Chez Moeder Lambic (St. Gilles)

Jason

Massachusetts

3.05/5  rDev -27.6%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Two words "Warm Beer", not warm as in cellar temp but warm as in room temp warm. The beers were served warm and the shape of many of the beers was poor because they were stored very warm. I am sure this will not be the case in warmer weather as far as the serving temp though they are still killing their beers. I simple beer fridge @ 50*F would suffice, it would make this place ten times better beer-wise. Oddly they have some very hard to get glassware yet don't have many of the common glasses. As for the service they only have two beer menus (books) so try and pick a few while you are looking not to waste more time leafing through it. The reason is, the service is not just the usually laid back service but it is painstakingly slow. The inside is a bit cramped and the bathrooms are pretty scary ... the outside seating consisted of what looked like cheap white plastic patio chairs and tables that someone had thrown out years ago.

This place is laughable. Don't be surprised if a few of the beers you order are out though they do have a pretty damn good selection but when it is all warm does it matter? I would not even bother going unless you are in the immediate area.

09-16-2004 15:57:24 | More by Jason

saltydog

New York

3.36/5  rDev -20.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4

In the fall of 1998, I went to this, my first all-stops out, heavy duty Belgian Beer bar. Travelling with wbthink, we arrived a little early, so we had to kill some time at another bar.

When they finally opened, we piled in, along with a few other folks who had been waiting outside, and the bartender talked on the phone for around ten minutes, ignoring us and all the other customers. It was a small bar, with many interesting bottles lining the wall. I couldn't wait to order. Finally, the bartender got off the phone and handed us and the other customers a phone-book sized beer list, with around 800 beers! The cellar must be twice the size of the bar! What to order, what to order? We had several Flanders Reds, several Saisons, and Deliriums Tremens on draft, and Girardin Kriek, all for the very first time.

We were both very impressed the first time; on subsequent visits, it has become apparent that the list is nowhere near as big as it is advertising, and that many beers on the list are not there, and the bar can get insanely smokey, and though the bartender is good, there is usually only 1 person there, so if there is any crowd at all service can get perilously slow. It is nevertheless worth going to at least once, and I may end up going back myself one of these days, though it is not on the top of my list.

10-20-2003 00:37:50 | More by saltydog

TheLongBeachBum

California

4.21/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5

I write this from memory - about my first visit (95 I think) many, many years ago, and not subsequent ones. Why?, well because what the "virgin" visitor will experience when they go for the first time - will be more akin to this, rather than my later visits. My first time, I visited with 3 friends, we had done our homework and read in advance that this bar sold 800 beers, yes 800 !! We all had our preconceived ideas about this "Beer Palace" - and ALL 100% Wrong as it turned out. People still do not believe me when I tell them about this street corner Cafe. It is indeed - quite literally - a one-room bar, on er... a street corner. In fact, we walked past it the first time, Twice !!!! Upon entering, we were still convinced we were in the wrong place. It looked like it had not been cleaned in years, there were floaties in the air, never mind the beer. Huge fluffy brown clumps of dust that had accumulated over many, many years (decades) clung for "dear life" to bottles and on other display items, it looked like brown snow just about to Avalanche. But it was quiet, we made ourselves at home and the waiter (singular) was very chatty. It did have many, many beers - several hundred for certain - we never substanciated the rumor of 800, but I would not bet against it. The waiter was a like a human walking version of BeerAdvocate.com. It was all in his head, and he dissappeared to the Cellar every time, for hours it seemed sometimes, to obtain the beers. I have had several Rare Beers here over the years. No Food (!!?). "Mother Lambics in St. Gilles" is an unspoilt, basic but charismatic, totally ideosyncratic GEM that you will never forget, and probably walk past the first time - I guarantee it.

Tim Webbs Guide describes this place very well in his latest Guide and finishes with these words. "Remember this is an institution, so it doesn't have to try too hard". Uniquely Belgium.

10-03-2002 20:54:14 | More by TheLongBeachBum