Copenhagen Tavern

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

4.08/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Mons on New Years Day 2012; stopped overnight on the way home from Luxembourg and popped into four of the establishments around the Grand Place: this was where we ate.

The name gives the game away somewhat, this bar is a Carlesberg outlet; in fact it majors on Carlesberg taps with only a Kasteel Brown stopping it being completely predestrian and boring.

The whole place is very bright, tidy and clean, toilets upstairs, a choice of stairways, one a tight spiral design, the other wider and straighter, more tables are laid out up there too. When we entered it was fairly quiet and were able to choose almost anywhere to sit, but it began to fill up at around 18.00 with most people ordering food. My wife and I shared two 0.75 litre bottles, one a Moinette Blond the other a St Feullien Blond, both were in fine fettle: sadly these were the only large bottles on the menu. Our food was very good; I had some large prawns and the wife a chicken pasta dish. Service was fine, attentive without being obtrusive and even when it began to fill up and they started to turn people away (not everywhere was open, it was New Years Day remember) we didn’t feel as if we were rushed or unwanted. In fact I think we were a novelty as we have no French and spoke only in English, they wanted the practise.

I suppose you could call the interior and fittings ‘plush,’ it was certainly the smartest bar we found during our stop: this was our second port of call and we were glad that we decided to eat here as the other three places were just bars really.

02-08-2012 13:15:35 | More by BlackHaddock

TheLongBeachBum

California

4.08/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Literally two doors down from the Au Ropieur, and on the same side of the Grand Place as the popular Maison Des Brasseurs, the Copenhagen Tavern is easily spotted by its pink painted exterior that is accentuated with lots of dark wood and low level interior & exterior lighting. Gold lettering advertises “Copenhagen Tavern” above the middle of the three identical portals that make up the frontage, whilst the middle portal houses the entrance doorway; the other two have windows and the words “Danish Bar” and “Buffet Glaces” over them.

The interior is a wonderful darkened warm cozy den that is full of dark wood furniture, small alcoves and lots of discrete wall booths that offer some privacy for those lucky enough to get one. Dark red carpets and darker wallpaper set against the very dark brown wood paneling which fills the Copenhagen on both floors lends a very medieval flavor to the whole feeling and décor in here. A very tight and twisting spiral staircase to your right as you enter offers a quick and rather direct way to the first floor for the adventurous if the ground floor is busy, whilst a more gently inclined staircase at the back offers an easier option for those that can’t face embarrassing themselves with the spiral staircase. Suffice to say that I went up and down the spiral staircase and if you’re over 5’-6” you better watch your head!!!

I visited here twice, so this is a composite BeerFly for the two visits. The first time I only drank in here late on a night. The second time I ate here along with 6 friends – both occasions were very pleasant experiences, and whilst the interior can have a very definitive “up-market” restaurant feel, it is perfectly acceptable to just drink in here, unless they are very, very busy, but we were never made to feel uncomfortable just drinking even when they did seem busy.

Beer range is a little pedestrian, numbers around 35 or so, and there is nothing too out of the ordinary but there is enough to keep the visiting Imbiber happy, with or without food, and not too much crap on the list. I had an Orval and Rodenbach on my first visit here, with a huge old-style heavy tankard of Hoegaarden when I ate here on the second visit. The beer range does enough to get a “Try Also” listing for Mons by Tim Webb and a ‘respectful mention’ in his 5th Edition Good Beer Guide to Belgium. I'll go with that.

Food was excellent, some of the Menus had English listings, but not all, nevertheless the Waiters were more than happy and helpful to explain the listings, at least if you asked politely. Starters and Main Courses were excellent; the quality and protion was good whilst the prices were reasonable. A popular place for many to eat it seems, and rightly so.

Not so much a place to head to specifically if you’re set for a nights drinking, but you could certainly do worse and you can just drink in here if you wanted to. Moreover, the Copenhagen Tavern is a superb place to eat on the Grand Place in Mons for the travelling beer advocate, the food was excellent, and it has a very atmospheric ambience to kick back in, all served up with top drawer nosh and a decent enough selection of brews to keep you busy whilst doing so. A solid “Try-Also” for Mons, at least when you’re done with the other “Must Do’s”.

Erm, F**k knows what the "Danish Bar" bit is all about...

Last Visits: Friday 14th and Monday 17th April, 2006.

05-08-2006 01:43:30 | More by TheLongBeachBum