Brussels - June 2026

 

Grand Place, Brussels

It was another hot sunny day in Belgium on Sunday 21 June, the day we travelled from Antwerp to Brussels by train.

After checking in at our various hotels in Brussels, our group of five met up again near the Bourse.

Arriving first, Tim took advantage of 50cl Stella Artois for €3.50 at The Big Game sports bar.

The deep interior is lined with TV screens showing sports including World Cup football. Loud music at the back made a table near the entrance preferable. Keith was next to arrive and finding the noise too much, went to a nearby bar where there was a pavement table free. Around 5.30pm the red rope closing the stairs, near the entrance to The Big Game, was removed. There is a large room upstairs which also has screens for sports.

The many draught and bottled beers at Beer Capital Brussels are listed on the Untappd App.

Richard and Simon would soon join Keith and Tim at their pavement table outside this sister sports bar to The Big Game which Tim had first visited during Brussels Jazz Weekend in May 2026.

View from Beer Capital Brussels, 89 Boulevard Anspach

Boulevard Anspach was once full of motor traffic but pedestrianisation with planters and trees has made it into a pleasant street with less noise, fumes and danger.

See the post in Beers 'n' Bites Brussels for further Beer Capital details and photos.

Poechenellekelder, near Mannekin Pis, is less than 500 metres from Beer Capital and we arrived here around 7.45pm.

Keith, Andrew, Richard and Simon - Poechenellekelder

Courtyard tables were busy but we found a good table inside, near the bar, surrounded by puppets.

The draught beer we all enjoyed here was Legends Harmony.

Brewed by Brasserie des Légendes near Ath (Wallonia), the Blonde beer has tropical notes and matches hot weather well. One of Tim's favourite beers on this trip. We also ordered meals of lasagne or spaghetti, a long established tradition for our group.

Another tradition is to visit nearby GIST immediately before or after Poechenellekelder.

Draught and bottled / canned beers available are listed on Untappd. Tim was happy to find IV Saison by Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille (Wallonia) available on draught, another favourite beer on this trip.

Anticlockwise from right: Andrew, Tim, Richard, Simon, Keith

For Andrew's selfie, we raised our arms to match the Jacques Brel statue in the background.

Unfortunately, the new tradition of a visit to nearby La Fleur en Papier Doré was not possible due to an unexpected closure.

Instead, we walked to A L'Imaige Nostre-Dame, crossing the Grand Place at 10.45pm (top photo), on the way. This historic estaminet, recently refurbished, is situated at the end of Impasse des Cadeaux, a narrow alley reached from a gated entrance on Rue du Marché aux Herbes. 

Richard (+Hapkin), Andrew, Simon (+Juicy Bloody Berry) & Keith

There is a small bar near the entrance and Tim's 50cl glass of draught Hapkin (€10.50) was a third favourite on this trip. The Belgium v Iran World Cup group match was shown on a single screen but football fans may have preferred to watch this on a bigger screen at home or in a sports bar. 

For more photos of A l'Imaige Nostre Dame and Poechenellekelder see the Brussels Jazz Weekend 2026 post.

Leaving after midnight, Tim's long walk north to a&o Brussel Centrum passed Theatre Royale de la Monnaie opera house and Brussels Nord railway station on the way.

Monday 22 June was another hot day. After checking out, a walk back to Brussels Nord station was only partly in the shade. However, there was shade inside the branch of Capri Coffee located on the outside slope down from the tower at the main Brussels Nord station entrance / exit. (Recommended for coffee and filled baguettes). With time to spare before the late morning rendezvous in Parc de Bruxelles, Tim walked towards the canal to look at an interesting building that he had read about. 

The Ferme des Boues / Modderhoeve (Sludge farm) is situated on the other side of Quai de Willebroeck from the narrow Parc Maximilien. The corner tower is at the junction with Quai de la Voirie which meets the canal. Its function has changed over the years and outer walls on the west and north sides of the block now feature large murals.

There is multilingual plaque describing the Corto Maltese mural based on the work of Hugo Pratt which covers all four sections of the west wall facing the canal.

On the north wall there's a commercial mural for the Kanal district and a floral mural by Mishel and Nicol Feldman, Ukrainian twin sisters, signed Sestry Feldman.

A four-stop ride on the Brussels Metro from Yser to Arts-Loi was the easiest route to reach Parc de Bruxelles with a pleasant walk from an entrance on Rue de la Loi past the fountain and length of the park to reach the Woodpecker kiosk.

Andrew, Keith, Richard and Simon had arrived first and found a table with bench seating. Tim was disappointed with his lemony Brasserie de la Senne Witz beer (€4.20) but it was refreshing.

Tim was able to persuade the group to visit Billie next, having enjoyed beers and live music there during Brussels Jazz Weekend in May.

We walked back through the park to Parc Metro station for a four-stop ride to Sainte-Catherine. The 'Happy Metro to You' artwork (1974) by Marc Mendelson, at the entrance to Parc Metro is colourful and eye-catching.

Keith, Richard, Andrew & Simon at Billie

Billie Brussels Bar & Bolo, Rue Sainte-Catherine 42, is about 300 metres from Sainte-Catherine Metro station and we found tables in a relatively cool spot, near an overhead fan, beyond the long bar. Keith was cooled further by his own personal fan. We appreciated the furniture, mirrors and lamps in this brown bar, previously named À la Couronne and latterly Monk.

Again today, Tim was disappointed with his chosen beer, a N-Zealand IPA version of Bouké brewed in Brussels by Belgoo Beer. This new beer had not yet been added to Untappd. However, it was refreshing and other Belgoo beers had been enjoyed here in May. 

For more photos of Billie see the Brussels Jazz Weekend 2026 post.

This was Tim's last beer in Belgium on this trip but the rest of the group had time to visit À La Mort Subite before catching later trains home.

Brussels - first visits - June 2024

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.

Brasserie de l'Union                       Brasserie Verschueren

Tim spent the rest of this warm evening at the previously visited Brasserie de l'Union and Brasserie Verschueren in Saint Gilles.