and related bars are in Impasse de la Fidelite which is off Rue des Boucheurs, a pedestrian road with many restaurants that also crosses Galeries Royale Saint Hubert at its midpoint. 

Impasse de la Fidelite is also the location for Jeanneke Pis, a female version of the more famous Mannekin Pis water feature.

A night in Brussels

 

Grand Place

Which five bars would you choose for a first night in Brussels? My plan for our group of five beer enthusiasts from Newbury was to start at Gist and then visit La Fleur en Papier Dore / Het Goudblommeke in Papier and Poechenellekelder and include previously unvisited La Porte Noire and Goupil le Fol, if time permitted.

Thursday 6 March 2025 was a day when President Zelensky visited Brussels to meet with European leaders. This resulted in delays to the 95 bus from the 'Science' stop on Rue du Midi at Square de Meeus, near our Adagio Aparthotel Access Brussels Europe base, to it's destination near Grand Place. However our bus was allowed to pass through the police checkpoint in Place Royale and then downhill to the stop in Rue du Lombard.

A short 150 metre walk brought us to GIST and a sign pinned to the door advising of delayed opening until 7pm (just after 'Happy Hour' that had been part of the original plan). 

La Fleur en Papier Dore

However, it's only 200 metres further to La Fleur en Papier Dore / Het Goudblommeke in Papier and we soon had a well sited table having ordered 40cl glasses of Verschueren Saison (De Ranke) at the bar.

With an interesting heritage and ranked winner of the 2025 Top 100 bars in Europe for European Bar Guide, it was delightful in many ways and is a 'must visit' bar in Brussels. Rich picked it as his favourite of the 18 bars we would visit during this long weekend trip.

Before leaving we enjoyed another beer from the limited menu with Tripel Verschueren (de la Senne) as my choice.

La Porte Noire

Only a few metres further up Rue des Alexiens is the entrance to La Porte Noire. Beyond a red curtain are steps down to the vaulted cellar bar which was empty when we arrived.

Service and payment is at the bar.

A blackboard at the side and individual blackboards above the bar give details of all the draught beers available including Troubadour Magma (The Musketeers) and Noir de Dottignies (De Ranke). 

To simplify the order we ordered a round of Zinnebir (de la Senne) with a 25cl class costing €3.80. By this time another group of customers had arrived. The draught beer range offers a good mixture and also includes Kasteel Rouge and VI Wheat (Jandrain-Jandrenouille) as well as several Blonde and Pils options. 

After La Porte Noire's opening time (6pm) it makes sense to combine a visit with one to La Fleur en Papier Dore as they are so close to each other and to a bus stop, where the 95 back stops on its return journey to Wiener via Science on Rue du Luxembourg.

GIST

GIST was open after we retraced our steps. From a wide choice of free tables we chose one facing the bar. The blackboard above the bar listed available beers. Two handpumps are a feature here but no beer was being served from them today.

Jeff took advantage of the opportunity to try draught Westmalle Duo, a limited edition Trappist draught beer.

Tim chose L'Amoureux #01 (Brasserie l'Ermitage), a 5% ABV hazy Pale Ale brewed in Brussels with hops mainly from the southern hemisphere. A 25cl serving cost €4.50.

GIST - Rich, Pat, Jeff and Mike (+ Tim on right of mirror!)

Rich had chosen Rabarberlambiek (Oud Beersel). According to the Non Blondes quiz team tradition, it was Rich who supplied our table with three assorted packets of crisps, to accompany our beers. This tradition continues at The Lion, Newbury on Thursday (quiz) nights while Kieran marks the first three rounds.

The rhubarb Lambic was one of the six Oud Beersel Lambics available on tap, sourced from Beersel, 10kms south of Brussels.

Beer lovers can rely on GIST to serve an interesting range of local beers. Usually there is also some good music playing but regrettably this evening's music selection did not meet that standard.

Poechenellekelder

A short downhill walk brought us to Poechenellekelder, close to Mannekin Pis, where we found the small boy was not in a special costume for this evening.

The blackboard outside the entrance listed the draught beers as St Feuillien, Rock 'n' Carol and Taras Boulba. At tables inside, large format menus list all the beers and a limited range of snacks and pasta based meals.

As always, the puppet based decor, was of interest. This time our spaghetti and lasagne dishes were served without much delay. 

We each ended up drinking two beers here and these included Orval, Rochefort 6, VanderGhinste Roodbruin, Rock 'n' Carol (Janine Boulangerie-Brasserie brewed at L'Annexe using unsold bread) and Lindemans Faro. The bill came to €25.50 per head before any tip.

Goupil le Fol

We decided there was time to visit a fifth bar on our first night in Brussels and headed up Rue de l'Etuve for a view of the Grand Place illuminated at night (top photo) and then back to Goupil le Fol at Rue de la Violette 22, usually open daily from 4pm to 2am.

The small bar is situated just inside the entrance, and drinks are ordered and paid for, preferably with cash, before finding a free table inside the dimly lit room with various styles of furniture.

Our table in the main room looked towards the side of the bar and a spiral staircase of metal plates leading to another room on the first floor.

French chansons were playing on the impressive juke box giving the bar a nostalgic atmosphere.

The musical theme is also featured in the selection of records and record sleeves displayed overhead.

A limited range of beers was available and our choices included Lutgarde Blonde and Lutgarde Blanche served from the bottle. The brewery was formed in 2017 and based at Abbaye d'Aywiers, once the home of Sainte-Lutgarde (1182-1246).

Leaving the lively bar before midnight, we were able to catch a 95 bus from the Mannekin-Pis stop on Rue du Midi back up the hill to Rue du Luxembourg, to conclude a good first night out in Brussels.

Brussels Taprooms

Zennebar is the Brasserie de la Senne taproom near Tour & Taxis. Mike, Rich, Pat & Jeff in foreground.

There are plenty of Brussels taprooms to visit including Cantillon, L'Ermitage and Brussels Beer Project but note that many are only open for limited hours. While some have closed (En Stoemelings, No Science), there are also some recent additions (de la Mule - 2021, Surrealiste - 2021). To avoid disappointment, it makes sense to check that a taproom will be open before visiting.

During a long weekend visit to Brussels (Thursday 6 - Sunday 9 March 2025), five members of a pub quiz team, usually at the Lion in Newbury on a Thursday, visited three contrasting brewery taprooms, starting with Brasserie Surrealiste, early on the Friday evening, before a meal at In't Spinnekopke.

Brasserie Surrealiste

Setting a very high bar, the Brasserie Surrealiste taproom in the Dansaert district could easily be mistaken for an exclusive restaurant. The bar and restaurant at 22 Place du Nouveau Marche au Grains, faces an attractive tree lined square. The impressive Art Deco building from 1932 was once a banana warehouse. There's a glazed entrance area with seating and tables, for adults only. 

Inside, the higher main area is mainly restaurant tables but there are also stools at the bar and some tables for bar customers which do not need reservations. There are ornate chandeliers and a variety of candles provide additional light. 

Taproom customers order and pay at the long bar, towards the back of the space. During the daily happy hour (5pm - 7pm), house beers are served in 40cl measures for the 25cl price. The timing of our visit was superb!

Our order of draught house beers included Dance Rave Dance (Session IPA) and Surrealiste Pale Ale both priced at €4.50. The menu on a clipboard mentions that Flights of three 12.5cl draught house beers for €10 can be ordered before 7pm. The Happy Hour offer does not apply to the barrel aged beers e.g. Baltic Porter 8.5% ABV aged for 18 months in Pinot Noir barrels (25cl €7).

Congratulations go to Brasserie Surrealiste for offering their quality beers at affordable prices in such a special taproom.

La Source Beer Co.

After a Saturday visit to the Atomium, we broke the return Metro journey to Brussels at Pannenhuis and walked from there to the warehouse style building once used for Byrrh vermouth.

It has been repurposed as Be-Here and now houses a variety of small businesses, a roller skating circuit and La Source Beer Co..

We had timed our arrival at La Source Beer Co for soon after the 2pm Saturday opening time but there was a delay at the bar due to payment equipment issues. This allowed time to look at some of the other outlets including a Bio-market selling produce and beers from local breweries. xx

When the bar was operational we chose beers listed on strips of blackboard behind the bar.

This 25cl serving of La Meute (6.5% ABV) Tropical Hazy IPA, hopped with Mosaic Cryo, Eldorado and Sorachi Ace (BE) was refreshing and cost €4.30. 

The light and airy taproom features a mixture of seating options, green plants and a table football game. We might have stayed longer and tried some more La Source beers but the loud heavy metal soundtrack was not ideal and we could not find any suitable lunchtime meals.

Brasserie de la Senne - Zennebar

An interesting walk to Brasserie de la Senne included a stop at Boulangerie Patisserie Bockstael for freshly prepared half baguette 'sandwiches', eaten from a bench with a view of a sculpture of Alexander Pushkin by Georgy Frangulyan. The route was then over the Jubilee bridge, marked by twin towers at each end and then following a path along the route of an old railway line through Park Tour & Taxis and past an obelisk for the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Arriving at Zennebar, the Brasserie de la Senne Taproom, we found it busier in the garden on the north west side than inside, on a relatively warm day. The bar system relies on customers ordering and paying at one end of the bar and then collecting beers at the other end by the beer fonts.

We picked a table, made from a cable drum, placed conveniently underneath a beer menu on a blackboard.

This position looks back at the bar and up to a mezzanine floor with oak barrels. xx

Petit Boulba + Jambe-de-Bois

Eoghan Walsh described Petit Boulba as 'a properly pintable beer' in a blog post for Brussels Beer City. Although lower strength (2.8% ABV) than Taras Boulba (4.5%) it was more expensive here (€3.00 v €2.50 for 25cl). Nevertheless it was an ideal opportunity to try it and decide that my next beer would be Jambe-de-Bois, a Belgian Tripel with more strength and sweetness! (€4.30 for 33cl). 

The graphic below from Brasserie de la Senne website includes the beers mentioned above.