please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The first pub visited on an afternoon session in Bruges. Great little bar tucked away down an alley that fills up very quickly. Good selection of beers, I had Hopus and Popperings Homelbier while my friend enjoyed the house beer.
Well worth seeking out.
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As others say a great bar and the house tripple is excellent. Talked with a number of visitors who knew their beers both Belgian and English
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A couple of Wednesdays ago, and armed with mt GBG 'Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg' guide book we found DE GARRE only to find it shut. DYVER was also shut, BRUGS BEERTJE was shut and CURIOSA was also shut. I should have read the guide more closely as it clearly stated that De Garre, Dyver and Bertie's was shut on Wednesdays but Curiosa was shut on Mondays. Standing outside De Garre with a puzzled expressions, four others would-be-drinkers joined us, all of us mystified. Oh well, another time then.
Fortunately, and keeping well away from the rip-off bars in the Markt, we found the CAFE DE KUPPE, in Kuipersstraat 19 which sells one hundred beers.
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I didn't realise that, despite frequenting this place a number of times in the past, I have never posted a review of the place. As others have so eloquently stated this gem of a bar just off the main square in Bruges is a must visit when visiting the city. This is one of my favourite drinking establishments in Europe (along with the refectory at Andechs Monastery and the Augustinerkeller in Munich). What a refreshing change to have a relaxing beer while listening to classical music in such wonderful surroundings. Just about perfect.
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Agree totally with last comment. This is one of our top 3 Brugges bars and we have just got back from 2 nights stay over there, and enjoyed each occasion we visited this bar. Only downside is that it can be difficult to find seats and on one occasion we had to go upstairs, a little difficult for hubby with his walking stick. Beer range superb and staff friendly. One not to be missed.
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Talk about landing on your feet...although this was picked out before leaving for Bruges, it turned out that our hotel was less than 200m away on the other side of the Burg square...in three days, we were here on four separate occasions and what times they were. Superb range of beers, including several Xmas specials. The house Tripel was superb and very deceptive, no wonder the amounts poured looked to be on the "controlling" side of things and they have a house limit of three very strong draught beers each...not a problem, it helped you to enjoy many others! It is so easy to miss this place when looking for it, even with an A-board at the entrance to the alley, as that actually advertises Cookies further down the alley. Seek and ye shall find heaven...
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Friendly, brilliant bar with outstanding beer. Gouden Draak and De Garre are musts.
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Beer heaven. In a simple setting, so close to the tourist throngs, down a tiny alley off Breidelstraat by the Markt, marked with a sign bizarrely advertising a restaurant called Cookies, lies the Holy Grail of beerhunters. Venture up a few steps into another world. Wooden beams, characterful brickwork. Classical music drifting through the quiet buzz of intelligent conversation.A real fire flickers quietly in the downstairs room, or wind upstairs to avoid the smoke. Settle into a seat.Thumb through a selection of fine, fine beers to choose from in a terracotta book crammed with alcoholic delights.De Witte Van Celis and Gulden Draak on tap. 80+ beers, Trappistes, Guezes, fruit beers, two dozen 750ml beers(for sharing, yeah right), and a good range of hot drinks/non-alcoholic beverages for the unitiated.Yet look no further to start than the De Garre Tripel en vat.The friendly, knowledgeable, courteous and diligent waiter will welcome you ("Is it your first time?") and offer a smooth and warming amber nectar, expertly poured, with a dish of cheese chunks to compliment the fine brew, served with all the ceremony of a fine wine. Have another. And one more. It doesn't get any better. Yep, I quite liked the place.
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Outstanding little pub with the quality range of beers one comes to expect in Belgium. What makes it extra special is the friendly and convivial atmosphere (not touristy) in its small and compact setting despite which you can always seem to find somewhere to sit. Perfectly appropriate selection of bar snacks. Unlike another poster, I was very glad that no space had been provided for any lambic beers, with the De Garre tripel being a must-have on pretty much any visit.
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ok pub but very average by belgian standards range of beer borders on the very strong no lambic is a seriouss omission 3/10
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Went in here on my first trip to Bruges and was lucky enough to visit on our trip at the weekend. Worth the effort to seek out, just off Markt. Don't be put off by the sign for "Cookies". Atmospheric rickety old place. Had the Garre Tripel (only just found out it is 11.5%, no wonder I had a headache the next morning) and a Hercule Stout. Tables are all very close together so you are likely to get talking to other drinkers if you want.
Must visit.
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What a place. Must be a serious contender for Europe's best pub. We made it our home from home on our three days in Brugge. Cosy, welcoming and so very friendly. It would take the combined efforts of Ted Hughes, Dylan Thomas and William Shakespeare to do a review of this place justice, so I'll shut up.
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A classic pub, small but friendly so is always full. Another "get there early" pub. Hidden down a side alley but the whole of the world seems to know where it is!. Good choice of beers and nibbles (cheese and rollmops)and we always kick of a visit with a Kwak!.
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Oh I love this place. It couldn't exist in the UK. So genteel, so relaxed. 150ish beers. Seats for no more than 50 on two floors. Just back from a birthday trip to the Lowlands with friends and to sit there with a Rochefort 8 and my favourite piece of classical music playing in the background made it so special. A few hours later we were in the Wilderman in Amsterdam. The previous night, the Beertje. It's not a bad life!
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Really top watering hole...get in there early or go very late to avoid super busy times.
Doesn't seem to have changed it's bier portfolio since last time I was here over 2 years ago, but hey who cares when they stock so many delicious brews! 10 / 10 . Oh and you still get free cheese!
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This really is one to add to the list of hidden gems. Great room (didn't try the space up the scary staircase), pleasant staff, excellent beers. The alley may not be a dead end after all, but it doesn't look as if it leads anywhere.
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It's certainly not off the beaten track, but it's easy to miss. It's in a dead-end alley (called de Garre) off Breidelstraat, which starts at the south-east corner of Markt.
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If you're in Bruges don't miss it! It's only a short distance from the Belfort - the big tower - in the market place.
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river_rat, you clearly are thinking of somewhere else. This pub is slap bang in the middle of the main tourist area of Bruges, the entrance is about 20m from the main square of the town.
anonymous - 29 Jun 2006 21:06 |
Visited this pub in the summer of 2004, not a pub to everyones tastes and a bit off the beaten track but I would give it 8.
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Wonderful little bar, I paid a visit earlier this year but only because one of my mates had been there before and knew where it was. Otherwise I don't think we would have found it. We arrived just as they were opening up and the cheeses were stacked by the door waiting to be taken in. A few minutes later the cheese was sitting on our table accompanying the gorgeous house beer, which is served in goldfish bowl size glasses.
Service is friendly and efficient and the atmosphere is an amalgam of local brasserie, illicit drinking den, cosy parlour and church crypt.
Search it out and go there. I know I'll be back some day.
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Just back from a quick day out in Brugge. Nipped into the Curiosa, the Beertje and the faultless de Garre. The beer menu was replaced by a new updated and according to the Barman, extended version during our stay. Sadly didn't have a chance to compare.
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Really? That surprises me. No real loss though - the stuff has made my girlfriend ill twice (cantillon kriek and jacobins kriek being the culprits) so I steer well clear.
The house beer is sublime and at 11% will make you happy very quickly.
I wish I could be in de Garre now - its heaven.
anonymous - 28 Apr 2006 15:27 |
no lambic
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All the ratings are very personal but I agree that de Garre is an afternoon bar. So refined, almost 'other worldly' when compared to British bars. Just to sit there with a beer and chat to the classical music background is so relaxing. The staff know their job and do it faultlessly and are always knowledgable. Oh yeah. The worst thing about de Garre is that it is 'hard to find' on the first visit.
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one of the best bars i have ever been too. lovely. go in the afternoon, then come back hammered just before closing like i did. i enjoyed doing that
anonymous - 1 Jan 2006 23:38 |
I think you will find that C.A.M.R.A spend a fair bit of time "harping" on about Belgium beers as well as fine British ones. Its not an international competition, enjoy all fine ale wherever it may be brewed.
I love Belgium beers and will be in De Garre next week, but If I lived in Belgium I fear I would be dead by now !!
monty - 28 Apr 2005 15:14 |
This is a superb bar with table service only, so it feels like it should be serving food. You do get free Trappiste cheese with the awesome beer though! Tucked down an alleyway, this is still on the tourist hotbed of Bruges's main streets, but is hidden enough to feel like a "find". Top notch!
There is another bar which sells even more types of beer about 10 minutes walk from De Garre, but I was too gantered to log the name in my brain. I shall be back in Bruges this year for some more beer loving! C.A.M.R.A. can blow me when they harp on about English ales.Belgium shoots them and their watery, lame litte brews, down in flames. Vive le Grimbergen.
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Another brilliant pub in Bruges.
A great selection of about 130 Belgian beers and plenty of draught (incl. De Garre's own house beer at 11%!!!!)
An upstairs and a downstairs with very affable barstaff who all speak perfect English (i.e. beware when taking the p*ss out of the locals)
Cobbo - 15 Jun 2004 21:49 |
