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| KU Leuven library & beetle 'Totem' |
Capital of the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, Leuven is the home of
KU (Katholieke Universiteit) Leuven. Frequent trains link the city with Brussels (25km), Antwerp (43km) and Liège (66km).
Our previous stay in Leuven, for three nights in March 2024, was covered by a
Leuven - Spring 2024 blog post. Brasserie Gambrinus, De Blauwe Kater, Het Strand, MALZ, Metafoor and STUK were featured.
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| View west (left) and south (right) from 7th floor of Ibis Budget hotel |
After three nights in Liège, we stayed at
Ibis Budget, next to Leuven / Louvain station, for one night. On Friday January 16, we were able to revisit De Blauwe Kater, Het Strand, MALZ and Metafoor as well as visit a couple of other bars for the first time.
The rear entrance to
HAL5, Kessel-Lo, is on Locomotievenstraat, a pedestrian street that follows the track of an old railway siding which used to serve a railway workshop. It was closed when we visited on Friday afternoon but has been noted for a visit in August. There's a
bar and food outlets inside the hall including
Habibi for falafel and
Antico Pizza.
De Fiere Margriet
Past visitors to De Fiere Margriet at Margarethaplein 11, may have fond memories of the extensive beer range and distinctive decor. The bar was closed for a while but is now open under new management with a less interesting beer range and standard furniture. As early customers on Friday afternooon we were greeted warmly but finding that black tea was not available for Meg we made our excuses and left.
It's always a pleasure to see the historic buildings in the centre of Leuven including the 15th century Sint-Pieterskerk on the other side of the street and the former town hall beyond. Motor traffic is restricted but there are buses and cyclists to avoid.
We passed
Leuven Central at the corner of Jodenstraat and the decorative shops of Mechelsestraat before reaching Vismarkt.
De Blauwe Kater
At the north west corner of Viskmarkt,
De Blauwe Kater is an imposing and reliable bar with several spaces, traditional furniture decorated with brass instruments and festival posters where blues or jazz music is often playing.
We found a table on the slightly raised stage area. Tim enjoyed Saison Dupont Bio from the extensive list of Belgian bottled beers.
Hops 'n More
Nearby at Mechelsestraat 50, Hops 'n More were moving into their new, larger premises.
Misery Beer Co
Harzington was not in stock but a helpful staff member recommended La Meute from La Source Beer Co as an alternative hazy IPA. This was a beer I had enjoyed last year at the La Source taproom in Brussels after visiting the Atomium.
MALZ
A return visit to
MALZ, on the other side of the river Dyle, was essential and arriving just after 4pm, we were able to choose a table near a side window with a good view of the bar.
The smartly bound menu has two pages dedicated to local beers and mentions 'We have the largest selection of locally produced beers in town.' These pages include
Hof Ten Dormaal Tinto, Sunshine Pale Ale and Saison.
Tim chose
Bier Beek Saison as not previously tasted. Music playing included Summer in the City. It was nice to see real plants and not plastic greenery at MALZ.
Later, out of curiosity Tim and Meg split a can of
Dok Brewing Company Gangmaker a 4.5% ABV Double Uytzet (Historic beer style from Ghent). Hopped with Fuggles it is a pale amber colour.
By 5.15pm, many tables were filled and at least half of the younger drinkers were experimenting with a milky turquoise colour beer at €8.50 a glass. Brewed in Palmetto, Florida by
Corporate Ladder Brewing Co, Rum BA Expecto Patronum 10% ABV 'Bright and radiant with coconut, blue raspberry and lemon juice, aged in rum barrels for an extra spark of magic' did sound interesting!
De Metafoor
Recrossing the river Dyle, it's a 300 metre walk to another favourite bar - De Metafoor at Parijsstraat 34. We were lucky to find a free standard height table near the bar as people were just leaving when we arrived at 5.30pm.
The seats at the small corner bar are always taken. There are low stools for the table by the front window. The green plants fit in well on the window sill there. It was very lively inside with conversations and laughter.
Tim's beer choice here was
Averbode Abbey Beer which is brewed by Brouwerij Huyghe. The wall by our table features a collection of classic Stella Artois advertisements including one based on a postcard featuring Leuven's historic centre. (Stella Artois is brewed at the
AB InBev brewery on the edge of Leuven.).
Parijsstraat is one street away from the
Oude Markt, famed for being lined with bars that are popular with the large student population.
We also followed a path through Atrechtcollege, shortly before the gates were closed at 7pm, on the way to our next bar.
De Reynaert
After a 1.3km walk we reached
De Reynaert for a first visit.
Caroline Debenham (@carolinedebenh1 on Bluesky) was an inspiration for this visit. In previous years Tim had thought it was too far away from the centre until Caroline went to find it closed on a Sunday in October 2025 and returned the next day for
Taras Boulba and Hercule Stout.
There's a long bar opposite the entrance. The lighting is quite dim. The blackboard above the bar lists all the beers available with draught beers in the left column, and Trappist beers heading the second column. There are about 40 beers listed under the Blond heading including local beers, Saisons and Tripels.
Tim's beers at De Reyneart were his favourites of the day -
Juicy Crime of Passion by Brouwerij Mort Subite €4 and the well trusted
Zeezuiper Tripel by Scheldebrouwerij €5.50. Coupled with the warm temperature, spacious surroundings and good music playing that included The Doors and
Cortez the Killer by Neil Young, all the ingredients were there for this to become a new favourite bar in Leuven. We will surely visit again in August 2026 on the way to &/or from Germany by train via Brussels.
Top tip - Leuven is a good place to stay near Brussels, especially when the
SNCB train fare for those aged 65+ with a Train + subscription, as the fare is reduced to €2.50 off peak (€4,10 peak).
Het Strand
Located in a new development that includes a
Zed cinema, it was nice to return to the vegan restaurant / bar
Het Strand, Tiensestraat 138, for a meal with a friendly welcome. Tim chose draught Circus Session IPA (4% ABV, €5) by
Circus Brouwerij.
Leuven station looked rather special when illuminated at night as we walked past at 10.15pm.
Cafe In Den Ouden Tijd
It seemed early to return to the hotel so we had a final beer at
In Den Ouden Tijd, Tiensevest 22, opposite the station. The cheap price for Stella Artois in white print stands out on a window and here was an opportunity to risk giving the bar a first try.
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| Door to smokers' room Bar area |
Most of the left side of the long room is a smokers' room separated by a glass wall like a giant fishtank. The bar is at the far end of the room and a glass door to the smokers room is only a couple of wooden tables distance away from the bar past games and pinball machines. It's dimly lit and there is a lot of wood panelling on the walls and bar front. The barman, with a Mohican hairstyle and Harley Davidson t-shirt, kept busy by customers of all ages, did a good job.
Tim enjoyed a 33cl glass of draught Stella Artois, brewed just over a kilometre away, for €2.50.
Posting later on Bluesky about In den Ouden Tijd, it was nice that
Jack Anderton, the founder of the
European Beer Guide, replied to appreciate this research into a bar that he had passed by as we had also done previously.
Saturday
Before our lunchtime train to Brussels to connect with an afternoon Eurostar train to London, we had time for coffee and iced cinnamon bun at
Noir coffeebar and an interesting walk to the
Groot Begijnhof / Grand Beguinage for a chance to 'step back in time' along the narrow cobbled streets.
