The Belgian Beer Cafe Canberra
Editorial
The great thing about the Belgian Beer chain is you know exactly what you're going to get. Whether you're in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Canberra, you know which beers are going to be on tap, the kind of glasses they come in and that whole elaborate song and dance the staff do before pouring a drink. In a world filled with uncertainties and weirdness, it's nice to have a safety net; something you can rely on - a Belgian Beer Cafe in every capital city where you can order a pint of beer in a serious looking glass.
For those stragglers who have yet to experience a Belgian Beer Cafe, the concept is pretty simple. As you may have guessed, it revolves largely around beer. Not just any beer, mind. The chain's whole shtick is showcasing the best beers from around Europe. The drink menu runs for several pages and you get a nice little story about each brew's origin and how the monks came up with it (monks make a lot of booze). While you can also order wines and spirits (and they have a reasonable selection of both) it sort of defeats the purpose of going to a beer cafe.
While there are Belgian Beer Cafe's scattered throughout the country, the 1920's brasserie feel is pretty much timeless. It's also tailored for each individual venue and Canberra's addition is warm and elegant with furniture imported directly from Europe. The nations capital may feel sterile at times, but the Belgian Beer Cafe injects a touch of old-world charm and is a welcome addition.
Mitchell Harowitz, June 2009
User Feedback
Steve
July 10, 2008
Yeah, was great last year but seems to have gone down hill bigtime since then!! Poor service, poor cleanliness and a very different crowd...where have all the sophisticated people gone??
rodw
April 22, 2009
1kg pot of moules mariniere is still advertised on their website for $23, when in fact they are $29. The liquid contained way too much salt and cream. No kids menu available, nor any assistance offered by staff to suggest something for kids. Forget trying to use an Entertainment Book voucher at this place unless you order a meal from the "main" menu which the waitress told me only applies at dinner. Apparently the 1kg pot of mussels are not classified as a "main", despite being the most expensive meal on the menu. In summary - a great place to go if you enjoy being served by disinterested staff and being charged way too much for below average food.
Phil
October 11, 2009
The beer regularly runs out - one lunchtime, every single tap beer was unavailable, and the only chioce we had was a warm bottle of Stella. Delightful. The staff for the most part couldn't give a toss, and when a group of my workmates and I decided to have lunch there, the manager told the one colleague of mine who had bought sushi from a shop across the road that he couldn't eat the sushi at our table... this despite the fact we had 7 others eating and drinking his food and beer, AND the sushi guy was drinking a beer bought from the Belgian Beer Cafe. Talk about going out of your way to alienate your customers. In short, save your money and drink across the road at Filthy's or the Durham (and you will save a lot of money, trust me). Avoid this over-priced hole at all costs.
Scott Withers
December 15, 2009
Guys, this place i not the place you seem to be talking about?? New menu but also beers ever runnng out, 70 types of bottled beers & 40 types of wines and now cigars. New managern s Dave,doing a great job if you ask me.
Shaun
May 03, 2010
Absolute crap. Don't take anyone here if you have any common sense. Staff are not interested in you at all.
Mike
May 26, 2010
Concur with the above negative comments. Went there with a friend for lunch around June 2009. Service was crap. Ordered beers at the bar and it must have taken the staff 15min to bring the beer to our table and we were he only customers in the place! I had to go back to the bar to see what was happening with the drinks twice. Completely disinterested staff with no customer service. Order a steak sandwich. It was OK, but small and overpriced for what it was. Such a shame.. Disappointed to see comments from 2010 telling a similar story of poor service. I love Belgium beer, but I wont be wasting my time or money in this particular bar again.
Tim
June 24, 2010
Walked past the Belgian Beer Cafe in Kingston last week and noticed that they had reopened after being shut for renovations. I went straight in for my favorite beer....Deliriuim Tremens, one of the best in the world if u ask me. So i get talking to the girl behind the bar who ended up talking me into a few more beers,and I tell ya they've still got that kick to em. Anyway, she told me about the new owner and chef who had come from Sydney to save our Belgium beer cafe from ruin and probably every beer history she knew.I will tell you what i felt pretty drunk and in love by the end of it all but from what I've read above,it seems that alot has changed for the better at little brussels....what a great nite .....5 stars.
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