Brasserie Erasmus

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

2.44/5  rDev -36.1%
vibe: 2 | quality: 2.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 2.5 | $$$

Once a bastion of fine Belgian Beers, now an empty shell.

I could not believe, would not believe, how poor it had become (so I went again the next day). Sadly, I have to report this is not the place it was, and will not be re-visited by me until I hear something has changed for the better. I shall walk past and look inside, but not go in.

Uninterested staff, boring varnished wood panelling and no atmostphere, stale beer on both occasions and so many other fine bars in Brugge to use.

I am sure it will be removed from the next CAMRA guide to Belgium. In fact I intend to write to Tim Webb and his helpers about it, although I should imagine they already know.

What a pity.

Updated bit (Oct 2009)

Getting better, food and beer wise, still funny with some people who just want to drink during meal times, but the owner wants it to be known as a beer bar as well as a classy eating joint. I have friends who still love it, I'm still not convinced it has returned to its former glory days yet.

08-09-2006 10:48:58 | More by BlackHaddock

gotbeer

Massachusetts

2.53/5  rDev -33.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 1 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Visited here during a recent trip to Belgium.

The atmosphere was nice enough. Modern style, white linens, and red chairs. It is located in a beautiful, midieval section of Bruges near a scenic canal.

While many people here have said good things about the service- my experience was different. We came in late one evening to have dessert and a drink only. When we told the server we were only planning on having dessert his reaction was downright condescending and rude. 'You are only having dessert?!' I actually thought he might kick us out from the way it was said. The restaurant was over half empty at this point, so we weren't holding up a table that could have made more money. We ordered a bottle of Trappist Achel Extra Bruin. When the bottle was brought to the table the waiter pointed out they didn't have the Blond in the cellar (which we didn't order at least) and said he brought the extra instead. The beer was then served in improper glassware (the only place in Belgium I had seen this done). Our server did not appear to have a depth of knowledge in the world of beer despite the advertising as a beer desination. The waiter returned to drop off our food, and then disappeared for over an hour. L'addition S'il vous plait- enough had been seen here.

The food was very good. We had the Flemmish Pear pie. I had never had this before, and it was excellent.

I really wanted to like this place more. Great location, good beer selection, and very good food. Rude service made me feel like persona non grata here. I've worked as a bartender before, and I have nothing but empathy and patience for servers, but there wasn't a good way to rationalize the service here.

Not recommended.

08-25-2009 01:41:38 | More by gotbeer

thepeter

United Kingdom (England)

2.56/5  rDev -33%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 1.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

We went here 3 times and pretty much it was for one beer. Also, if it weren't for the service on the third time the score would be a 4.5 and not a 1.5. Let me explain.

Modern atmosphere with nice and comfortable seats. When we entered each time we were asked if we were their to eat or just for the beer, and when we replied "Beers" we were quickly seated and treated as nicely as we could expect. Selection was very good, all quality and quite a few vintages. Many Christmas beers on tap and bottle as it was the season. We saw that they were offering a 1988 vintage of De Dolle Stille Nacht, so we got one along with two other xmass beers. The Stille Nacht was amazing and brought us back the next day, and then a third. On the third day we were greeted by the same waiter who knew what we wanted and went back to get it. He came back with 2 light colored Stille Nacht's and assured us that they wee in fact the vintages. I privately confronted him saying that I knew that the Stille Nacht has been blonde for a few years and we were paying for the same dark colored 1988 Stille Nacht's we had gotten 2 days in a row. He insisted that they were the same and instead of causing a scene, I sat down and drank the still wonderful beverage. At this point all he had to do was charge us for the regular Stille Nacht (3.50 Euro) and I would have been fine with it all. BUT NO!! we were charged the 6.50 for the 1988 vintage (actually on the receipt). I could have complained more but just left instead. Still had a wonderful time and got to try a beer that was fantastic. thanks for listening to my rant, it feels better to get it off my chest. I probably would end up going back just to see what they had for vintage beers alone.

12-30-2009 13:44:11 | More by thepeter

rudyarmand

Georgia

2.65/5  rDev -30.6%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4 | service: 1 | selection: 3 | $$$$

I recently returned from a two week trip to Holland, Belgium and Germany. I planned to visit several of the highly rated bars and restaurants recommended by Beer Advocate members. One of the places I was most excited about going to was the Erasmus in Brugges.

I was disappointed to see that there bar area had only three booths each seating four patrons. Fortunately, one of the booths was available. Drinking at the next two tables were some Englishmen carrying copies of Michael Jackson's beer reviews. We found out that they were planning to dine at the Erasmus and were excited to try the special of Flemish stew cooked in Belgian Ale.

We looked over the eight offerings on tap and were upset that two of them were unavailable. We finally ordered some Chimay and some St. Fuillien. After ten minutes this blonde waitress finally brought our beers and we were already not happy to see that she didn't bother to fill the glasses up. In Europe, the glasses have a fill to level on the side of the glasses, but most sensible people fill the glasses up because that's good customer service. We tried the beers and the temperature was much too warm. We decided to cut our losses and get the heck out of there.

There are hundreds of bars in Belgium that serve the more rare Trappist offerings, and I must advise all my fellow BA members not to waste any euros at this over-hyped establishment. The positive reviews have gone to their heads!

05-02-2006 22:21:33 | More by rudyarmand

mendvicdog

Maryland

2.94/5  rDev -23%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 2 | $$$

If you are a beer lover, I would not go here. If you are looking for a place to eat and have a beer, Cambrinus Restaurant is much better. They had four boring things on tap, and the food looked a little expensive. I left before even ordering anything. The people working there were nice enough, they just don't have enough good beer to justify going there over the other great places in Bruges. I would recommend struise, cambrinus, and 't burgs beertje over this place. It is nice to go down this side street though because they do have a very nice view of the canal.

01-18-2012 18:31:16 | More by mendvicdog

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -14.9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 1 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $$$$

We tried for a dinner at Den Dyver and came up short so our second choice was Erasmus and we asked the owner at Garre to make the reservation for us. It was not difficult at all to locate and upon our arrival the host had no clue about our dinner reservation. He quickly placed us inside where it was hot as hades and gave us time to contemplate our dinner choices and beers. The inside was white tablecloth and very quaint and tiny.

Once he returned we showed him our "Belgian Beer Card" which I had printed off the internet and he said he needed to get the owner. After what seemed like an eternity the owner arrived and said that all drafts would be discounted 25% and he magically became our waiter and took our drink and food orders The drafts were all well chosen with 10 and many bottles. Our beers came very quickly by the same waiter who initially seated us. The cheese served with the beers were very, very good.

Our first course of food was phenomenal for all our party and the same carried through the second. We nearly had to beg for service however, ordering additional beers was a chore. At some point in the evening a blonde lady magically became our waitress. Finally after we had sweated enough we asked to be seated at a table outside for dessert. This was a stroke of genius.

When it came time to pay the bill it was evident that bait and switch was in place and that no discount was coming for the drafts ordered. We had to go to the computer and split the bill and then we were asked to come back to pay at the CC machine and to enter a tip amount. Two of us fell to peer pressure and gave a very small amount extra, one was more intelligent and gave nothing.

I would return to Erasmus for the food, but the service was awful, the food was phenomenal and the drafts were very good. If I could get served at the bar and pay cash, that might be my plan of action.

Visited on September 13, 2006.

10-16-2006 22:36:58 | More by GCBrewingCo

morebeergood

Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev -13.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $$

We stopped here for a late afternoon drink on 3/25/07. This bar has a very modern feel to it, very city-like for a small town like Bruges. It was very quiet in here, only two other customers. I ordered an Avec Les Bons Voeux and my wife tried the hotel's house brew, the 30th Anniversary tripel. It was funny, out of all the places that we visited on this trip, this was the only bar that did not serve our beer in proper glassware. Both were served in ordinary white wine glasses. A bit boring. This place was OK, nothing special but a decent spot to have a quick drink.

03-29-2007 16:18:54 | More by morebeergood

HardTarget

Texas

3.6/5  rDev -5.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Another stop on the beer tour of Brugge with Bierschenker. The Erasmus is near the main square and not hard to find. It's a hotel bar, a bit small with only 4 or 5 tables that I saw. The bar seems a bit cramped, but they took good care of their beers and good care of us. Service was prompt and professional. The place has a remodeled look with a lot of light wood.
What really impressed me about the place was the number of taps! Belgium isn't big on draft beer, so seeing Blanche du Pont, Druide, De Ranke XX Bitter (listed as a Dubbel for some reason), Bonnoise, Forestine, Chimay Trippel and Moinette on tap was impressive. I had the De Ranke XX, probably one of the most hopped beers in Belgium. Mild light Muzak going on in the background was mildly annoying, but allowed conversation.
A fair place to have a beer, but there are richer grounds so near by.

08-15-2006 05:30:04 | More by HardTarget

ChicoraBoy

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4

Been here twice on two consecutive trips to Bruges. Had a very nice selection of beers - a few on tap, but mostly from bottle. Proper glassware. Both visits were during the less busy afternoon hours (3-4pm), so didn't have to bother with lunch/dinner crowds or a lot of smoke. Staff was friendly but move at a slow pace, so don't go there if you're in a hurry. Westmalle, Rochefort, Moinette, Hoegaarden, tons of ales and a few lambics. Nice location for a break from the sights. The menu was small and we didn't eat, but the food I saw being served looked nice.

01-13-2004 15:19:25 | More by ChicoraBoy

kmo1030

Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev +0.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

the atmosphere of this place is sparse modern decor. fairly plain inside with the exception of the bottles of beer displayed on shelves built into the walls.
all the beers we had were in good condition and served in wine glasses.
the service was inattentive, but average for brugge/western europe.
16 on tap i believe, which were a little more rare, and maybe like ~200 bottles with plenty of good ones.
we sampled some appetizers while we were there and though a little expensive, were good.
a good place to check out if you are spending a few days in brugge, but there are some other places that should be higher on your list of 'must visits.'

10-05-2007 13:59:56 | More by kmo1030