Bruges
Don’t miss the superb canal view from outside this popular café. With the belfry towering above a perfect gaggle of medieval house-fronts, the view is…
Must-see nightlife in Belgium
Bruges
These days Joey’s is run by Stevie, who performs with local band Cajun Moon; consequently, this dark, intimate bar is a gathering spot for Bruges’ musos…
Antwerp
This appealing wisteria-fronted street-terrace wine bistro and bar offers a good wine list along with an all-day menu of pastries, quiches, pastas, salads…
Antwerp
This fetish club for gay men has the distinction of being the country's most disreputable nightclub, with rooms devoted to fulfilling almost every…
Ghent
Built in the late 12th century, this heavy-beamed stone café is the oldest building on Graslei and was once the city grain store. Today it's a lively…
Northeast Belgium
In the historic chapel-house facing the begijnhof church, this little cafe-bar comes into its own on summer afternoons when shaded tables spill out onto…
Brussels
The ‘secret’ upstairs room is a particularly superb vantage point, though it's not always open. Not surprisingly, prices are steep, so if you’re not here…
Leuven
Bringing a lively new vibe to Mechelsestraat, this old established jazz/blues bar serves a fine range of beers including eight on tap, but is best known…
Antwerp
Scruffy-chic Korsåkov is one of the surest places in central Antwerp to find the super-late hipster crowd still getting served.
Antwerp
If the unpredictable and eccentric owner decides to let you in, you'll discover a wonderfully chaotic old-world beer pub boasting hundreds of brews,…
Brussels
As unexpected as the name suggests, this is one classic little wood-panelled café-bistro tourists that have largely overlooked. Basic, traditional pub…
Wallonia
This archetypal old-time locals' pub dates from 1911. It retains its tiled floor, mirror-and-wood panelling, ceramic beer taps and pub game jeu-de-fer, in…
Brussels
Italian Eurocrats relax after work on sofas, at pavement tables or in the tiny triangle of back garden and enjoy free tapas-style snacks with chilled…
Brussels
This old-timers' bar is opposite Maison Antoine, the city's most famous friture. The owners don't mind if you demolish a cone of frites while downing a…
Namur
At this convivial and charmingly rustic pub, available brews are listed on a lengthy blackboard menu. The Chapître ‘house beer’ (€3.50) is a highly…
The Ardennes
For an evening beer, try this cosy, stone-roofed cellar pub, which has several fine brews on tap and many lambics by the bottle. No food is served. It…
Liège
A wonderfully genuine local rustic café with rough floors, candles in bottles and the perfect terrace on Outremeuse’s sweetest square. Expect mayhem all…
West Flanders
Abdij Sint-Sixtus' café-pub, In de Vrede, is the only place in the world where you can be (virtually) sure of tasting the incomparable Westvleteren 12°,…
Antwerp
Dance till dawn and beyond with highly rated guest DJs setting abuzz what was once a 16th-century church. The cover charge is typically €10.
Ostend
There's a giant devil-fish's head on the roof of two old houses with facades covered with lurid cartoons. Inside it's cramped, filled with bric-a-brac and…
Antwerp
The top drinking choice on Zurenborg's buzzing Dageraadplats, this rambling, ever-busy local has oodles of unaffected character, beers from €2.20, fill-up…
Namur
Serving up Namur's best coffee, this charming little cafe is hard to resist. Expect latte art, tempting snacks, a welcoming vibe and at least one local…
Ghent
Yes, palm trees grow in Ghent, albeit small ones on the deck of this appealing barge-café. Good-value snacks and meals supplement a choice of more than…
Antwerp
A 16th-century guildhall pub decked with photos of regular drinkers and fronted by a terrace with fabulous cathedral views.
West Flanders
Oerbier, a highly rated stealthy dark ale, is brewed here by De Dolle Brouwers in Esen village. At weekends, the brilliantly colourful little brewery café…
Brussels
The Marolles club that ‘invented’ European techno still crams up to 2000 people onto its two dance floors. Once a month it also hosts epic gay night La…
The Ardennes
A little grungier but with more character than most of Durbuy's cafés, this night-time blues bar opens weekends only outside the main holiday season, as…
Northeast Belgium
Diagonally opposite the tourist office, Den Bottel is the most appealing of Hoogstraaten's central cafés, with elements of Tiffany glasswork and a decent…
Brussels
The ripped black-vinyl seats, ’60s tables and light fittings, and cracked tiles of this loud and gay-friendly bar provide the backdrop for locals reading…
Northeast Belgium
It's hard to imagine a more archetypal street-corner local than De Ranonkel, with its panel-walled interior and ample outdoor seating in the Kasteelplein…
Bruges
Attached to an upmarket seafood restaurant (mains €25 to €48), this remarkable cocktail bar is enclosed by beech hedges and red-brick gabled buildings. It…
Antwerp
One of several classic cafes that spread summer seating onto the tree-shaded square at Graanmarkt, De Duifkens is particularly cosy and is decorated with…
Northeast Belgium
Outwardly forgettable, De Refuge is the closest bar to Zimmertoren and is worth discovering for its stock of six thoroughly local brews (beers from €2.20)…
Ghent
Labath is a buzzing place for a fine coffee fix, organic Prosecco or a diverse selection of aromatic, tasty teas including Indian-style masala chai and…
Wallonia
One of Mons' best-loved spots is this spacious drinking den a few paces from the Grand Place. It has an inviting terrace (though nonsmokers beware!), good…
Brussels
The magnificently ornate belle époque interior easily justifies the hefty drink prices, though, curiously, a large number of punters still decide to sit…
Brussels
A high-ceilinged pub with belle-époque gilt woodwork. Renovation has restored the gilt and glamour, but the soul – and the chess players who stayed for…
Wallonia
Just off Place Verte, BlaBlah is an enticing spot for first-rate wines accompanied by charcuterie plates or flavour-packed sandwiches. On warm days,…
West Flanders
Kortrijk's leading coffee house has become so beloved by locals that it now has branches in Bruges and Groeninge. It also has its own brand of chocolate …
Antwerp
This wonderful little wine bar combines 19th-century plasterwork, murals and parquetry with a gallery space and a fine range of excellent French, Spanish…
