After lunch at Eetcafe Leopold in ‘t Zand, we headed back to the Festival for our second shift. Both of us were allocated to security duties, so the drinking had to wait! As soon as our stint was over though, we had a good selection of beers to try before the festival closed.
Once again, we both enjoyed working. The guys from BAB (Brugse Autonome Bierproevers) made us more than welcome and hopefully will be back next year (if they’ll have us).
There were three bars I wanted to try before we went back to the hotel – @the Pub, old favourite ‘t Brugse Beertje and the spanking new Comptoir des Arts.
@the Pub
Hallenstraat 4, Brugge
Daily 17-03 (or later!)
0477 26 07 40
It’s quite a nice bar, with a ‘lounge bar’ feel to it with comfy settees and leather sofas etc. The beer list numbers around 100, although everyone seemed to be persuaded to have Malheur! Looking by the amount of Malheur tat around the place (beer mats, beer mat holders, signs…), he must have had rather a large job lot of the stuff!
Last time I visited, I had what could be probably classed more or less as home brew – there wasn’t any other name given for it! The owner brewed the beer at home and brought it to sell at the bar. Sadly, he’s not brewing at the current time.
I’ve heard a few reports about the rudeness of the staff. Indeed, I’ve encountered it, but there were no problems this time.
‘t Brugs Beertje
Kemelstraat 5, Brugge
Mon-Tue 16-01, Wed closed, Thu-Sun 16-02
050 33 96 16
At the top of their website, it says ”t Brugs Beertje, een speciaal bierhuis in het hart van Brugge !’ – which translates as ‘t Brugs Beertje, a special beerhouse in the centre of Brugge !’ – and they’re not wrong.
I’ll go into more detail on their next visit, but the excellent customer service from Daisy and her staff, the superb beer choice and the general ambience make this a ‘must do’ if you’re in Brugge, or even just Belgium – make a special trip!
I find it a little strange though that every time I go into ‘tBB, I’m greeted by name! I think I’ve been there a few too many times!
Comptoir des Arts
Vlamingstraat 53, Brugge
Daily 18-03, closed Tuesday
0494 38 79 61
You won’t find this bar in any of the guidebooks yet as it’s only been open barely a month! Situated just over the road from Poatersgat, this underground bar seems to just have that little ‘something’ that makes it special.
As we entered, I was greeted with a friendly “hello Lee” and a handshake by Bram – formerly of ‘t Brugs Beertje. The bar was busy, but had a sort of a quiet ambiance about it – there was gentle chatter in the air, but not overpowering and not raucous! It was just the right atmosphere to enjoy a 3 year old (although I suspect it was more) St Bernadus 8.
