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Location: Rue du Chêne 5, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
Venue Type: Estaminet / Theme Bar
Year of Inscription: 2018
Map
Description
Gallery
| EBG Rating: | 8.7/10 |
| Choice/Quality of Drinks | ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Large selection of draft and bottled Belgian beers covering most traditional bases and a few new trends. Limited range of alternatives. |
| Style/Décor | ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Multi-floored cafe with stairs to a large mezzanine floor. Marionettes and puppets everywhere along with framed artwork and photos. Very distinctive. Wooden flooring, typical rickety wooden furniture. |
| Atmosphere/Character | ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Constantly lively due to central situation. Cosy in the winter evenings and fairly airy during the summer. A good all-rounder. |
| Amenities/Events | ❤️❤️❤️ Estaminet-style cooked food offerings, outdoor terrace, museum (sort of) |
| Value For Money | ❤️❤️❤️ Reasonable considering the area |
| Description | Due to the touristy situation directly opposite Mannekin Pis and the fact it always looked so crowded, it was years until we tried grabbing a beer at the indulgently lengthy-named Poechenellekelder. It had always looked somewhat interesting, taking up three floors in an old fashioned stepped gable Flemish house, and the odd peer through the windows made me wonder what I was missing out on. I should be annoyed at myself in hindsight, as this is a wonderful place, but I’m glad to have eventually found it. Although the place can look packed from the outside, this is a little deceptive as there are several areas within the building and people are spread out. Also, quite a lot of these ‘people’ were silhouettes of mannequins and marionettes, which is the theme of the bar. While I enjoy the simplicity of a brown café or Czech hospoda I’ve always been a fan of bars cluttered with collected items as they give your eyes something to do while drinking, as well as adding a little charm to a place. Walk up a couple of sets of stairs to the bar area and try to find a seat, as this is the epicentre of activity and the most ‘pub like’ the place gets – it also has the most to look at. There is a medium sized and well chosen range of beers, most of which are top class Belgian ales, some of which are small scale and harder to come by. The price is surprisingly fair considering the immensely touristy location. The pub food offered is typical Belgian Estaminet fare – hearty and intended to line the stomach for the beer consumption. They also offer free bar snacks which seems like a petty thing to worry about either way, but always adds a little something. Considering the number of people in the place, the service is skilled and efficient. As with several Belgian places there is a slight blurring of what the place actually is – is this pub, or a café, or a simple restaurant. It’s all three to some extent, and you might find that doesn’t suit your own needs. Nevertheless it’s an atmospheric, friendly and very quirky venue serving high quality beer, and certainly one I would blaze a trail to over and over. |
