Cambrinus Restaurant

RedBeerchetta

Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev +6.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5 | $$

This place take their beer very seriously, with an enourmous selection of Belgian beers and a helpful, descriptive menu, served in a clean, family-frienly atmosphere close to the town center. The story of the building and the history of the previous bars in it's location is interesting, and for those who don't know who Cambrinus was, readin the menu is a must. Food was good, not great. A few selecitons are made with beer (the cheese deserves mentioning), and the staff was friendly, attentive, and willing to answer the surely annoying questions tourists have.

07-25-2006 01:35:43 | More by RedBeerchetta

JohnfromDublin

Ireland

4.03/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

I visited this place on 3 occasions on a recent weekend in Brugge.

First entered at lunchtime on Friday. The place still smells new. Nicely decorated, with no expense spared. I can't recall what this building used to house. Atmosphere is something that is pretty impossible to "design", though.

8 beers on tap; the house beers Gambriwinus blonde and bruin (not bad), Jupiler blonde, Leffe blonde, Westmalle dubbel, Tarwebier Hoegaarden witte, Brugse Zot blonde, Belview Nieuw kriek.
Supposedly 400 bottles including listing 3 Westvleteren. Managed to try one on my final visit (I had the W8). W12 was available, but West blonde was out.

Served lunch and beer by pleasent young girl. Our second visit was on Saturday night, but the place was too crowded and noisy (all the noise from one raucous table!). We left without partaking.

On our last visit, we were served by a pleasent older woman who was kind enough to supply us with a jug of tap water and 2 glasses at no charge. This was something denied us at a nearby well known cellar bar; "we can only sell you bottled water".
Dodgy enough pop type music for my taste, though.

All-in-all this place is worth a visit. It (they) are trying very hard, and I wish them well.

04-04-2006 14:40:13 | More by JohnfromDublin

harsley

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Well, I was with the only other person (below) who reviewed this place so see his review for more details.

As he said we received coupons for a free house beer from a beer store nearby so decided to check it out. The house beers were pretty good, nothing crazy. A Blond and a Brown that were made by a nearby brewery. I think I read there is only one brewery left in operation in Brugge but they could be brewed outside of town.

The beer selection was great with a really cool menu/bible with wood covers and over 400 Belgian beers on hand. Including to our delight Westvleteren 8 & 12. They probably technically shouldn't be selling it but who cares really, it's great stuff.

It was brand spanking new place so it was VERY clean and well kept. Already attracting a good crowd when we were there although it died out quite a bit by 11 or so. Prices were reasonable with beers in the 3-4 Euro ranges and the food was decent if I remember correctly but not extravagant. Service was decent as well. Better during the day when we saddled up to the bar and chatted with the bar tender some. During the busy evening/nighttime crowd it was a bit slower but they got the job done.

All in all a great place to set up shop for the night.

03-31-2006 19:15:03 | More by harsley

lawrence76

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +3.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

While in the Temple de Biere in Brugge, the store manager (owner?) referred us to the brand new Cambrinus Restaurant, and actually gave a us each a gift card for a free "house beer."

We had just arrived in town and had no clearly defined plan so we went to check the place out. I am so glad we did!

The bar is beautiful; it's new & clean but still very classy and traditional-feeling. Lots of warm wood and clean brass everywhere. Stained glass. Huge bar with nice comfortable stools, and about 30 tables as well.

We first tried the house beers, they have a blonde and a brown, and both were great (the bar tender explained that they were brewed locally, at perhaps the last operating brewery within the city of Brugge). They also have about 4 more taps showcasing some various regional beers and a TON of bottles.

We stayed only for a few beers, but after some shopping and cleaning up we came back that night and settled in for the long haul at a big table. The waitress was very attentive, even though the place was super crowded. The food was good, perhaps could have been better with less cigarette smoke, but it is Europe afterall and I refuse to be bothered by such trivialities when I'm abroad.

also....I could have been really out of it but it seemed that we somehow only spent about 60 euros in there which about half of what I was expecting to pay!

All I can say is that I can't wait to get back to this place, and I now wish we had spent more time in Brugge (oh yea, the city is great and not too crowded if you go there during the off-season).

03-30-2006 15:07:11 | More by lawrence76