Brussels (Marolles & Saint-Gilles) - Monday 1 July 2019

Visits to La Brocante (Marolles), Brasserie Égalité and Brasserie de l'Union (Saint-Gilles) would round off our fifth and final day in Belgium.

On the way from Hotel Barry, Place Anneessens 25 to La Brocante, Rue Blaes 170, Steve and I passed the impressive Palais du Vin. The art nouveau style warehouse building has been recently renovated since construction in 1909.

Walking up Rue des Capucins, we passed the Léonard mural by Turk and De Groot where the actual Palace of Justice (featured in the painting) is also visible in the distance.

We passed La Brocante and made a quick tour of the daily market held in Place du Jeu de Balle.

Returning to La Brocante, on the corner of the market place, we found a table and looked through the menu card.

Eventually a waiter found time to take our order. Steve ordered an Oude Kriek from Oud Beersel but as it was only 11.30am I ordered tomato juice and a ham and cheese sandwich.

2/3 remainder of baguette sandwich - saved for later!

The large baguette sandwich was good value (4.20 euro) and freshly made. We didn't see the cafe's cat today but see Tim's post from 22 March 2019 for more photos from La Brocante including its cat.

Getting a WhatsApp message from Keith alerted us that his group had arrived at our rendezvous point Brasserie Égalité so we headed to Saint-Gilles via the gardens around Porte de Hal and then up Chaussée de Waterloo.

Égalité is one of the Saint-Gilles bars featured in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium by Joe Stange & Tim Webb.

Brasserie Egalite - Steve arriving as Keith, John & Richard are seated outside.

Brasserie Égalité, Parvis de Saint-Gilles 47, is open most hours of the day and night. 

We arrived just in time to find beers from the large refrigerated display before access was temporarily suspended for an interior cleaning exercise. 

I had been on the look out for Brasserie de la Senne Bruxellensis but picked up a bottle of Brusseleir by mistake. However, this 8% ABV black IPA proved to be an excellent alternative!

From our table outside, the five of us had a good view west towards the church of St Giles which gives the neighbourhood its name. The temperature had dropped since the weekend and it was a bit windy so once the cleaning exercise was completed we found a table inside near the front windows.

Reverting to Saisons, my next beer was a bottle of Saison Voisin from Brasserie des Legendes. 
This is a bar for people who know what beers they will like and can choose a bottle from the fridge but is less suited to anyone seeking advice on what beer to drink.

Brasserie de l'Union (photo 25/3/2019)

The visit to Saint-Gilles had been my idea and for the next bar I suggested either Brasserie Verschueren, by the church, or Brasserie de l'Union a few doors away at the east end of Parvis de Saint-Gilles / Sint-Gillisvorplein. Dear reader, we opted for Brasserie de l'Union.

Arriving at 2.30pm, after the lunchtime trade, we were able to find a table inside.  Our animated waiter was wearing a Brussels Beer Project t-shirt. Unlike our earlier experience we now had advice and strongly held opinions from a beer connoisseur and champion of small local breweries. As well as bottled Saisons from L'Annexe, 

I followed our waiter's advice to have their draught Saison de Bruxelles (6% ABV), served from a surplus keg from a recent party organised by the nearby nanobrewery.
This was a good final beer on my annual Antwerp / Brussels trip. Now there was only time to retrieve luggage from Hotel Barry before catching the 16.56 Eurostar back to London St Pancras International. 

Leaving Saint-Gilles, I passed by Brasserie / Restaurant La Porteuse d'Eau, Jean Volders Avenue 48, another bar featured in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium and now marked for a future visit.

Tim Webb / Joe Stange comment in the Guide 'It's an (Art Nouveau) imitation, faux Horta, but who's checking? More obviously authentic is the list of 70+ beers with goodies from Dupont, Lindemans and St. Bernardus.' 

Also nearby is Malt Attacks, a specialisst beer bottle shop, at Jean Volders Avenue 18. 

Steve would catch up with me at Brussels Midi / Zuid. John and Richard would return on a later Eurostar service and Keith would head back to Germany. 

Brasserie Verschueren (photo 22/3/2019)

I was glad to hear that before leaving Saint-Gilles, the latter three also had time to visit nearby Brasserie Verschueren where they met the bar's cat. Richard later commented '... St Gilles was fantastic, relaxing and a nice change from the tourism of the centre.  Three excellent bars and one indifferent cat, with more on the list for next time.  So convenient for the centre, a nice place to live I'd say, and everyone that passed along that street seemed to know everyone else.  Maybe a nice area to stay in future.'


 

Brussels (South) - Monday 25 March 2019

Occasional rain showers and a cold wind did not deter us from exploring Ixelles and Saint Gilles neighbourhoods on our final day in Brussels.

Church of the Holy Trinity at west end of Rue du Bailli

We caught tram 81 from Bara stop, near Brussels Midi to Flagey in Ixelles district.The route involved a climb up to Saint Gilles and then an eastward level stretch before dipping down to Flagey Square at the top end of the Ixelles ponds.

The former National Institute for Radio Broadcasting (NIR) building on the south of the square was renamed Flagey in 2002. The art deco building known as the steamboat was designed by Joseph Diongre and built during 1935-38 to include sound studios and a concert hall. Nowadays the building includes cafes and bars near the public entrance.

It was too windy to walk around the ponds so we just looked at the varied buildings overlooking the north end of the ponds and spotted some blossom. We then headed west, back up the hill, towards Avenue Louise, in search of buildings designed by Victor Horta in his distinctive Art Nouveau style.

Hotel Solvay / Solvay Townhouse (Avenue Louise 224) was completed in 1900 for industrialist Armand Solvay.

400 metres to the north west is Hotel Tassel / Tassel Townhouse (6, Rue Paul-Emile Janson) completed in 1894.

It was time for a beer and seeing lights on at RamDam, behind the Church of the Holy Trinity, we went inside only to be told that the bar was closed. A visit after 4pm is recommended if you want to find the bar open, as mentioned in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium.

The nearby Horta Museum (25, Rue Américaine) is closed on Mondays but there is plenty of detail on the exterior frontage to enjoy for free.

Victor Horta's house and studio were built between 1898 - 1901.

A short walk passing Janson tram stop led to La Belladone in Rue Moris.
The shutters were up and although we were too early for the 6pm opening time at least there was a chance to view the stylish copper plated bar through the left window.

CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium describes La Belladone as an 'excellent, mellow, candlelit Art Nouveau cafe'.

Across the road at the junction with Rue d'Espagne we finally found a cafe bar that was open on a Monday lunchtime. Inside Cafe Amara we had a choice of tables and picked the sunny side.

While Simon adopted my suggestion of Orval as a Trappist beer to start the day with I opted for a refreshing 2.5% ABV Lindemans Pecheresse 'born of a fling between a Lambic and peach juice'.

The constant sound of the tall fridge next to my seat in a far corner reduced the impact of the pop songs playing on the bar's sound system.

Leaving at 1.15pm the walk to Brasserie de l'Union was downhill all the way. The photo (above) of Place Louis Morichar shows the typical gradient and the dark clouds that threatened rain.

We arrived at Brasserie de l'Union when nearly all the tables insede were busy with luncthime diners. We found a small table free next to a couple with a sleeping baby in a carrier draped with thin fabric.

Simon had his back to the wall but I had a clear view of the menu on the high blackboard and the 'beer suggestions' on a low blackboard. We had plenty of time to decide before the waiter arrived. The explanation of soup of the day was not in recognisable English but was my choice anyway while Simon ordered a 'petit' lasagne.

Only two of the locally brewed L'Annexe beers on the blackboard were available so Simon ordered Saison de Bruxelles and I had L'Union (Saison Edition Speciale). Both Saisons were 6% ABV and cost 3.50 euros.

The brewery is named after the building where they brew - L'Annexe of the Van der Kelen school at Rue du Metal, 19. With no taproom at the brewery, Brasserie de L'Union is a good alternative place to sample these beers.
By 2pm most of the diners had departed and this appeared to be the sign to switch on the sound system for some background music.

While paying the bill at the bar counter there was an opportunity to get a photo of the tall beer fridge to show some of the bottled beers available at Brasserie de L'Union.

By now it was 2.45pm and we had time for one more drink before heading to Brussels Midi for the 16.58 Eurostar train back to London. We walked along the pedestrianised Marche du Parvis de Saint-Gilles and were tempted by Brasserie Egalite but instead entered Cafe Maison du Peuple.

Inside the historic building, which dates from 1917, many of the tables near the front windows were occupied by people with laptops. While Simon enjoyed draught Brussels Beer Project Delta IPA it was coffee time for me. Seven other beers are available in bottles including De Ranke XX Bitter.

The large space is well suited to music events and there is a low stage at the back of the room with an idyllic mural behind. When the stage is not in use there are large sofas on it. The music playing on the sound system included Van Morrison's Cypress Avenue (more than once).
Simon's suggestion of catching the Metro back to Lemonnier to collect luggage from the hotel was a good idea as the pavements were wet from recent rain when we emerged.

There was time to stock up with some bottles from Carrefour Express inside Brussels Midi station before joining the short queue for security checks at the 'Channel Terminal' prior to boarding the Eurostar back to London.

Antwerp - Friday 22/6/2018 part 1

The spire of Sint-Willibrordus church breaks the horizon, looking north east from my bedroom window at the rear of the Ibis Budget Antwerp hotel, on Friday morning. The weather looked fair but taking a jacket proved to be a good idea.

Later, Simon and I sat in the warm upstairs area at EXKi, De Keyserlei 20, with chill-out music playing, for continental breakfasts of coffee and pain au chocolat (2.50 euros before 11am).

Wandering northwards from here we came across the Chinatown gate on Van Wesenbekestraat, at the junction with busy Carnotstraat.

We walked past cafes and Chinese supermarkets before reaching the triangular open space of De Coninckplein with a bike sharing station in one corner.

Beer lover Simon

It was a lucky coincidence to find that we had stumbled upon the entrance to Beer Lovers Bar, Rotterdamstraat 105, facing this corner. Unluckily, it was closed but we resolved (unsuccessfully) to return here later in the weekend.

We peered through the windows to view a contemporary style spacious interior. There were posters on the corner entrance door for a Brouwerij Kees tap takeover / meet the brewer (22 June 2018), a 2nd Anniversary Party (23 June 2018) and for Billie's Craft Beer Fest (30 Nov - 1 Dec 2018).

Colourful artwork decorated the Muizenstraat windows of Beer Lovers Bar.

We continued our walk, following the tram tracks into Richardstraat which is lined with houses of different styles and shapes.

We walked back to Antwerp Centraal station where the main entrance is on Koningen Astridplein. Left of the station and also visible in the panoramic photo is the entrance to Antwerp Zoo, with a camel statue above.

Our plan was to take a De Lijn tram (3 / yellow line), from a station underneath this square, to the western terminus at Zwijndrecht Park and Ride Melsele.

Dorp tram stop - viewed from tram 3.

The tram travels underneath Groenplaats and the river Scheldt emerging at ground level to complete the journey westwards via Dorp. This long journey was good value for 1.60 euro using a Lijn Card.
From the terminus we set off on foot for the walk of a mile north to Cafe de Smoutpot. Our route was along a level minor road wide enough for a single car but with no pavement for pedestrians. We passed a farm shop in the way and saw a variety of crops growing in the fields.

We arrived at 12.30pm to meet up with the rest of our group who had walked from the same tram stop but by an alternative road.

Time for the first beer of the day - chosen from the blackboard with details of draught beers which is slightly different from the printed beer menu.

I chose Kwaremont and it is explained to me that this is the cyclist's beer and a cyclist figure is portrayed in the stem of the bulbous glass.

Keith, Simon and Andrew - Cafe de Smoutpot

Our table is opposite the bar and my seat has a good view of the cafe with its wood burning stove and chimney pipe on the left and traditional armchairs at the front near the entrance. Unusually, a 1950s style fridge door has a dominating position on a shelf over the stove! Sound insulation panels are suspended from the ceiling. The pale green paintwork is tastefully reflected in the beer menu.

Another nice feature is the use of cupboard doors and drawer fronts for the face of the marble topped bar. Note also the stylish 1970s'ish retro TV set on a shelf behind the bar.

We decided to order lunch to go with our next round - several ordered Croques Madame and there was an order for a mixed plate of cheese and meat.

I ordered a Croque Monsieur to go with a draught Tank 7. An explanation for the wide availability of this Farmhouse Ale is that Duvel Moortgat acquired the Kansas City based Boulevard Brewing Co in 2013.

I took the opportunity to photograph Anneke with a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine.

L to R: Simon, Andrew, Richard, John & Tim

She kindly reciprocated by taking a photo of our group for the De Smoutpot instagram account.
Anneke and Nelis reopened De Smoutpot in 2017. An article in Het Nieuwsblad on 8 July 2017 by Mattias Goossens 'Poldercafé De Smoutpot maakt muzikale doorstart voor hele gezin' explains that 'New owners Anneke Buytaert and Nelis Hiel of Café De Smoutpot, on the border of Melsele with Zwijndrecht, go for a fun meeting place for the whole family, where there is also room for music.'

Based on the soundtrack of our visit that included She's a Bread Baker by C.W. Stoneking, Fruits of my Labour by Lucinda Williams and On the Road Again by Canned Heat, the recorded music on offer is of a high standard.

Nelis was interested to see a mention for De Smoutpot in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium (8th Edition).

Nelis generously presented us with some bottles of Duvel including a label that is a collector's item. He explained that every thousand bottles an alternate label is used. Only close inspection reveals that a figure on the left of the shield is an angel and on the right is a red devil - visible in the bottle on the right of the photo.

Nelis also showed us some recent handsome books that feature Belgian cafes. Must Drink by Luc Hoornaert features drinking places in Flanders.

De Smoutpot is one of the places featured but note that it has been redecorated since the photos for the book were taken.

Another attractive book is Authentieke Belgische cafes by Regula Ysewijn. This is also published in English as Belgian Cafe Culture.

It was time for another beer and I ordered a 5% ABV Saison style Blonde Stoot from Bieren Cabardouche of Antwerp, served in a tumbler style glass.

Before we left there was time to have a look at the extensive garden behind the cafe.

There is also a covered outside area positioned on the right side of the top garden photo.
Our group enjoyed this visit and having enjoyed such friendly service and hospitality it is very likely that we will return to Cafe de Smoutpot on our next visit to Antwerp.

We all took the same rural route back to the tram stop, which was along a different road than the one that Simon and I had used earlier.

Thanks to Mark Geeson for mentioning to us before our trip that Cafe de Smoutpot had reopened. He had spotted this news on page 177 (Other Antwerp Cafes) of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide Belgium (8th Edition) by Joe Stange & Tim Webb.