Café Belgique

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Nuggz
Posts: 1413
Joined: Tue 2nd Jun 2015 08:49 pm

Café Belgique

Post by Nuggz »

ACD Page: Cafe Belgique

More of a locals/expats bar.

Very small, divey-esque pub, funkyish decor. One of the smallest bars you'll ever encounter though. All of two tables and bar stool space inside. Great selection of Belgian beers. Crowd is a diverse mix of mostly younger expats and some younger and aging locals, most quite 420-oriented in some shape or form.

Inside: you can vape cannabis, no problem. No combustion however.

Outside: absolutely no problem to skin-up and puff away on the benches out front, hell I've even dabbed out front - torch, rig and all - but wouldn't exactly recommend taking it that far...


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EasilySuede
Posts: 932
Joined: Sun 13th Nov 2011 10:38 am
Location: a special place in hell

Re: Café Belgique

Post by EasilySuede »

here's a link, and copy-and-paste, to ron's cafe belgique write-up...
https://www.europeanbeerguide.net/pubs.htm#belgique

Café Belgique is a tiny pub behind the Nieuwe Kerk. (My front room is bigger. Constructing a fullsize replica has often crossed my mind.) The carved wooden counter, glass shelves and gleaming brass taps lend a turn-of-the-century air which draws in many an idle passer-by. Maybe they would be just as attracted to my house, if my wife were to become temporarily insane and allow me turn my dream into reality.

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(The photo of the interior of Belgique was taken by Arjan, a far better photographer than I. His surname I don't know, I'm afraid. He's one of the barmen. Tell him Ron sent you - or, better still, that you really like his photo. It is very nice, after all. The password is: "Amersfoort mafia".)

Ignoring your fellows is not an option in somewhere this size. It has to be pretty empty for you not (quite literally) to be rubbing shoulders with your neighbours. Alone, beer-loving and English-speaking? Nowhere else (Damstraat excepted, where that old Amsterdam street call "Coke, ecstasy, heroin" can still heard) is it easier to strike up a conversation.

Despite its location in tourist central, Belgique draws in a good share of locals; suits from the Beurs, shoppers from Nieuwedijk, artists from their attics. The laid-back vibe is helped by some of the best background music you'll hear in Amsterdam.

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Café Belgique The decoration is appropriately beery, consisting mostly of the old enamel advertising signs which used to adorn the exterior of Belgian pubs. Sadly, most of the breweries have long disappeared, demonstrating the damage caused to Belgium's rich beer culture by the buy-em-up then close-em-down philosophy of large brewery groups. The tiny size of the bar and the prominently positioned stairs lead many to assume that there must be more rooms upstairs. But don't be fooled: there are only two seats upstairs, one for men and one for women. In the summer months there are a couple of tables on the pavement outside, when the police aren't having one of their bizarre occasional crackdowns on 'illegal' terraces.

The beer selection, predictably enough given the name, is mostly Belgian and, while not the largest, is reasonably varied, offering an example of most major styles. Amongst the draught beers in particular, there are seldom two of exactly the same type. Notably, it is the only regular draught outlet for Vlo, a beer specially produced by the local 't Ij brewery for the beer shop De Bierkoning. It's one of a handful of truly top-class, original Dutch beers and is highly recommended both by myself and anyone else who has the vaguest idea about beer.

A few years ago the number of draught beer taps was increased by two and this has allowed the number of occasional beers to increase. There's usually a new draught every two weeks or so and these have included such rarities as N'ice Chouffe, the outstanding winter beer from La Chouffe. In the Winter, La Trappe Quadrupel usually graces one of the beer taps at some point.

Overall, it's one of the best specialist beer bars in Amsterdam and amongst the top in the whole country. Not to be missed.
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Lafe
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Joined: Tue 13th Dec 2005 07:55 pm
Location: Location! Location!

Re: Café Belgique

Post by Lafe »

This is a true gem. I often stay directly on Gravenstraat so I'm a regular when in town.

The brew selection is proper, and I like the late night DJ sessions. Last time I was there I had an o.pen cartridge loaded with Blue Dream. DJ hit it thrice and his style curiously changed, somehow :-)

Behind the bar Jullianna is a real treat, always a smile on her face and talking constantly. It's crowded but you'll eventually find a seat. I once hooked up with an American from Rhode Island who teaches Latin American studies, his friend from Argentina, two young girls from Tennessee on their first trip and two other Argentines. That was a fun evening.
"Laif" with a long "a".
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